Battery Dying - again

Exhausting all avenues here.

I've got a 2019 which about 11 months after delivery, battery kept dying. I do have various aftermarket accessories, but none of which that I believe are making a difference here with this issue. (Amp for radio, back up LED light- but tied into reverse bulb, courtesy lights- but tied into footwell light, and a Blackvue camera - which yes, is on; but draw is so minimal). All of these items I've had on my previous 2012 which still had it's originally battery 175k miles and 7 years later when I traded her in.

So- 11 months ago (11 months after delivery), I bring the truck in- dealer tests the battery, shows no codes. They recharge it, it lasts for 2 days and same issues. I bring it back, they replace it under warranty. Fast forward another 11 months to now; same issue.

Coincidence in timing? I don't know. Last time at the dealer, I bring it up again. Tech immediately says it's due to aftermarket accessories, I say no. I'm given the option to buy a new battery, I say no. I ask for them to do a bench test on the alternator (truck was in for fuel pump recall)- they said they did it, say it's fine. Now, I'm reading 14 volts with a multimeter at idle, and 13.8-13.9 with AC cranks, stereo a blasting, hazards on, lights on, doors open, etc... so I'm guessing alternator is fine.

I've tested for parasitic draw- i'm getting 130 mA draw, which at first I questioned, and so started testing mV at each fuse. Only fuses to read anything where the ECU blocks. I did put the truck to sleep, followed that protocol, and tested the engine bay block- had all zero readings. I have yet to do that with the interior fuse block as I just need to find a few hours to go through the process and a non rainy day to leave the door open with the door trigger engaged.

With that said- our 4runner reads the same 130 mA draw - and we've had zero issues with that vehicle.

I have thrown a smart charger on it, and my results have varied. The first time, I'd keep a charge for a day or two, then same issues. I could jump it (battery pack), drive for 30 minutes, stop, and she'd be dead. This go around, right after it started, I had to jump it in the AM, drove 15 minutes. I thought for sure she'd be dead after a few hours of sitting, but it started right up- and was fine for this past week until yesterday when it sat for a day. (which leads me back to a parasitic draw?) Next test is going to be checking for a draw again with the interior fuse block while the truck is asleep.

So... curious of a few things- anyone wish to break out their multimeter and quickly test their vehicle to see if the same 130 mA matches up? Anyone have any other ideas as to where to go/what to check from here? Anyone as skeptical as me thinking I've gone through two batteries in almost the identical time frame? I'm a bit tempted to just buy my own battery and see what happens 11 months from now; but if there is a random underlying issue, obviously I'd like to fix it.

Thanks in advance.

 

Sounds like a few bad batteries to me,they sure do not make them like they used to.
But they also come with a Warranty,right?

I would not be at all surprised that they keep dying early but I would probably try a different one too at some point.

 

There is a warranty, however, it was stated that it's not good for the replacement battery to me, as I didn't technically purchase it. Now, I didn't look into this at the time because thought was let's investigate here in case there's a deeper issue.

My fully charged battery is showing 12.4 volts - but if I throw on the head lights quickly to get rid of an residual charges, it settles at 12.2 volts. I haven't tested the voltage drop at start up- planning on doing that as well.

 

There are several threads about Tundra batteries being junk.
130mA draw is not a problem.
My Tundra battery was the worst battery I've ever owned in ANY car. I think it died within the 1st year with no accessories!

 

I didn't even wait for my factory battery to die...in my mind, it was about "if" it died it was about "when" it would. I went with a northstar 27f and its been rock solid. I would make sure you figured out if there was any drain before you temp fate with a $2-300 battery.

 

already shopping around for the northstar... ha ha. but yes, that is the plan- make sure there is zero drain prior. I don't believe there is- as my draw matches up exactly the same as the 4runner... gonna go through things again to be more than certain.

thanks!

 

My dash cam does draw a little juice when the engine is shut off but I have it set to shut down when battery voltage reaches 12 volts.

 

Yup. And yet my, from the factory, battery is at 4 years old and still going.

Batteries. Like dating blondes.

 

Battery should be 12.6 or higher at full charge, 12.4 is about 80%, 12.2 after a couple min of headlamps is 60%, your charge voltage sounds ok, but should not be dropping your battery to 60% with a couple of minutes of lights. Do you do short drives, where your battery never gets a good charge? You might want to start it and run your amp and lights they way you do driving and check your alternator isn't dropping out of charge range.

 

I also have this problem with my other brand vehicle, got it diagnose and this is what they found out that they didn’t develop the most basic feature for any electric device like the HandsFreeLink unit – reliably switching off when not in use.”

 

Whelp-
After some extensive research and troubleshooting over the past 4 hours (granted, two of them were waiting for the truck to sleep)- I’ve determined it’s the battery.

I learned that even with the instrument panel off- the hood latch release will still trigger a draw within the ecu. After chasing that around and realizing what the deal was- I retested everything with the hood latch closed and was getting a reading of 46 mA.

well within spec obviously and normal for any vehicle. I did take a video showing this as well as pulling the various fuses for my “high draw accessories” to show our local service center that the draw did not change. I’m kinda an arse that way- hahaha. I know one guy there that’ll laugh at it at least.

so- looks like it was a coincidence in timing, and I happened to just get two batteries that died early. This is with the assumption that when I asked them to bench test the alternator- it was done. My various primitive and simple testing (charge under load), showed no issue. I’ve also got a digital data readout through my aftermarket radio, and it constantly shows between 13.4-13.6 volts at the lowest while driving. As tested with the multimeter under load I was 13.8-13.9, so feeling the alternator is OK.

my plan is however to go back to the service center and show them my findings- ask for another alternator test, have them test and recondition the battery, and start a bit of an argument about the warranty of the warrantied replacement battery.

 

does the hood release trigger the alarm if armed? I never tested if opening the hood causes the alarm to go off. I know one of my cars does but my other car doesn't care about the hood. I never tested the alarm with Tundra.

Sounds like you are saying with everything off and closed, total draw is 46mA. Is that right?
How much is the current draw with everything off and only the hood open. 130 mA?

 

Yea, if you have the alarm, it’s a different hood switch that when released, becomes active. I was getting between 130 and 222 mA, and confused to all heck- and then noticed the panel display showing the hood open.

It will eventually go out- and that drops the reading, but still showed a higher one... when pulling fuses, I got the the in cabin ECU-DCC- and that dropped it. On that fuse was the panel- and I confirmed this by pulling the panel. I then put everything back, shut the hood, reset the multimeter which would spike, and then settle right down to 46mA.

Any good Black Friday coupons that actually work on batteries? Hahaha.

 

I would argue instead that the service center did not fulfill its warranty obligation on your first battery when they gave you another worthless battery.

Hope you can get another one.

 

I don't have a hood open indication/LED in my '16. Must be a new warning light!

 

Personally I would just go buy a new battery. I know it lets them “get away” with not honoring their warranty, but as another poster said he just went out and purchased his own. Save the arguments for the big stuff.

 

Even 130MAH is bugger all of a draw on a modern vehicle loaded with electronics. I’d suggest a battery test, either a good old fashioned load test with a carbon pile or with a capacitance tester.

Testing voltage alone is next to meaningless, as it’s only an indication of “state of charge” and gives no information about how much current the battery can supply.

 

Bad replacement batteries and bad successive replacement batteries is disturbingly common. This holds true for motorbike batteries too. High incidence rate for those made in Mexico.

 

So very interesting. Years ago I was a diesel mechanic and we used to comment about those in the profession that were "parts changers" versus mechanics. Meaning that many didn't bother to really trouble shoot and understand what was happening but just replace the most obvious component. Sad but true and I can only guess it has gotten worse. I applaud nibbs, his efforts are truly admirable. If more in the profession would follow his lead, dealerships (stealerships) might recoup some of their reputation. Please excuse me for the wide swath in airing this. It's usually the few bad apples, and they are the ones that seem to show up the most, that color the whole group. If you are in the profession and follow proven methods and seek the best outcome, Thank You! How blessed we are to have this (and other) forum(s) and be able to educate, encourage and help others in life while sharing a passion. For everyone out there, Thank You. Please do not think that your part is small, I swear, it is not.