Why in the heck do Vipers eats batteries so badly?

[PhoenixGTS]

Finally finished repairing my broken driver's side power window and now the battery won't take a charge. Looks like it is fried again. Why do these cars eat batteries?

 

[Warfang]

maybe its the battery cable? mine wont hold a charge for more than 3-4 days

 

[PhoenixGTS]

maybe its the battery cable? mine wont hold a charge for more than 3-4 days

Maybe it is that it has a ten foot battery cable.

 

[Camfab]

Knock on wood, I've never had an issue. The car regularly sits for 2 - 4 weeks and never an issue. I've replaced the battery once in six years with another OEM battery. I would check for corrosion at the terminals, where the ground attaches to the frame. Also are you guys running any type of aftermarket equip., guages, etc.? You may have some sort of minor power draw.

 

[PhoenixGTS]

are you guys running any type of aftermarket equip., guages, etc.? You may have some sort of minor power draw.

I have an aftermarket radio that draws it down over time, but that shouldn't fry the battery so it won't take a charge.

 

[RTTTTed]

Vipers don't eat batteries. I think mine's original. Disconnect the battery, see if it;ll take a charge - if so charge it, wait for a week or two, then hook it up and see if it's got a full charge. If so, the problem is your car. If not, get a new battery.

If you let the car sit and it's in lock/alarm mode it takes about 6 weeks before it exhausts the battery charge (according to the manual). When parking your Viper, or anything else (like a lawn tractor) hook the battery up to a battery tender to keep the battery healthy - or expect to buy a new one every year.

Ted

 

[LS6 Molester]

i have a 97 and only replaced it 1 time. my car sits weeks at a time and starts with no problem..

 

[CROM]

I don't necessarily think its the cars problem. Many individuals leave their cars sitting for weeks/months. That drains a battery. Owners often accidentally leave the rear window unlatched, leaving a little light on. Over a week, that will drain the battery. You also have some people who incorrectly installed stereo systems. This also drains the battery. All in all it's usually owner error.

 

[NOTV8]

I still have my original battery (2002), then again I don't turn ON the alarm when I have it sitting in the garage and always have the tender connected when I don't drive it. I have the V1 hardwire and it shut off when I turn off the car. I did removed it twice to clean it but all is good.

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

Phoenix, what type battery do you have? If its an Optima, don't blame your car. Its the fact that Optima makes a horrible crap ass product. I went thru FOUR in TWO years. I've had an Interstate battery in my DD for 5+ years, which did used to have all sorts of crazy riced out electronics in it (playstation 2, sound system, etc). and its been perfect! I've removed all the ricer toys, but it still has been perfect.

 

[whitebluevipe]

both of mine seem to use up batteries fairly fast. 96 rt 10 and gts.

 

[PhoenixGTS]

Disconnect the battery, see if it;ll take a charge - if so charge it, wait for a week or two, then hook it up and see if it's got a full charge.

NOOOOOOOOO!!! Not another week! I want to drive.

 

[slysnake]

Well, it seems to be hit or miss i guess because I've seen all kinds of responses to this question on the board. I had a problem with my battery not holding a charge as well. Thought it was just an old battery because I had bought the car used. Replaced that battery and still had the problem. Came here and found a couple of threads that seemed to say it is a common problem and recommending a deep cycle battery. So I replaced the battery again with a deep cycle battery which has helped a lot. i also put my car in "sleep" mode when I know I won't be driving it for a while. But even with all this I still can't let it set for a week without a dead battery as the result.

 

[JonB]

The Year Matters..... the worst EATERS are 1996-1997 Gen 2

ANY VIPER THAT DRAINS A BATTERY in 3-4 DAYS has a problem-fault at play. And the fault may be the battery iteself. The Design spec is 28 days on a GOOD battery if the alarm is armed. Longer if NOT.

I have found a lot of owners, esp RT10s, who simply have the Rear View Mirror Map Light ON ALL THE TIME and never KNEW IT !!! RT10 guys, check that tiny button switch under your mirror. Look at the map light. if its ON a good battery dies in 4-5 days. If its marginal, it will die in 1 day or less...

There are simple diagnoses for which circuit is draining your battery..... and Gen 2 doorlocks can tell you visually!

BATTERY TENDER PLUS is a 100% Solution, if the battery is good, (and even if its bad, unfortunately...it will postpone the agony of a new battery) $54 at PartsRack, Thanks

 

[triblk6spd]

The old battery tender has never let me down. One for the car and one for the bike.

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[GT40DOC]

I guess that I have been lucky, as I just 1 month ago replaced the original battery with a Sears Platinum. Anytime my car is in the garage, it is on a Battery Tender without the alarm set. A couple of weeks ago I didn't get the passenger door completely shut and it kept the Battery Tender busy till I figured out why it wouldn't kick off(Battery Tender).

 

[snakebitdave]

I have all the original batteries except the '93 which was replaced once. I use tenders most of five months.

 

[Neil - UK]

Im still running the original battery which is quite amazing, of course it will fail now i posted this... I've plugged in a battery tender from day one and its always plugged in when the car is in the garage, sometimes left for months alarm is always on, no problems here

nearly all our UK members use this tender
OptiMate IIIsp 12V Battery Optimiser

 

[Cobraken]

What Jon B. said with an emphasis on a battery tender.

 

[Jack B]

If the regulator is not over charging, there are only two elements that can shorten battery life. Battery life goes down from a high ambient and any discharge lower than 85% of nominal voltage. Lesser discharge levels affect them, but, below that 85% level is the killer.

 

[RTTTTed]

I have a 440 Duster that I only drive once a year at the local Rodeo Parade (a Tradition thing) and I got to replace two batteries in it until I started to disconnect them from the car. Once a battery goes completely dead (especially a GEL battery) it's damaged. After a couple of 'free' replacements I figured it out. Now I use the battery charger every month or so while the Viper sits in the garage and put a charge on the Duster battery every 6 months.

I did have a different problem with my Stealth R/T TT battery. After dying a few times I was told that if I drove violently (cornering, rough roads, etc.) newer designed batteries have smaller plates and less clearance between them. This can cause the battery to 'short out' while bouncing around and it was recommended that I buy an Optima, so I did. It's now 5 years old and (my fault) it's only died twice on me, but stillworking great. So, if you drive too fast, drive rough roads or race your Viper - it handles well enough to cause battery problems.

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I love Battery warranties!

Ted

 

[PhoenixGTS]

After replacing the batter this morning, I think that rear exhaust cars are cooking the battery with nearby exhaust heat. Knowing that we go through batteries here in the heat of the desert way faster than cooler places (thus it is know that batteries do not like heat) I think this might contribute to over all life even if it has nothing to do with charging. When my battery is in good shape my car can sit with the alarm on for a month easy. My solution was a Duralast from Autozone with no prorate, no questions asked replacement policy in first three years.

 

[RTTTTed]

Ummm, forgot to mention that if a battery freezes it also gets damaged.

Ted

 

[slaughterj]

While some of you haven't had problems, that doesn't change the fact that many have had problems, indicating there is a problem - and it isn't necessarily a matter of aftermarket parts, sitting without a tender for a long period of time, etc., though those might result in a minor statistical increase (and I doubt many who just leave the car sitting for months expect the battery to be fine or to be the ones who are claiming problems).

On my 98, the previous owner didn't drive it much, and had a battery changed soon before I had it. I got it in 01 (i.e., ~3 years old at the time, with a fairly new battery), and had it for 5 years almost exactly. During that time, I drove it as a daily driver (80k miles in that time), and had no aftermarket electrical parts. Yet, even with a nearly new battery at the start, it required a new one midway through my ownership, and then the day after I sold it, the new owner had to get a new battery for it. That's a lot of batteries!

 

[GTS Bruce]

What Jon B said.Put an Optima in my 01 in 01.Wouldn't hold a charge.Noticed the door lock led's never went off.Dealer tracked down a pinched wire.No problem since then and still the same battery.I throw a charger on it after driving to bring it up to full.Then its start at the first key twitch even after 4 weeks.I don't let it sit longer than 4 weeks without running it and moving it around. GTS Bruce

 

[2001 GTS]

Actually my car wouldn't start last night after driving to a friends house. Took the battery out this morning and it checked out fine at Autozone. The problem was the positive hookup was arcing at the connection. Cleaned off the connection and got it as tight as possible and the car started right up!

 

[Kevin D]

i have a 97 and only replaced it 1 time. my car sits weeks at a time and starts with no problem..

I agree completely. My 97 sits over a month at a time with NO issues whatsoever. Vipers are not ******* batteries at all IMO. I've never had to replace my OEM battery yet! (I do leave the car unlocked/security off while it sits in the garage thou, don't want to leave the security on for 4 weeks! ;-) )


***If you're losin' the charge after only a few days of sitting (even a week or two) you've got electrical problems with your Viper bro...

 

[RoadiJeff]

I've never had any battery problems on my '99. It still had the original battery in '06 when I replaced it with a Diehard. I only bought a new one because of all the horror stories I read around here.

I just took it for a drive the other day after it sat in my garage for nearly two months - no trickle charger or anything. I do not leave the security system on when it's parked in the locked garage. I figure if someone can get that far, a security system isn't going to keep them from taking it.

 

[past ohio]

Some one above made a comment that batteries will freeze, and I agree with that statement IF they are not fully charged...they can freeze, this is another reason to put a trickle charger on them....my $.02

 

[pocketAA]

I bought my car used, so I am not sure how old the battery was. Over last winter my car sat for 4 or 5 months on a battery tender. I had the car alarmed the entire winter. When I pulled the car out of storage, it started right up. I went for a drive and parked it for a day, came back and the battery was completely dead. I think alarming the car drains the battery much faster than not alarming it at all. My car is a 99 RT/10, so during the winter the car is not alarmed anymore.