Having dealt with a 'fleet' of vehicles over the years, I have a pretty
good handle on how long batteries should last, both in overall life and
when on trickle loads. I would say (with no real science involved) that a
2 year old vehicle should NOT have any issues with a overnight dome light.
Of course, OEM automobile batteries are a commodity now and are likely no
way as good as they were 10 years ago.
Starting batteries are usually not rated for continuous load (Ah -
Amp/hour) but are rated in CCA - cold cranking amps. I don't think there
is any real way to convert between the two - it's a apple/orange
situation. But, 600 mA draw for the dome light, for 12 hours is only 7.2
Ah. I think a typical 12V lead-acid (flooded or AGM) passenger vehicle is
capable of 30-45 A/h, which means the battery, in good condition, should be
able to handle the dome light for several days. I have one vehicle with a
high quality aftermarket battery that is 9 years old which hits the 'won't
start' wall after about 2 weeks of no running. Measured continuous drain
when sitting is approximately 100 mA or 2.4Ah/day, which is close to 34 A/h
- this with a 9 year old battery.
I would check the battery with a load tester or, at minimum, charge it all
the way and then measure the float voltage. If you see any issue, I'd hit
the dealer up for a warranty replacement. Any quality aftermarket battery
will have a full replacement warranty of at least 2-3-4 years and a
prorated value after that. If your battery has not been abused, I think a
free or low cost replacement would be in order.
-W9RM
Keith J Morehouse
Managing Partner
Calmesa Partners G.P.
Olathe, CO
On Thu, Dec 20, 2018 at 8:47 AM Steve(K1IIG) <stephen.tripp@snet.net> wrote:
> I know a lot of Rovers use Subarus and wonder if there are any battery
> problems with them.
> I have a 2017 Outback and have had the battery die over night twice after
> leaving a dome light on. I measured it at 600ma and when out the drain is
> only 40-50ma which is normal. It charges
> at 14.2v which also is normal. There are pages of complaints on the
> internet
> about batteries dying for no explainable reason.
> Anyone know of a fix for this? I figure if anyone knows about battery
> issues
> it would be the Rovers.
>
> 73'
> Steve
> K1IIG
>
>
> ---
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