Battery Keeps Dying

Who makes Interstate batteries? I believe I read some time ago that Interstate is now just a branded vendor (not a manufacturer) for quite a few years now.

Edit: found my answer:
Interstate Battery System of America, Inc., a.k.a. Interstate Batteries, is a US privately owned battery marketing and distribution company. It markets automotive batteries manufactured by Brookfield Business Partners, Exide Technologies, and others through independent distributors.

 

Well I just replaced the alternator, so hopefully this is the last one it eats. I assume that the battery was damaged from the bad alternator, as well as it being jumped several times.

 

They swapped it for free no questions asked

 

Honestly I don’t remember, somewhere between $80-$100 I believe

 

Clean battery terminals use nolox...dielectric grease ....batteries can work lights but not have enough cold cranking amps to turn over engine

 

That's not enough to get into a battery that's worth a shit. Gotta spend at least 150-160 in my opinion

 

It was actually really strange today because it wouldn’t even open the locks. Like it was dead dead.

 

Have you checked for parasitic drain (just wondering)?

 

I have not, how would I go about doing that?

 

Well, if you disconnect the battery overnight, reconnect in the morning, and the truck starts, you may have a parasitic drain. If the truck doesn't start, then the battery isn't holding a charge overnight.

If the truck does start after reconnecting, then you have a parasitic drain on the battery, and can begin the fun part by trying to find it. (Pulling fuses?) Do you have any mods / add-ons to the electrical system?

 

It's pretty easy - though tracking down what's causing that can be a PIA and lengthy process. There's basically three methods depending on what tools you have (or are willing to buy).

Connecting a meter in series with the battery cable - carefully after the ECU has gone to 'sleep,' as it may draw enough current to blow your meter otherwise.
The measure milliamp voltage across the fuses method. There is some debate/controversy about its effectiveness as the true current across the fuse can vary quite a bit based on the construction of the fuse.
Clamp meter over the battery cable. This requires a clamp meter than can read VERY low amps/milliamps. They can be a little pricey, but I have read that people have used the Uni-T UT210E Pro successfully (around $50)

If you search YouTube with "parasitic draw (or drain)" there's a lot of good vids.

If all you have, for now, is a simple meter that can do current, without going too far, the first one will if nothing else tell you if there's a large draw when there shouldn't be (and figure out why later).

@ULURU's method is a good quick test as well, though since it's a new battery, you would have to see if it dies again first, then use that method because if you just disconnect the battery for a time, reconnect it, and it starts, you still don't know if there's a parasitic draw OR your previous batteries were ACTUALLY bad.

Method 1 above will tell you right away (after the truck is supposed to be sleeping) if it's drawing too much current. You shouldn't see more than 50 to 85 milliamps being drawn when sleeping. Most feel the limit is 50 milliamps (.050 amps).

 

I had a Diode Dynamics light pod wiring harness and an aftermarket speaker/horn, both of which I took off after the first time my truck almost died after sitting in the parking lot. Let's see how it performs with this new battery and ill look into the drain theory.

 

or get

Battery Switch, Briidea 12V-48V Battery Disconnect Master Power Cut-Off Switch for RV, ATV, Car, Marine Boat, UTV, Vehicles and Camper (ON/Off)

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Brii...s=marine+battery+switch&qid=1648653986&sr=8-8

 

What was the problem?