So I was checking out the battery and was wondering where would one be able to add water? There is an indicator on top that indicates when its white to add water, so there has got to be a way.


I am use to seeing 2 caps on top and just pry them off and add water.

I do not see 2 caps. Browsed through the Helms did not see anything.

 

I just had my first battery replaced under warranty and they did not mention a thing to me about needing to do any maintanence. I think the days of having to do anything for batteries has long since passed. I could be wrong though....

I think that my battery likely crapped out early b/c I always keep my keys in my ignition when it sits in my garage. I know, I know...bad..bad..bad. It is just a force of habit now and it is so covienant to boot! It is so nice to just hop into your car and turn the key and roll away.

 

Replaced under warranty, thats good to know. On top of the battery it does say Maintenance Free, however it also has an indicator for distilled water. go figure

 

I know you already know its bad, but there's 2 other things to consider here, aside from the potential to kill a battery:

1. Theft. You're just BEGGING for it. And insurance would laugh at you if they foudn out the keys were in the ignition.

2. Eventually the weight of the keys/keyfob will take its toll and ruin the ignition cylinder, requiring complete replacement. Even normal driving time (nevermind 24/7) can cause this in some vehicles, namely Honda's (from experience, mine and others I know).

Just a heads up man.

 

hmm didn't know leaving key in cylinder puts a toll on battery.
How thou ? How is it bad for the battery ?

 

Not bad on the battery, its BAD on the ignition

 

yea, bad for the ignition.
But i think ours is a maintenance free battery. So it's not possible to top off. Just get an optima battery that'll last you longer than you keep your car probably, and no vibration killing the battery to worry about, no water to add, no water to evaporate, no acid to leak out, + 2x the CCA. hehe

I've got a writeup about the optima redtop here somewhere.

 

Alright...I'm coming over to the "other side". It's just so damned nice to just roll into you car and turn the ignition

One thing on theft- both our vehicles sit in the garage and in my mind- if a thief is in my garage, I just assume make their job easier so they'll get outta there sooner and leave my family alone.

 

My assumption is that the key in the ignition drains the battery just b/c the key alerts the car that "we're almost ready to turn on". I did not mention this to my dealer b/c I was not looking to give them a reason to make me pay for a new battery. Besides, I've been doing this on our truck since we got it in 2001 with no issues. We replaced that battery just this past winter so we got over 4 years on that OEM battery. Perhaps we would have gotten more from it if we did not leave the keys in it, but I have no issues with replacing a SUV OEM battery after 4 years....

 

Doesn't the keyhole ring-light stay lit when the keys are in the ignition? If so, that's what is draining your battery, most likely.

And yeah, the ECU might be on, slightly, when the key is in the ignition as well... further creating a drain on the battery.

Maybe your truck didn't have a keyhole ring-light jobbie... or maybe it was on a timer to turn off after a set number of seconds... ???

 

^^^ Very possible on the Pathfinder...I'll have to look- and try to break my wife of the habit of leaving the keys in it! Although we'll be replacing that within the next year anyways.

 

I still have the OEM original battery at 30 months. It is still starting the car just fine. However, DFW gets little cold weather, but it does get hot, hot, hot, hotter than hell, she'll burn you like the midday sun. I also park in a garage at home and at work. I am still planning on replacing with an Optima this summer.

As far as the key issue, I had an old Thunderchicken you could start by just turning the ignition, no key required. Evidently my mass of keys at the time detoriated the cyclinder down. Meh ... after Moda key mod, I just have the key and my house key.

 

FYI to all - Went to the dealer today and the battery is a sealed unit. So no adding water. The battery will either be good or dead.

 

ghaha, didn't i say that in my post?

 

High Five to you

Feel better now?