Maverick not starting, even when jumped

[shaneiwey]

Hey guys. I've been living out of the country for 3 months. While I was gone my old man said he was going to take my patrol for a spin every now and then and make sure the batteries (dual bat) are charged. Well I'm not sure how often he did go for a drive in it as the batteries were pretty flat when I came back last week.

Anyway I charged them over half a day and got it going with a jumper battery pack then drove it around for about 30 mins just to charge the batteries a bit more. Then a few days later I tried to start it again and I only got the starter solenoid clicking. Tried the jumper battery pack again and that didn't work so I left them on charge again for a few days. When they were charging they were at 14.4V (have 2 volt metres inside) then they drop to about 12.4v after not being on charge for a bit. Tried again and just got the starter solenoid clicking. Then tried jump starting with my dad patrol and same thing, just the solenoid clicking.

Both of my batteries don't seem to hold charge all that well. So do you guys think they are the problem or am I looking at a dead starter relay or motor?

Cheers

[PeeBee]

I would say the batteries have started to head south as 12.4V is at 80% capacity. If they were not kept on a maintenance charger for the period you were away, then even if your dada gave it a short burst here and there the batteries will have started to self discharge and possibly are sulphated up to some degree. i would try charging them on a good multi stage charger with a reconditioning profile - there are plenty around Ctek, is the one i use plus you could add a Megapulse unit to the terminals as this gives a 35V mill-amp charge to dissolve sulphates but they are around the $100 from memory. I would try the battery charge first, then take the car out for a decent run as the alternator is a good charger as you know.

[mudnut]

X2 for the batteries being cactus, but it could be a couple of problems. Check all of the connections at the batteries, and solenoid. Watch the battery voltages when you try and start it as you might have a dud cell.

[PeeBee]

Have you been paddling around in mud and water? The patrol starter motors fill up easily and re-reading your initial post I am wondering if its a combination of issues. I see you are located up in the dandenong ranges and it can be pretty cold and wet up there, so ingress of moisture may be on the cards also after its been sitting for so long. As Mudnut stated, check the obvious first.

[the evil twin]

IMHO the Cranker battery is screwed, possibly both depending on what dual battery management you have.
Driving around for a 1/2 hour or so will do squat as well even if the batteries are OK.

If the batteries have been on charge at 14.4 and drop to 12.4 'after a bit' that is a classic sign of collapsing cells (or a high parasitic load).
When that happens you often can't even get enough juice thru the jumper cables to supply the faulty battery load and also crank the engine

Do the easy bit first and get the batteries tested or disconnect the house battery and try a fully charged cranker.

[shaneiwey]

Thanks for all the input guys. I tried swapping the known good battery out of my dads ute and she fired up a treat.