2013 LR4 - Battery dead - Weird things - 3 options?

[Justin Allen]

Hey guys. So basically, like an in idiot I left a door open in the garage on the LR the entire week we were away for Christmas. I first noticed something weird when I went to open the rear hatch and it wouldn't. Then I opened one of the doors and nothing. No interior lights, not even a flicker of power anywhere. I hooked up a trickle charger to it and later that evening I had some interior light and the rear would open so I left it overnight. When I woke up this morning and went into the garage I heard a clicking sound. Noticed the interior mood lighting and the little small outline bulbs in the headlights clicking. Had to disconnect the battery completely to get it to stop. Once again, truck is dead as a door nail. Thought this was weird. Why would it do this after sitting all night but not for the first 6 hours on the charger. The way I see it, I've got three options.

1. Battery is still under warranty because its only 1.5 years old so dealer will replace it free, but I've got to get the truck started to get it there. Will I damage anything trying to jump it when its this dead? I also feel bad about this option because I'm technically the reason the battery failed.

2. Just put a brand new battery in it for $180, which is actually better than the OEM anyway. Problem here is I don't have an IID Tool to program the battery to the car so I'd have to pay my local shop $50 to do it.

3. Try to get this battery charged and back running. Maybe its revivable for the long term since its only 1.5 years old? Only problem is I don't have a battery charger other than a trickle charger so by the time I buy a charger for $100, I may as well spend another $80 a put a brand new battery in.

Thoughts or recommendations? Will I harm anything trying to jump it either with another vehicle or jump box?

 

[ryanjl]

You shouldn't harm it jumping it.

The batteries in LR4s are known to go after about 3 years. They often go without warning. I carry one of these with me all the time:

https://antigravitybatteries.com/products/micro-starts/xp-10/

Not sure if you'll be able to save your existing battery. Best recommendation is to replace the H7 battery with an H8. $180 is pretty cheap for a battery.

 

[cperez]

2. Just put a brand new battery in it for $180, which is actually better than the OEM anyway. Problem here is I don't have an IID Tool to program the battery to the car so I'd have to pay my local shop $50 to do it.

I admire your integrity and would go this route for that reason and because it never hurts to upgrade an LR4 battery.

Also I have replaced batteries prior to getting the IIDTool and did not recalibrate the ECU. Never detected any type of negative fallout because of that.

 

[ktm525]

Strange, if I leave a door open the courtesy lights remain on for a set amount of time and then turn off. I wonder if this is a setting buried deep somewhere.

 

[Justin Allen]

Strange, if I leave a door open the courtesy lights remain on for a set amount of time and then turn off. I wonder if this is a setting buried deep somewhere.

That's what I presumed would happen, but I don't have any other explanation. I literally did nothing else. Truck was running, I pulled it into garage a few days before Christmas to give it a good detail. So it sat off with me opening and closing doors regularly. Then I left the door open. Now here we are. I literally did nothing else. Dead as a door nail. Its weird to me too. Only other thing was I sprayed a little degreaser in the engine bay and gave it a wipe down. No water though. And the battery cover was on the whole time. So if a light spray of degreaser shorted something out then this truck is fragile beyond belief.

I've confused myself beyond belief trying to understand the logic around reviving a dead battery. Desulfation, recovery modes, this amperage that amperage etc. A local shop seems to believe the battery is too dead for my small battery tender to bring it back, so my plan is to jump it, let it run for a little while, then hook the battery charger back up to it and see what happens. Had to order a jumpbox though which will be arriving today.

 

[f1racer328]

That's what I presumed would happen, but I don't have any other explanation. I literally did nothing else. Truck was running, I pulled it into garage a few days before Christmas to give it a good detail. So it sat off with me opening and closing doors regularly. Then I left the door open. Now here we are. I literally did nothing else. Dead as a door nail. Its weird to me too. Only other thing was I sprayed a little degreaser in the engine bay and gave it a wipe down. No water though. And the battery cover was on the whole time. So if a light spray of degreaser shorted something out then this truck is fragile beyond belief.

I've confused myself beyond belief trying to understand the logic around reviving a dead battery. Desulfation, recovery modes, this amperage that amperage etc. A local shop seems to believe the battery is too dead for my small battery tender to bring it back, so my plan is to jump it, let it run for a little while, then hook the battery charger back up to it and see what happens. Had to order a jumpbox though which will be arriving today.

On the note of engine bay cleaning, I power wash mine all the time and haven’t had any issues. Obviously don’t spray sensitive areas with high pressure water.

 

[Justin Allen]

On the note of engine bay cleaning, I power wash mine all the time and haven’t had any issues. Obviously don’t spray sensitive areas with high pressure water.

Yeah definitely didn't do that.

I was actually able to test the battery voltage last night. 11.5 cold so definitely bad. Charged it fully last night so we'll see how it reads when I get home today.

 

[Michael Gain]

Leaving the door open wouldn't do it. However, where was the key?

I've seen a few posts on here and other forums (and some notes on topix) that suggest that the gateway module remains awake and allows some parasitic drain at the QCM (upper storage box fuse box and control module) if the smart key is too close to the vehicle.

That's what I presumed would happen, but I don't have any other explanation. I literally did nothing else. Truck was running, I pulled it into garage a few days before Christmas to give it a good detail. So it sat off with me opening and closing doors regularly. Then I left the door open. Now here we are. I literally did nothing else. Dead as a door nail. Its weird to me too. Only other thing was I sprayed a little degreaser in the engine bay and gave it a wipe down. No water though. And the battery cover was on the whole time. So if a light spray of degreaser shorted something out then this truck is fragile beyond belief.

I've confused myself beyond belief trying to understand the logic around reviving a dead battery. Desulfation, recovery modes, this amperage that amperage etc. A local shop seems to believe the battery is too dead for my small battery tender to bring it back, so my plan is to jump it, let it run for a little while, then hook the battery charger back up to it and see what happens. Had to order a jumpbox though which will be arriving today.

 

[Justin Allen]

Key was inside a drawer in the kitchen about 20ft away. Honestly, I'm thinking the constant opening and shutting of doors over the course of a few days may have done it. Either that or the key as you're referring to.

 

[avslash]

I have revived multiple "dead" batteries with my Noco Genius charger. I absolutely love the thing. Enough so that I bought 3 to sprinkle between the farm and home.

I doubt that little 1 or 2 amp maintainer would do much though.