There's also a time factor to consider: if your battery is six years or older, it's likely ready for replacement. After a long winter, I look at that before deciding whether to just recharge the battery. It's no fun having electrical problems caused by a weak battery in the summertime.

Good choice not getting the cheaper JR version, as the plus is the one to get , but if it went completely flat, It probably won't bring it back. If it does great, if it doesn't, at lest your ready for next time ;)

Best of luck to you.

good choice. when it's fully charged (if it charges), check the water level while you're at it.

11yr old factory battery in my G. only maintenance i do is battery tender while not in use, and add water every other yr.

This battery has less than 3k miles on it and my car is 2012, I just neglected to start it all winter. Hoping it has a lot of life left!

I have never even given a second thought to my battery...I just usually swap it out if it has a problem, but whats this water level shenanigans you speak of.

What he said.

there are 6 caps (knobs) at the top of the battery. wear safety goggles and disposable gloves btw.. clean the top of the battery and turn the knobs to uncap one of the 6, make sure not to drip the fluid on the tip of the cap because it is extremely acidic. place cap on a clean paper towel away from the car.

flashlight down the hole to check your water level. if the reflection of the surface of the water looks like ( ) then you're fine. if there is no such reflection, add distill water using a tatoo bottle until it does. dont over fill though..

then cap it back, and repeat for the other 5.

if you're in a hot climate do this every year after your battery floats on the battery tender. :D

i dont remember the last time i bought a battery to replace the factory one...

awesome thanks Ken, I checked and it looks good, its a garage queen and hardly used to the top of the battery is spotless. What is with this large red cap over the positive post. Is it fuses? or just some over engineered design thing. I removed it and the negative hookup to expose the bare posts to hook up the clamps. The charging light is on, and it looks like it is charging. How long until I should try and turn the car over?

Wait until it gets a full charge, if it will. If it does not fully charge to green light (can be up to 2 days), your battery is toast.

Best of luck

Reconnected, and tried to start it after charging about 15 hours. The light did not say it was complete, but it started right up. I let it run about a half hour. Thanks for all the help guys.

sounds good. keep it plugged in again over night until it floats. 15hrs and 1/2hr drive is not enough.

ah, ok, I will reconnect the tender for a little. Thanks Ken

:tup:

Boy, you guys overspend on the float chargers.......... they can be had for alot less than that.
I have several that I got at harbor freight for $6...Use them on my Lawn tractor, and both atv's had one for over 10 years, no issues. Used a battery tender plus on my marine battery for the boat, lasted 4 years, then tender went kaput. Now it gets the $6 unit as well.
Good advise on the water level check, though ken.... Many don't even realize the factory battery is not maintenance-free.