Battery Recharge Question

My car battery dies and can't even start if left for more then a week or two. However, once I boost it it runs fine (voltage is high).

I left it for a month recently, and after boosting and driving it for 20 mins, I went to get gas. After being shut down for 2 mins, the car wouldn't start even after just a short duration of it being off. Got it boosted it again and home.

Once at home, I used a charger to charge it and now she starts like a champ (battery seems to be at full power). Therefore I think overall the battery is still good but has trouble starting if left for a while (its a 2nd car). This is twice now that I've gone through this.

Question: Is there anyway to make the battery hold the charge longer? I think I remember seeing some kind of maintenance book before where they were adding some sort of liquid to it so I'm wondering if that's something the batter might need.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Pull the negative cable off the battery. Use a test light or ammeter between them. If the light glows dimly or not at all, you're OK. If it lights up fully, you have a drain. If you're using an ammeter, I like to see no more than .25A draw.

Pull the negative cable off the battery. Use a test light or ammeter between them. If the light glows dimly or not at all, you're OK. If it lights up fully, you have a drain. If you're using an ammeter, I like to see no more than .25A draw.

If you're getting too much draw then I would suggest pulling fuses until you find the offending system.

It sounds like you may have a "Chargeing" problem instead.

(going by the 2 minute comment)

You have 3 possibilities. Either the battery is marginal (get it load tested), you are under charging the battery or have a drain somewhere. Try Curtis' advice first, then get a charging system/battery check done.

How old is the battery? I generally toss them after 4 years or at the first sign of trouble. I always buy a premium 60 month battery.

Bob

Cool, I will try the provided advice. I definitely could see needing to just replace it since it is a older battery. Thanks alot for the advice guys!