Date:         Fri, 9 Apr 1999 12:05:47 -0300
Reply-To:     George Nahrebecky <George.Nahrebecky@STMARYS.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         George Nahrebecky <George.Nahrebecky@STMARYS.CA>
Subject:      Batteries & MXT's
Content-type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Hi folks,

        I put my camper in heated storage last fall with an almost-new Sears
battery that seems to lose most of its charge within  six weeks (red
LED).The alarm system is off, and the radio detached. I used a 2 amp charger
to get it back up to snuff (green LED)a couple of times, but the last time I
tried, I couldn't get it back up to full (green) charge, even after more
than 24 hours. The guy at Sears said that low amp chargers sometimes won't
bring batteries back up, and that I should drive the van on the highway to
see if that does the trick. I won't be ready to do that for another month or
so.

I have two questions: Are Westfalias prone to parasitic current losses
because of all the stuff on board? I know the battery should be disconnected
if the van is to be stored for an extensive period, but even so, six weeks
seems like a short time for it to go flat in.

Is the Sears guy right? Does it need a blast on the road? I have doubts
about this, because my little charger never failed to bring even the old
dying battery up to green before.

Finally, for Canadian vanagoneers looking for the MXT 205/70 14's, the best
I have been able to do so far in Halifax is about $135.00 per tire
(including installation and balancing) from a Michelin dealer. The guy that
orders for Costco says that Michelin won't sell them individual special
orders.

Thanks for your help.....

George
'89 Westfailia