06-24-2019, 05:10 AM
Last year, the battery on my 2013 failed 100 miles from home with no prior warning. Starter relay would only chatter when trying to start, but it bump started and got me home without incident. Battery is always on a maintenance charger, and when I got home, voltage was 13.1, but dropped to 12.7 after an hour, so it got replaced.
In your case, you had problems taking off from a stop, where battery voltage may be lowest as it had been idling and the brake light was drawing power.
Battery Tender makes a nice digital voltmeter for about $15. It plugs into the charger cord for a really quick check, but it won't indicate with the engine revving. I now carry it in my Darien jacket (along with a pocket Li-ion jumper battery and cables).
.
In your case, you had problems taking off from a stop, where battery voltage may be lowest as it had been idling and the brake light was drawing power.
Battery Tender makes a nice digital voltmeter for about $15. It plugs into the charger cord for a really quick check, but it won't indicate with the engine revving. I now carry it in my Darien jacket (along with a pocket Li-ion jumper battery and cables).
.