Good afternoon. Currently 37 degrees, blustery and partly sunny.

I might go for a hike later today. Thinking about going to Schodack Island but I don’t want to get stranded. I guess approach with caution.

Big Red continues to start fine today. While the accessory battery is disconnected, the starting battery is doing fine. The truck starts and after a minute or two the alternator floats the battery and it seems fine. This morning the battery read low – 12.45 volts but I think the computer booted up when I opened the door, causing the 2/10th of a volt drop in the cold.

I’ve started the truck four times today and it’s started with ease every time. Seems like when shutdown the battery voltage sits around 12.9 to 12.7, dropping to a normal 12.65 in the cold. Which is normal. I think this is a good sign. But I’m still cautious with the earlier reading and one showing the battery at 12.56.

I’m going to leave the accessory battery disconnected for now. I plan to add a switch on the battery isolator relay, so in winter months when I’m making short trips I can easily disconnect the accessory battery from the alternator. This will avoid a low accessory battery from overtaxing the alternator and the battery wiring. I believe but haven’t tried it yet to prove this is causing a voltage drop on the batteries, preventing quick recharge on the starting battery. I have the lighted switch and wire to do it. I just need to get more crimp connectors.

I will talk to AutoZone about getting the battery charger I bought tested and exchanged if defective. I suspect it is because neither battery charged particularly well on the charger I bought. I went for the higher amperage charger, so it wasn’t really cheap either but it’s handy to have as a tool going forward.