When do you replace a battery?

[aczlan]

1. Replaced the OEM battery in my wife's '01 Caravan last year.

2. Replaced the 2 year old Napa battery in my Volvo last year as well (had a bad cell). For the difference in price ($30?), I upgraded to a slightly taller battery with 1.5 times the CCA rating and twice the warranty (the 2yo battery came with the car).

3. The '97 Dodge 1500 I am driving right now has a battery that has been there since at least 2007... Not sure exactly how old it is, but it was in the truck when my inlaws got it late 2006 or early 2007.

Aaron Z

 

[JDgreen227]

When low voltage from a weak battery is sent to the starter, it pulls more current, spins slower, and take longer to start the vehicle. I do not see how this could extend the life of the starter. So you may have something there. I have had a few starter failures, but not recently. A battery is much easier and cheaper to replace than a starter.

No doubt with todays electronic emission controls and fuel injection, the starters have to work much less than the older models did which contributes to the longer life. The sole starter failure I have had that was on my '73 Nova, the starter drive failed and would not release properly, which ruined the flywheel. The dealership claimed I repeatedly engaged the starter with the engine running and caused the drive to fail, just so they could avoid a warranty claim. That soured me on GM cars for the next twenty years.

 

[Jay4200]

Do you wait until the vehicle will not start, or do you use other criteria?

I keep float chargers on all of my batteries, so I don't ever replace them.

That's not exactly true - I did recently change the OEM battery in my '01 Tundra, but that was because the mount rotted off, the battery started bouncing around, the battery caps popped off, then all of the electrolyte splashed out (it was almost 10 y/o at the time). I tried filling it with beer, but it didn't work, so I had to get a new battery. In that case, to answer your question, I waited until the vehicle wouldn't start. Oh well, good 'till 2020 or so.

Extended battery life is just one more terrific perk that comes with living in a cold climate...

JayC

 

[JDgreen227]

I keep float chargers on all of my batteries, so I don't ever replace them.

That's not exactly true - I did recently change the OEM battery in my '01 Tundra, but that was because the mount rotted off, the battery started bouncing around, the battery caps popped off, then all of the electrolyte splashed out (it was almost 10 y/o at the time). I tried filling it with beer, but it didn't work, so I had to get a new battery. In that case, to answer your question, I waited until the vehicle wouldn't start. Oh well, good 'till 2020 or so.

Extended battery life is just one more terrific perk that comes with living in a cold climate...

JayC

Please refer to posts #34 and 35 here...I think cold weather is harder on batteries, myself.

 

[Jay4200]

Please refer to posts #34 and 35 here...I think cold weather is harder on batteries, myself.

Nope. Damage due to over-discharge aside, the lifetime of a battery is number of charge/discharge cycles. Battery capacity is reduced at low temps, but there is an inverse relationship between this number of lifetime cycles and temperature.

You'll note that all of us that claim 10+ year battery life live in a cold climate such as New England, Upstate NY, Canada, etc. All them Florida guys only get 3-4 years out of one .

JayC

 

[ultrarunner]

I load test when I suspect a battery is near the end of life...

It provides independent proof of battery condition.

So far, the OEM battery in Mom's 2001 Corrolla is the longest lasting I have come across in thousands of vehicles going back to when I worked at a Dealership.

The vehicle charging system plays in integral part... too much and the electrolyte boils out and not enough and sulfation increases.

I missed having a load tester after leaving the Dealership so I bought my own... it was about $100 back in 1980.

One more thing... a weak battery or one that no longer can spin the starter at speed is hard on the entire electrical system...

 

[JDgreen227]

I load test when I suspect a battery is near the end of life...

It provides independent proof of battery condition.

So far, the OEM battery in Mom's 2001 Corrolla is the longest lasting I have come across in thousands of vehicles going back to when I worked at a Dealership.

The vehicle charging system plays in integral part... too much and the electrolyte boils out and not enough and sulfation increases.

I missed having a load tester after leaving the Dealership so I bought my own... it was about $100 back in 1980.

One more thing... a weak battery or one that no longer can spin the starter at speed is hard on the entire electrical system...

Used to be you were supposed to have one CCA per cubic inch of engine displacement, minimum. And yet today...my 364 cubic inch GMC has a battery with 770 CCA, and the wife's Saturn has 182 cubic inches and a battery with 650 CCA. Makes me wonder why they put such a huge battery in the Saturn when it doesn't require all that CCA.

 

[fbiwrench]

CCA of most vehicles now is higher because starter designs are different than say 20 years ago, requiring a short burst of power than a long current draw of power. Here in Texas we always have shop replacing a bunch of batteries whenever the temps crack over a 100 degrees.
As far as jumper cables go that is great but don't put them in the trunk of many newer cars!!.....can't get to them when battery is dead, can't open trunk with a key any more!!
What is with that Detroit???

 

[RoyJackson]

As far as jumper cables go that is great but don't put them in the trunk of many newer cars!!.....can't get to them when battery is dead, can't open trunk with a key any more!!
What is with that Detroit???

There's normally a workaround for that dead battery-trunk locked problem. It's buried (and I mean buried) in the owner's manuals.
An easier way to go is to do a web search for something like "Opening trunk on {insert year and model of car} with dead battery". Odds are, other folks have already had the same problem.

 

[JDgreen227]

CCA of most vehicles now is higher because starter designs are different than say 20 years ago, requiring a short burst of power than a long current draw of power. Here in Texas we always have shop replacing a bunch of batteries whenever the temps crack over a 100 degrees.
As far as jumper cables go that is great but don't put them in the trunk of many newer cars!!.....can't get to them when battery is dead, can't open trunk with a key any more!!
What is with that Detroit???

Can't open trunk with the key??? That is news to me. Thanks for the tip about the higher CCA...hmm, I gotta do some research about the trunk issue. And you know, it irks me no end that so many cars today only have a door lock cylinder on the drivers side door, we have three cars and I hate to carry all the flippin' remotes around and would LOVE to be able to unlock the front passenger side doors with a key sometimes.