When do you replace a battery?

   / When do you replace a battery? #62  
When I try it outdoors I will use a shield over the battery...!!!

The battery may reject the shield utterly. Perhaps reserve the shield for yourself, unless you have a similar tendency. :D
 
   / When do you replace a battery? #64  
Like most of you, I'm old school. Always have a set a jumper cables packed under the rear back in my wife's SUV. She knows they are there.

Sometimes, a battery will begin to moan or slow start around 4 years of age or so. Normally, I just get going and change it out as it isn't going to get any younger. I don't want my wife stranded.
 
   / When do you replace a battery? #65  
Like most of you, I'm old school. Always have a set a jumper cables packed under the rear back in my wife's SUV. She knows they are there.

Sometimes, a battery will begin to moan or slow start around 4 years of age or so. Normally, I just get going and change it out as it isn't going to get any younger. I don't want my wife stranded.

Wife is currently (pun intended) commuting with a Saturn L-300 made in June of 2003 and it still starts well in Michigan winters with the OEM Delco battery, it will be nine years old soon and I think I will replace it then. Amazes me how long today's OEM batteries last.
 
   / When do you replace a battery? #66  
Like most of you, I'm old school. Always have a set a jumper cables packed under the rear back in my wife's SUV. She knows they are there.

Sometimes, a battery will begin to moan or slow start around 4 years of age or so. Normally, I just get going and change it out as it isn't going to get any younger. I don't want my wife stranded.

Every car in the family has a little duffel in the back with jumper cables... better have and not need...
 
   / When do you replace a battery? #67  
I have a charger with the 50 amp engine start feature...wonder of I could desulphate an older 12 volt battery with it using your method of flipping it to 50 amps for a few seconds and then back to 10 amps. Anybody ever try this ?

Probably not, but higher levels can. I have a charger with a 50A charge/225A start setting. I have set up beat-up batteries on this mode and watched it de-sulfate. Upon initial hookup, current draw will be low. Then, the current will start to creep up - I'd drop down to a lower mode once the current got up to 30-40A. You do have to watch it though since you are well above gassing voltage - I did come close to blowing a battery up once.

JayC
 
   / When do you replace a battery? #68  
At the Dealership we called that "Cooking" the battery... worked lots of times.

Always have the caps off and done outside where I worked...
 
   / When do you replace a battery? #69  
As a mechanic, to desulfate a battery you need about 70 amps or better.
What I learned from a parts person was that, and I worked at a truck dealership, we sold 1000CCA batterys and 760CCA ones I always thought the bigger ones would be better. Trucks in my neighborhood run 4 batterys, anyways he informed me that the 1000's had a much higher warranty return rate than the 760's did. The reason is that on a 1000 the lead plates fill the case, a 760 has space under the plates, so when the material sloughs off it has a space to settle the 1000's do not have the space so they are away more prone to short out.
I have a 100 amp none regulated charger that I use to rejuvenate a dead battery, I always take it out of the vehicle and do it at the back of my shop. I connect the charger to the battery, then as walking away, plug it in. If it is a high CCA battery very few will come back.
I have seen it where just gosling the battery from side to side will free up the crud at the bottom and the battery will charge.
Even when a battery is rejuvenated it is a wounded piece, and in my area lives till the first cold spell.
I have found that when I call for a battery and the original equipment was a 550 that is what I buy.
If you have multiple batteries every year you should separate them and charge them independently, and if posible test them independently. even if that is only leaving them for a couple of hours after charging and checking the voltage. If it is lower than 12.6 the battery is junk.
If you put the charger on a battery that is at 11.5 and it goes to full charge in 10 minutes it is sulfated.
If you have multiple batteries and one goes bad replace them all, and use the others as a spare.
Using one new and one old, will boil the new one and the old one will stay cold and not charge properly.
They make a fancy computerized battery tester that works great.
 
   / When do you replace a battery? #70  
At the Dealership we called that "Cooking" the battery... worked lots of times.

Always have the caps off and done outside where I worked...

I have wondered a few times if it was possible to renew a sulphated 12 volt battery by removing the caps and draining the acid and water mix, then using a pressure washer to inject a stream of water to maybe remove and flush out deposits, rinsing and rinsing, and then refilling with the proper acid/water mix and charging?
 

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