Car battery life?

[xylophone]

5 minutes ago, tryasimight said:

A lot of what you describe occurs because the vehicle is being used for very short distances.  I read somewhere that the engine needs to run for twenty or thirty minutes to make up for the charge used in starting the motor.  Over time the battery will slowly go flat. 

Had my m/bike here for 10 years and just installed the third battery.............had my Suzuki Swift for 5 yrs and just changed the battery, but prob could have gotten longer out of it if had left it, but didn't want the hassle of it not starting in some distant car park!

[BuaBS]

First battery : 2y 10m , second : 4y 3m , third now 3y 4m and getting weaker . Last year I went to europe for 4 months , and that it didn't take that well. When I don't use the car much , I use my battery charger.

[Andycoops]

My 3.0 Vigo prerunner is nearly 10 years old and on its 2nd battery. 3K heavy duty. Been in for 6 years no problem. 

[natway09]

I would beg to differ on the dealer knowing best.

I go to a battery only shop & buy the best ,

Always get over 4 years

[Suitcase]

38 minutes ago, tryasimight said:

A lot of what you describe occurs because the vehicle is being used for very short distances.  I read somewhere that the engine needs to run for twenty or thirty minutes to make up for the charge used in starting the motor.  Over time the battery will slowly go flat. 

   What you read was probably for cars years ago with generators.

Now a days all cars use alternators for generating electricity.

Much higher output than generators even at idle is almost 100%.

My estimate would be less than 10 minutes to bring the

battery back to full charge after a start.

[ujayujay]

2 hours ago, no deal said:

i have to buy a new battery on a new 13 month honda jazz, dealer wont garantie ...

Usually its stated in Car Contracts in TH. Batterys are not includet the Warranty.

[jorgenweihrauch]

Because of the heat

[Eaglekott]

It depends on a lot of parameters, ie battery quality, Have you let the battery drain until empty (it might kill it),  climate, type and size, how you use your car. How long periods you do you not use the car. Do you connect it to a charger (suitable for your battery) if you only drive short distances or only city traffic? (A car engine at idle speed might not produce enough electric power to charge your battery. You might use more electricity than it produces)  How advance electronics your car has. Does it have alarms and electronics that drains your battery. Is the car smart enough so if the battery runs low of battery it shuts of electronics like the alarm and a forgotten interior lamps? Also if you have a pretty new BMW or Mercedes or probably other brands, they might use gel batteries that should be charged at slower rates, and if you change battery the Car computer might need to be told the battery is new by a battery reset at a dealer. Otherwise the car cmight charge the new battery as if is was old and it might damage your new battery as well as the alternator.

 

Dont be cheap on the Car battery, buy one that the manufacturer recommends or provides under their own brand name. Of cause a BMW or Volvo battery is not manufactured by them but they are accredited. They buy them white labeled and simply put their own sticker on. Usually you can find exact the same battery under another name like Varta, Yuasa or Panasonic.

 

 

Edited March 19, 2018 by Eaglekott

[smccolley]

When I ran an auto shop in Phoenix I would tell folks you are not buying a battery only renting. They rarely lasted the guaranteed life because of the heat. We would just credit them the remaining battery life when they traded it in for a new one. 

 

Cost of living in paradise. :)

[Grumpy Duck]

Battery life in my experience has many variables. Heat, maintenance, and chargability. 

I cannot believe the number of people that never bother to clean battery terminals or check electrolyte.

Terminals can be cleaned with a solution of baking soda and water, or Coca Cola (don’t let any get inside the battery) after cleaning and rinsing clean the terminals with a wire brush. 

 

A good suggestion, don’t top off a car battery with tap water. Use distilled water as tap water usually has mineral deposits that build up on the plates.

 

Another old trick is to crush a few aspirin tablets, (aspirin not tylenol aka acetaminophen) add them to the electrolyte to help refresh it. 

 

Make sure your charging system is working properly. 

[Grumpy Duck]

4 minutes ago, Grumpy Duck said:

Battery life in my experience has many variables. Heat, maintenance, and chargability. 

I cannot believe the number of people that never bother to clean battery terminals or check electrolyte.

Terminals can be cleaned with a solution of baking soda and water, or Coca Cola (don’t let any get inside the battery) after cleaning and rinsing clean the terminals with a wire brush. 

 

A good suggestion, don’t top off a car battery with tap water. Use distilled water as tap water usually has mineral deposits that build up on the plates.

 

Another old trick is to crush a few aspirin tablets, (aspirin not tylenol aka acetaminophen) add them to the electrolyte to help refresh it. 

 

Make sure your charging system is working properly. 

Oh I forgot,  it doesn’t make sense to continually buy a dealer battery that only lasts 2 years. I would tend to believe they are selling you cheap reconditioned batteries. 

 

I prefer buying batteries at a battery shop. A trick I would use was to take a known fully charged battery to a shop, let them test it. If they try to sell you a new battery, time to try another place. I believe most shops in Thailand are basically honest. 

[transam]

1 minute ago, Grumpy Duck said:

Oh I forgot,  it doesn’t make sense to continually buy a dealer battery that only lasts 2 years. I would tend to believe they are selling you cheap reconditioned batteries. 

 

I prefer buying batteries at a battery shop. A trick I would use was to take a known fully charged battery to a shop, let them test it. If they try to sell you a new battery, time to try another place. I believe most shops in Thailand are basically honest. 

I would suggest that all batteries are recycled in some way, that's why you can sell a duff battery for a few hundred baht..

[Grumpy Duck]

1 minute ago, transam said:

I would suggest that all batteries are recycled in some way, that's why you can sell a duff battery for a few hundred baht..

A quality recycled battery only re uses the case. The plates are new with fresh electrolyte. 

[transam]

1 minute ago, Grumpy Duck said:

A quality recycled battery only re uses the case. The plates are new with fresh electrolyte. 

How do you know the use the case..? 

So they gave me 500bht for my plastic case that could never be made to look like new....And why did they weigh it..?

[Grumpy Duck]

5 minutes ago, transam said:

How do you know the use the case..? 

So they gave me 500bht for my plastic case that could never be made to look like new....And why did they weigh it..?

I am talking about my experience in the usa. A customer was a battery recycling company. There was no cash given for old batteries. A person was charged a core charge if an old battery was not provided. 

Edited March 20, 2018 by Grumpy Duck

[transam]

Just now, Grumpy Duck said:

I am talking about my experience in the usa. A customer was a battery recycling company. 

Just for you...This is what I have always thought happened to duff batteries..

 

https://www.batterysolutions.com/recycling-information/how-are-batteries-recycled/

[Eaglekott]

A cheap charger might also shorten your life of the battery, And a fast charger might. In different temperatures you should actually charge wit different voltages. 

 

A 12v battery in -20°C should be charged at 16.02 to 16.56 volt but the same battery in 30°C should be charged at 14.22 to 14.82volt, That is for a Led Acid battery, AGM batteries should be charged slower. https://www.powerstream.com/SLA.htm

 

Also I would recommend you to buy a better battery charger with a microprocessor that not only charge the battery but also maintain it. Like C-Tec chargers. They are OEM for many exclusive car brands like RR, Porsche. BMW, Mercedes, They can be connected to your car for months or years and will keep your battery in good shape. Of cause they are more expensive than a cheap charger, but is will save your batteries. They are also kind to your cars electronics so you do not have to disconnect the battery from the car to charge it.

[Estrada]

I have worked as a consultant for Boliden Batteries here in Thailand as well  as writing specifications for a number of standby battery installations. We usually design consumer grade batteries for a minimum life of 5 years based on the ambient temperature and cycle life(stop/starts). For commercial installations we are usually designing for a minimum 10 year life. I have experienced similar problems with Honda Batteries (Yuasa), as I recall they had a 2 year warranty but seem to conveniently last 2 years and a few months. Not much we can do about it under Thai consumer protection as it is.

[HAKAPALITA]

I have worked as a consultant for Boliden Batteries here in Thailand as well  as writing specifications for a number of standby battery installations. We usually design consumer grade batteries for a minimum life of 5 years based on the ambient temperature and cycle life(stop/starts). For commercial installations we are usually designing for a minimum 10 year life. I have experienced similar problems with Honda Batteries (Yuasa), as I recall they had a 2 year warranty but seem to conveniently last 2 years and a few months. Not much we can do about it under Thai consumer protection as it is.

Read the Yuasa Thai website and post facts not hearsay.!


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[MINIMIGLIA]

23 hours ago, transam said:

And what does "well" maintained involve...?

Topping up regularly with proper distilled water, and keeping the terminals free of corrosion, surely an expert as you think you are should know this, and none of the bonnet up crap

[transam]

2 minutes ago, MINIMIGLIA said:

Topping up regularly with proper distilled water, and keeping the terminals free of corrosion, surely an expert as you think you are should know this, and none of the bonnet up crap

I do not call that "well" maintained, that is called basic maintenance which us older guys are well aware of....

So you think avoiding heat buildup on a battery is crap yet other posters have posted that heat attacks a battery....Oh well...

[HAKAPALITA]

I dont even know how to open the hood, thats the Dealers Job .


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[transam]

Just now, HAKAPALITA said:

I dont even know how to open the hood, thats the Dealers Job .


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Yet you know that heat doesn't affect a battery....Hmmmm..

[HAKAPALITA]

I


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[HAKAPALITA]

Heat ?. I know ive never bothered with batteries or had any probs with them MF are superb these days,but i appreciate some like pissin around Chekin Tyre Pressures, polishin n pamperin, i thrash em n dump em like Wives.?[emoji481], or is it the Xs who did that to our Finances.


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[lvr181]

On 3/19/2018 at 4:07 PM, transam said:

I had 2 Toyota "named" batteries that lasted exactly 2 years

I think that is called 'planned obsolecence'? 

 

No warranty?

[transam]

28 minutes ago, lvr181 said:

I think that is called 'planned obsolecence'? 

 

No warranty?

Yes, as I recall the Toyota dealer receipt said 90 days.....

[manchega]

On 3/19/2018 at 3:06 PM, tpkhk said:

This was from an article in Quartz about lead poisoning arising from re-cycling....  "In developed countries in the northern hemisphere, a car battery lasts around six years; in many Asian and African countries, possibly due to lower-quality lead and tropical conditions, they typically last just one or two years."  

no not low quality lead sulfate, its the atmospheric conditions temperature in particular.

[manchega]

3 hours ago, transam said:

I do not call that "well" maintained, that is called basic maintenance which us older guys are well aware of....

So you think avoiding heat buildup on a battery is crap yet other posters have posted that heat attacks a battery....Oh well...

its not an attack of heat, or heat buildup, it just means battery is cycled more times in hot climate than in cold climate.

 

 

[no deal]

On 3/20/2018 at 5:55 AM, smccolley said:

When I ran an auto shop in Phoenix I would tell folks you are not buying a battery only renting. They rarely lasted the guaranteed life because of the heat. We would just credit them the remaining battery life when they traded it in for a new one. 

 

Cost of living in paradise. ?

i live in arizona for 25 years and i run a car business,i know the battery there laste about 3 years,if i remember checker and autozone warranty the battery for 3 years!