Modern car batteries info and advice please - CCA?

[robsamui]

After 3 years of problem-free running I need a new battery in my (old) D-Max.

 

Last time I bought one it was rated in mAh - I had an 80 mAh battery installed. Now I have been forced to buy a battery that is rated in CCA - cold cranking amps - as it seems the new world standards have changed. I don't fully understand this new rating.

 

My new battery is rated at 670 CCA which is apparently quite high. BUT, brand new in the box, it was showing 12.2 volts. 14 hours on charge at 1.5 amps was enough to shut off my auto-charging, indicating fully charged. The battery showed 12.6v. Then, slowly over the next 2 hours, this dropped down to 12.2 volts again. This is a brand new battery, never installed into the car.

 

Only 5 minutes back on charge again was enough to bring it back to 12.6 volts, but then it drifted back to 12.2 volts.

 

In the old world, a 12.2 volts charge indicated a very iffy battery down to 50% of its capacity. But I've read that the CCA rating is all about the power needed to turn over a cold engine (never mind the "minus 18 degrees" stuff - the battery that's 3 years old which I am replacing shows 12.1 and 45% on my meter, and it's not enough to crank the motor over from 'cold' - 27 degrees C.)

 

So - any advice? Is the battery good? To my mind the fact that it can be so rapidly charged up to 12.6v is a good sign. I can only suppose that the 12.2 volts isn't so important if the battery is a good cranker - just a few seconds on the starter will get it turning over and fired up and then charged up to full capacity.

 

If anyone can explain things a bit I'd be very grateful. Do I need to take it back? (12.2 volts?) - is it faulty in some way/ Or is this normal for something with a high CCA?

 

Thanks!

 

.

 

 

Edited January 27, 2017 by robsamui

[JAS21]

Seems low to me but it's a Hybrid so I don't know BUT I googled this for you

http://www.carbatterycb.com/แบตเตอรี่-3k-ราคา-155r-active-hybrid/

 

Get you wife or gf to phone them and ask. Then you will know whether to complain or not.

 

Too late now but on my D-Max I used Panasonic MF ... and don't forget to lift the bonnet when you park if it seems ok to do so. This will give the engine a bay a lower temperature and the battery a longer life 

[robsamui]

Thanks.

 

I'll follow up on this.

 

R

[NanLaew]

Have you put it in the truck yet and started it up? Faffing around with chargers and measuring passive (no-load) dissipation is no substitute for installing it and driving it.

 

From JAS21's findings, the new battery is 90 Ah, bigger than the one it is replacing.

 

IMHO the new battery is OK.

[JAS21]

13 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Have you put it in the truck yet and started it up? Faffing around with chargers and measuring passive (no-load) dissipation is no substitute for installing it and driving it.

 

From JAS21's findings, the new battery is 90 Ah, bigger than the one it is replacing.

 

IMHO the new battery is OK.

NL, worth doing as you say as the charger should take the volts much higher than that.  If Trans hadn't waddled off for a few days we could have had his opinion as well.

 

I have a CTEK charger and can highly recommend it ...

[robsamui]

I've already come to the decision that - sod it - I don't have the time and energy to faff about and carry this battery backwards and forwards trying to convince Thai people via my shaky language skills that this *maybe* isn't a good battery, when it'll probably  end up lasting me 20 months instead of 2 years if it's already been on the shelf a year or so. (And there's probably nothing much wrong with it anyway.)

 

As it happens right now I've got 4 days housebound as I come to my work deadline at the end of the month. This (4-5 days) is about the maximum amount of time that I ever leave my truck standing. And I know that the old battery wouldn't turn the engine over after it had been static for 4 days.

 

So  I've given the new battery time on the charger so that the cut-out kicked in at max charge, and will leave it disconnected for 4 days to stabilize. Then put this battery in the truck and see what happens. If it starts at full tilt then the battery is OK for all practical purposes. (I already know it's taking a charge up to and beyond 13.6 v. and  *yes* it is a 90aH battery and the old one was 70aH - that'll make a difference too. BTW the old battery lasted exactly 2 years . . . )

 

Thanks for the words of advice and info - helped me a lot.

 

 

 

 

[NanLaew]

18 hours ago, robsamui said:

I've already come to the decision that - sod it - I don't have the time and energy to faff about and carry this battery backwards and forwards trying to convince Thai people via my shaky language skills that this *maybe* isn't a good battery, when it'll probably  end up lasting me 20 months instead of 2 years if it's already been on the shelf a year or so. (And there's probably nothing much wrong with it anyway.)

 

As it happens right now I've got 4 days housebound as I come to my work deadline at the end of the month. This (4-5 days) is about the maximum amount of time that I ever leave my truck standing. And I know that the old battery wouldn't turn the engine over after it had been static for 4 days.

 

So  I've given the new battery time on the charger so that the cut-out kicked in at max charge, and will leave it disconnected for 4 days to stabilize. Then put this battery in the truck and see what happens. If it starts at full tilt then the battery is OK for all practical purposes. (I already know it's taking a charge up to and beyond 13.6 v. and  *yes* it is a 90aH battery and the old one was 70aH - that'll make a difference too. BTW the old battery lasted exactly 2 years . . . )

 

Thanks for the words of advice and info - helped me a lot.

 

 

Oh bugger... you do realize that will allow time for trans to wake up and chime in with his tuppence worth don't you?

 

In the 3 cars and trucks I have owned, I have typically got 2 years out of each battery including the one that was totally duff from day one and I nursed along with trickle charges and getting Mrs NL to 'turn it over' every 3 days while I was away.

 

I haven't seen these 3K Hybrid batteries before so I will be interested in yours (and any others) experience with their service life. My current OEM battery is 24 months old and has already caught me out with a couple of instances of spontaneous overnight flatness.

[JAS21]

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

Oh bugger... you do realize that will allow time for trans to wake up and chime in with his tuppence worth don't you?

 

In the 3 cars and trucks I have owned, I have typically got 2 years out of each battery including the one that was totally duff from day one and I nursed along with trickle charges and getting Mrs NL to 'turn it over' every 3 days while I was away.

 

I haven't seen these 3K Hybrid batteries before so I will be interested in yours (and any others) experience with their service life. My current OEM battery is 24 months old and has already caught me out with a couple of instances of spontaneous overnight flatness.

Yes ...he is a Boilden Battery msn ... anyway no chance of an input from him for a couple mire days at least ... he is still waddled off.

 

From my experiance two years is very poor for battery life ...what are you doing?

 

Get a decent charger and lift the bonnet when you can. The origionsl battery in my V-Cross lasted over 3 years. Then Pansonic MFs in the Lantis both lasted over three years.  The BMW five but that was located in the boot of course.☺

 

 

[JAS21]

2 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Oh bugger... you do realize that will allow time for trans to wake up and chime in with his tuppence worth don't you?

 

In the 3 cars and trucks I have owned, I have typically got 2 years out of each battery including the one that was totally duff from day one and I nursed along with trickle charges and getting Mrs NL to 'turn it over' every 3 days while I was away.

 

I haven't seen these 3K Hybrid batteries before so I will be interested in yours (and any others) experience with their service life. My current OEM battery is 24 months old and has already caught me out with a couple of instances of spontaneous overnight flatness.

Um ..it posted twice..never mind.

 

Yes ...he is a Boilden Battery man ... anyway no chance of an input from him for a couple more days at least ... he is still waddled off.

 

From my experiance two years is very poor for battery life ...what are you doing?

 

Get a decent charger and lift the bonnet when you can. The origional battery in my V-Cross lasted over 3 years. Then Pansonic MFs in the Lantis both lasted over three years.  The BMW five but that was located in the boot of course.☺

 

 

Edited January 30, 2017 by JAS21

[MINIMIGLIA]

All this lifting bonnet, is complete old woman talk, total waste of time, just keep water topped up with correct fluid and should last 5/6 years , all mine have.

[JAS21]

26 minutes ago, MINIMIGLIA said:

All this lifting bonnet, is complete old woman talk, total waste of time, just keep water topped up with correct fluid and should last 5/6 years , all mine have.

MYKETHEMIN had exactly the same experiance and views as you so seems that I could be in error. 

 

However heat is a killer for a battery.

 

I have measured, using a Tc, only in the vehicles that I have owned I admit, the air temperature at the side of the battery whilst in motion and whilst parked with the engine off ... bonnet open and closed. 

 

I retain my original opinion ...

[MINIMIGLIA]

Heat only kills batteries by drying them out, so top up regularly, problem solved, lifting bonnet complete waste of time. So last century!!

[NanLaew]

Never lifted the bonnet and all batteries involved were that new-fangled, non top-upable kind.

 

Getting more than 2 years out of a battery in the tropics is rare but well done if you do it regularly. Even my Dodge Ram battery in Houston didn't get to 3 years before it died and that was the old-fangled, top-up with water lead-acid variety.

[NanLaew]

7 hours ago, JAS21 said:

Yes ...he is a Boilden Battery msn ... anyway no chance of an input from him for a couple mire days at least ... he is still waddled off.

 

From my experiance two years is very poor for battery life ...what are you doing?

 

Get a decent charger and lift the bonnet when you can. The origionsl battery in my V-Cross lasted over 3 years. Then Pansonic MFs in the Lantis both lasted over three years.  The BMW five but that was located in the boot of course.☺

 

 

I replaced the totally-duff-from-birth OEM battery in my first Ranger with a Boliden and it will be my first choice when the current box of lightning finally dies.

[robsamui]

Right!

 

This afternoon was four full days that my truck's been sat there gathering dust. Likewise the new battery has been sitting in the shed. So I went and swapped it into the truck.

 

Putting a meter on my battery showed it was still the same as it was the day after I'd charged it (Saturday) - 12.2 volts (but it's got a % indicator in it too and that was showing 65% if that's at all significant - it ought to have been 50%).

 

And just for fun I put the aircon/fan on full and the headlights on first before I turned the key (bearing in mind that after four days my old battery just went CLUNK).

 

The truck blasted into life at the first turn of the key (tho the aircon fan speed did dip down a bit while I did this.) Then I went off for an 80 Km drive.

 

As someone's mentioned, my home charger probably isn't the finest -  and while running (with a digital meter temporarily connected directly to the battery) it showed 14.1 volts and 100% via the alternator.

 

I got back and parked it up. That was 6 hours ago and the meter is now showing 12.4v - 79%.

 

Maybe it's something to do with whatever the 'hybrid' means.  But if it can start the truck cold, after it's been standing for 4 days, and overpower the aircon running full and the headlights on while it does so, then it's good enough for me. (I just hope it keeps on doing it!)

 

Thanks for all the help and input fellas - much appreciated.

 

R

[JoeW]

The hybrid in 3K means that the battery comes with battery water in it and comes fully charged. That's all it means :)

In any case, good luck with it.

[Ace of Pop]

Many rides cut the air on off for a few secs when u turn the key,it comes back on when running,not sure about lights never put them on


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[JAS21]

40 minutes ago, transam said:

Not so.......

 

 

Well you haven't wasted any time ...

 

I wasn't going to bother replying but as you have .. I'm also surprised that someone with a handle 'minimiglia' who one assumes is/was involved somehow in what has been described as the 'F1 of mini racing' could make such an incorrect statement and apparently believe it .....

 

I haven't found anywhere on the internet that disputes ... Heat is a killer of all batteries, but high temperatures cannot always be avoided. This particular quote is from ...     http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_heat_and_harsh_loading_reduces_battery_life

 

I'm out now ....

[transam]

1 minute ago, JAS21 said:

Well you haven't wasted any time ...

 

I wasn't going to bother replying but as you have .. I'm also surprised that someone with a handle 'minimiglia' who one assumes is/was involved somehow in what has been described as the 'F1 of mini racing' could make such an incorrect statement and apparently believe it .....

 

I haven't found anywhere on the internet that disputes ... Heat is a killer of all batteries, but high temperatures cannot always be avoided. This particular quote is from ...     http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_heat_and_harsh_loading_reduces_battery_life

 

I'm out now ....

Noooo, not out....Sometimes we can open eyes......

[Ace of Pop]

Some say if one puts a Duck on the Battery every night it bans evaporation.?


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[ubonjoe]

A off topic inflammatory post and the expected replies it to have been removed.

[Lampang2]

All this lifting bonnet, is complete old woman talk, total waste of time, just keep water topped up with correct fluid and should last 5/6 years , all mine have.

Correct 1
Water needs top up almost monthly in the heat of Thailand.

Correct 2
Bonnet lifting is for old women and Thai folks.
Nonsense.

[transam]

15 minutes ago, Lampang2 said:

 

Correct 1
Water needs top up almost monthly in the heat of Thailand.

Correct 2
Bonnet lifting is for old women and Thai folks.
Nonsense.

 

Really....Hmmm, perhaps the old folk learned stuff during their long life eh...

[MINIMIGLIA]

15 hours ago, Lampang2 said:

 

Correct 1
Water needs top up almost monthly in the heat of Thailand.

Correct 2
Bonnet lifting is for old women and Thai folks.
Nonsense.

 

At last some one with common sense living in the 21st century not 1950?

[transam]

4 minutes ago, MINIMIGLIA said:

At last some one with common sense living in the 21st century not 1950?

L/acid non sealed batteries of today are the same as in 1950...

[MINIMIGLIA]

How out of touch you are amazes me, materials have moved on.

[transam]

4 minutes ago, MINIMIGLIA said:

How out of touch you are amazes me, materials have moved on.

.............So how come my first TWO Toyota brand batteries lasted EXACTLY 2 years each if materials have moved on.....?

[cornishcarlos]

8 minutes ago, transam said:

.............So how come my first TWO Toyota brand batteries lasted EXACTLY 2 years each if materials have moved on.....?

 

Because they cheap batteries...

 

The original in my Ford Ranger lasted 4 years, guess Ford allow a bit more for a quality battery. 

P.S I never open the bonnet :)

[transam]

2 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

Because they cheap batteries...

 

The original in my Ford Ranger lasted 4 years, guess Ford allow a bit more for a quality battery. 

P.S I never open the bonnet :)

I did make inquiries via a "friend", who supplied Toyota brand batteries, was told they are not cheapo batteries, same as the Toyota electronics, not cheapo stuff...

 

Battery longevity depends on many factors based around usage and conditions..

 

My fun ride had TWO L/acid batteries that lasted over 20 years...How did I manage that.....?

[Hereinthailand]

Batteries are just crap in thailand I come from arizona and it is a lot hotter and dryer all year than thailand and never had the trouble with batteries as i have here. I mean really do you see any unsealed car batteries back home ? Yes thailand has the same quality batteries as they did in 1950.