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It's an Optima red top, 910 CA and 720 CCA. It was purchased new in May 2004. It was not used often, but used more in the last year and a half than the previous years.
I go out tonight to the Buick and find the lights are all dim. I did a voltage check, 5 volts. So I throw on my charger.
Well first thing I found was the charger's ammeter pegs out until the built in circuit breaker pops.
So to further isolate the issue I disconnected the negative cable from the car. Then went to put the charger on again. Same thing. The c/b in the charger pops after a few minutes. Which leads me to believe the battery itself is toast.
Now if I may ask....
1. How long do car batteries typically last for? Is 4 years a reasonable time frame? I would think they'd last longer than 4 years...???
2. For a battery what do you recommend? I now hear Optimas are crap. Plus the one I had never fit inside the hold down. I plan to get a bigger battery that fits
Mine are mostly 4 years, maybe a little longer. I get them at Sears, if your battery doesn't last as long as it says it's supposed to, then they give you a credit. The batteries I got were usually 60 month, and I got a few months credit the last two times.
Four years is probably pushing the limits of car battery life. Even though most modern batteries are sealed, meaning you don't have to fill them up with distilled water like you did in the old days, they still do dry out over time. All it really takes is the water level to drop in a cell or two and the battery is done.
Also, just because it is sitting in the car being used only sparingly or not at all, the battery will still lose power. If the car is stored outside or even in a garage being exposed to temperatures over 80 degrees on a consistent basis, this will cause the battery to self discharge. I found this out the hard way when I lived in the desert. You're lucky if you can get a battery to last 2 years, maybe 3 in that environment. And that's even with driving the car daily and keeping the charge up.
As for a good battery, all I can say is that I have purchased several of the Duralast brand that Auto Zone sells and have been pleased with them. They are reasonably priced and seem to have a good life span.
It's an Optima red top, 910 CA and 720 CCA. It was purchased new in May 2004. It was not used often, but used more in the last year and a half than the previous years.
I go out tonight to the Buick and find the lights are all dim. I did a voltage check, 5 volts. So I throw on my charger.
Well first thing I found was the charger's ammeter pegs out until the built in circuit breaker pops.
So to further isolate the issue I disconnected the negative cable from the car. Then went to put the charger on again. Same thing. The c/b in the charger pops after a few minutes. Which leads me to believe the battery itself is toast.
Now if I may ask....
1. How long do car batteries typically last for? Is 4 years a reasonable time frame? I would think they'd last longer than 4 years...???
2. For a battery what do you recommend? I now hear Optimas are crap. Plus the one I had never fit inside the hold down. I plan to get a bigger battery that fits
Thanks.
1. Where do you live? Battery performance goes down with cold and starting power needed goes up with cold. So, the amount of degradation it takes before the battery is no longer able to satisfy starting requirements in New York is different from reaching the same functional point in Arizona.
Also, letting it drain to the ground is very damaging to the battery. So, if it sat at the airport even once with the dome light on and sat like that for a week, you might be able to get a jump and start, but the battery is already seriously damaged. Car batteries are not designed for deep discharge. They're designed for very high current, shallow discharges, namely starting the car.
If your car has a parasitic discharge conditions or you make it a habit to store the cars weeks at a time on regular basis, invest in a trickle charger to protect the battery.
2. How about Everlast from Wal-Mart? Every brand of battery will be damaged if the car's charging system isn't quite right, or your car has a parasitic load causing it to chronically drain your battery.
There are many factors but a general rule is 4 to 6 years (6 is stretching it). Even if it sits on the shelf; actually that can decrease the life sometimes. You know what is actually a great battery is Toyota TrueStart. Or did you get the Optima to handle a big ICE system?
Come to think of it, my wife's is 5.5 years old now; I should test it before winter!
1. Where do you live? Battery performance goes down with cold and starting power needed goes up with cold. So, the amount of degradation it takes before the battery is no longer able to satisfy starting requirements in New York is different from reaching the same functional point in Arizona.
Also, letting it drain to the ground is very damaging to the battery. So, if it sat at the airport even once with the dome light on and sat like that for a week, you might be able to get a jump and start, but the battery is already seriously damaged. Car batteries are not designed for deep discharge. They're designed for very high current, shallow discharges, namely starting the car.
If your car has a parasitic discharge conditions or you make it a habit to store the cars weeks at a time on regular basis, invest in a trickle charger to protect the battery.
2. How about Everlast from Wal-Mart? Every brand of battery will be damaged if the car's charging system isn't quite right, or your car has a parasitic load causing it to chronically drain your battery.
Well as of right now I live in Missouri. I just moved here in Match after spending the last 8 years in North Carolina.
The car that the battery spend most of it's life in (71 Chevelle) was garaged most of the time, albeit an un climate controlled garage. The car didn't really see much action in the winter, which winters in NC are mild.
Now in MO the batt resides in my Regal, also a garaged car, and not climate controlled.
Quote:
Originally Posted by yo vanilla
There are many factors but a general rule is 4 to 6 years (6 is stretching it). Even if it sits on the shelf; actually that can decrease the life sometimes. You know what is actually a great battery is Toyota TrueStart. Or did you get the Optima to handle a big ICE system?
Come to think of it, my wife's is 5.5 years old now; I should test it before winter!
No I purchased the Optima because at the time I needed a battery and they were selling for $109 at Autozone and we used them at my work and I always thought of them as a good battery, especially since they're IMO safer than a typical lead acid battery.
The really odd thing is about a week ago I started the car up and it started fine, voltmeter was showing a good charge and everything. Now a week later the surface charge dropped to 5 volts.
The really odd thing is about a week ago I started the car up and it started fine, voltmeter was showing a good charge and everything. Now a week later the surface charge dropped to 5 volts.
Voltage only tells you the percent relative to available capacity, and when the battery degrades, the latter falls, but voltage still corresponds to performance relative to it.
If you're tripping breaker on your charger and voltage has dropped to 5 volts, you've got a shorted cell. New battery time. No matter what battery you get, abusive conditions will quickly destroy it, such as excessive system voltage, or excessive drain caused by parasitic drain. With the engine running, you should be running 14 to 15 volts.
Thanks. Yeah I was starting to think the same thing, that the cells are shorted, which would explain the massive current draw on the charger. Not sure how it happened though...never did I abuse this battery in any way.
The parasitic drain....how can I check for that? This car has never had any issues of battery drain before.
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