Lifespan of a car battery

Voodoomelon

What do you all reckon is the lifespan of a modern car battery? Most people report anywhere between 4-7 years and obviously it depends on the quality of the battery, the vehicle and the weather conditions. But what would you expect in your average car in our climate?

Came out to the car this evening after work and she was flat. I reckon just flat enough to not turn the starter as every other piece of equipment worked no problem. Battery is about 4 years old, but I would have thought it would last that bit longer as its in the boot and insulated from the chill of a cold engine bay.

My journeys are very short so I reckon its a combination of battery age, lack of long charges and a turn in the weather. Is 4 years about right do you reckon?

Will be doing a voltage test over the weekend.

George Dalton

4 years is about the minimum I reckon. I have seen batteries last 10 years plus!

dgt

Depends. Calcium batteries can last up to 5 years. Normal ones 2 to 3 years

eringobragh

Have you checked for parasitic battery drain with a multimeter? ...or at the very least with a cheapo circuit tester and see if theres a draw...

my battery was draining in 3 days due to a faulty alarm siren

Voodoomelon

Nope, only home an hour and it aint pleasant out. Will read the voltage off the cluster tomorrow.

The one in the ZT looked original, replaced it Stephen's Morning, car is an 02.
Dad has a 99 Accent from new, 'twas winter 09 I think that lasted until, as George said 4 years would be minimum for a decent one, there is an element of pot luck with them I suppose too.

eringobragh

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Nope, only home an hour and it aint pleasant out. Will read the voltage off the cluster tomorrow.

you will need to check the how much amps are being drawn to find out if your batteries healthy,heres how I did it...don't forget to put the multimeter lead back in the fused section after your finished using it!

eringobragh wrote:

Solved lads:

I was using the bulb and not the multimeter however I reckon I didn't the siren disconnected long enough!

I wasn't using the multimeter in the 10a DC setting the other day : n00b

Anyway found out it was drawing 150ma...after disconnecting the faulty alarm siren its putting out 20ma...just an FYI for those who may have similar issue!

I'm looking for an alarm siren if anyone has one spare!

eringobragh wrote:

Yeah definately I think I got that multimeter about 5 years ago in maplin for 4 euro!

Anyway an FYI for anyone looking to do this - move the positive probe to 10ADC unfused link

Remove the earth from the battery - stick the multimeter to 10a (like below) and put the probes between the battery and the earth lead..remove fuses until it drops to a reasonable level 0.02 = 20ma...average consumption should be 20 - 50ma!

W.Shakes-Beer

My current Astra has the original one I think.

Car is a 03 with 94,000 miles racked up, still has the Opel badging on it.

Obviously it could have been factory replaced at some point but doubt.

the battery in my previous Astra died winter 2009, again, had all the Opel logo's on it and the car was a '00 with 46,000 miles

Voodoomelon

I must actually whip out the battery and have a look at the label with the date on it. Only reason I believe it to be 4 years old is because the dealer in the UK told me when I bought it 4 odd years ago that it had a new battery and front tyres installed. Tyres were new and the battery looked new so I had no reason to doubt him.

C4Kid

Would a radio discharge a battery if left on for over an hour?

When cleaning the inside and it's left on for over an hour there's barely enough charge to start. On the last occasion,3 days ago it needed a jump start. The battery is on the way out when I got it checked last year. It's fine if the radio isn't on for that period of time as theres nothing else draining it. Probably getting a new one over the weekend anyway.

Surely a healthy battery wouldn't be drained that quickly by the radio?

eringobragh

C4Kid wrote: »

Would a radio discharge a battery if left on for over an hour?

When cleaning the inside and it's left on for over an hour there's barely enough charge to start. On the last occasion,3 days ago it needed a jump start. The battery is on the way out when I got it checked last year. It's fine if the radio isn't on for that period of time as theres nothing else draining it. Probably getting a new one over the weekend anyway.

Surely a healthy battery wouldn't be drained that quickly by the radio?

shouldn't but if theres already a draw there then it will, main culprits are secuirty systems (sensors, etc), boot lights, and amps / audio.

you'll need to check the draw..if you don't have a multimeter its worth the investment.

C4Kid

eringobragh wrote: »

shouldn't but if theres already a draw there then it will, main culprits are secuirty systems (sensors, etc), boot lights, and amps / audio.

you'll need to check the draw..if you don't have a multimeter its worth the investment.

I don't know why I didn't get one sooner tbh, they are handy alright.

Frankie Lee

I've seen quite a few mid nineties Panasonic batteries still going strong.

unkel

The Bosch battery in my E38 7-series lasted 10 years

Pretty good going, seeing the car was loaded with bells & whistles (TV, auto rain wipers, cruise control, you name it, if it was available in '96, it was in the car)

But with hindsight, it was in very poor condition for at least the last year (when the car was mainly off the road and not driven by me)

lomb

unkel wrote: »

The Bosch battery in my E38 7-series lasted 10 years

Pretty good going, seeing the car was loaded with bells & whistles (TV, auto rain wipers, cruise control, you name it, if it was available in '96, it was in the car)

But with hindsight, it was in very poor condition for at least the last year (when the car was mainly off the road and not driven by me)

Mine is still the original in an 03 golf with 81000 miles. VW batteries are top quality (possibly bosch rebadged though)

Out of interest why did you stop driving the 7? The e38 still seems like the pinnacle of reliable powerful luxury in an arguably timeless design with a more ergonomic less flashy interior than the latest 7.

Nonoperational

Anything from 4-10 years really depending on the use of the car the climate etc.

Paudie23

if its in the boot might you have a BMW or MERC?if so your battery should be Varta made.top range Varta are great.problem with short drives or city driving with batteries is a thing called stratification.as an earlier post said calcium/calcium are great for holding charge.battery life should be over 7yrs with everything running properly.if you really wanted to splash out an AGM battery that solves all.expensive though.heavy load test your battery when fully charged.good way to see what life is left in it

unkel

lomb wrote: »

Out of interest why did you stop driving the 7?

It was my daily driver until I replaced it with a Porsche 928 in January '08 as my daily driver. Tried to sell the BMW, but the recession kicked in and nobody wanted a big engined car anymore. So it was off the road until someone swapped it for his BMW 520i...

Voodoomelon

Decided to get a new battery as I had no faith in the old one and didn't want to be left stranded somewhere. It wasn't holding a charge and was down to 11.95v after being fully charged the day before (over 12.6v).

Got a new Bosch battery, this thing is a monster! http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_824769_langId_-1_categoryId_212578

The difference is incredible, there is no cranking now essentially, just turn the key and it jumps to life first time. I can even see the windows going up quicker.

Paudie23

you bought Bosch 5 star, thats their premium level battery.you wont have any issues there.

eringobragh

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Decided to get a new battery as I had no faith in the old one and didn't want to be left stranded somewhere. It wasn't holding a charge and was down to 11.95v after being fully charged the day before (over 12.6v).

Got a new Bosch battery, this thing is a monster! http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_824769_langId_-1_categoryId_212578

The difference is incredible, there is no cranking now essentially, just turn the key and it jumps to life first time. I can even see the windows going up quicker.

Thats a mothership..for 190 yoyos it would want to be, but 5 year warranty so you can't go wrong. .where did you buy it? ..Muppet who had the mr2 before put in a 420a halfords ****e battery..changed to a 680a from the local motorfactors and some difference.

Voodoomelon

Got it in Halfords, used the Group Scheme coupon for 10% off.

An Ri rua

Just changed my battery today. Survived last winter, had 2 callouts to RSA Assist or whatever they call it. Using dysart Motors in Portlaoise. very efficient, honest and gents.

Similarly could not get over the friendly helpful and efficient treatment from Fitzpatricks Tyres in Portlaoise so I posted it here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=75965709#post75965709

Replaced an old Varta L2 400 with a new one. strangely, the old markings / numbers on the varta, we couldn't figure out its 'size'. Or amps. Or AH. I just knew from googling it that it was a 640Amp.

Now she's rock and rollin! ps best car I've ever driven and its my 3rd Xantia (HDi 90 on 200K miles) and I've driven a lot of cars in my time. Love the old girl to bits. One of the most bulletproof cars around, once you feed them fluids and use your head.

Voodoomelon

Great stuff.

Mines been 100% since the new battery was installed, no problems at all. Battery was 4 years old, but my short journeys no doubt killed it in no time.

Did a bit of reading on it, turns out any electrics-heavy car will sulphate any battery unless its being charged properly.

mathepac

Voodoomelon wrote: »

... Group Scheme coupon for 10% off.

What's that? I have a Halford's trade-card which gets me 20% off some "service items" (oil, filters,etc.) but )zero off others.

Voodoomelon

This bad boy:

http://www.groupscheme.com/ie/vouchers/voucher-halfords.php?

Never have less than five printed and ready to go in the glove box.

CJhaughey

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Did a bit of reading on it, turns out any electrics-heavy car will sulphate any battery unless its being charged properly.

Stick an intelligent charger on it overnight and it will last far longer.
Bikes have the same problem with smaller batteries and most benefit from an Optimate type charger being hooked up for periods of non-use.

Voodoomelon

Yup, that's what I plan on doing when I move house, run a permanent line out to the garage.

db330

Batteries are designed to last 5 year no more no less, but the problem is trying to get them to do this. A batch of batteries manufactured at the same time using the same methods and used in identical conditions will not last identical time periods. Their life expectancy will range from 3-10 year for identical batteries in identical conditions.

ofcork

I only changed my battery on a 04 avensis last january.

Carstuck

My battery is 11.5 years and counting... (assuming its the original which I'm fairly sure)

Top Dog

Changed mine last week - original lasted 6 years

Micky 32

My Skoda Octavia vRS won't be 4 years old until April and is begining to show signs of dying. Funnily enough starts perfect on cold mornings. I have found sometimes when doing a few short runs the starter lags before going up to speed to start the engine. Got one of those electronic battery testers that measures the amps ( not load tester) conductance tester and most of the time the fail light comes on it..

A friend has a battery that's 15 years plus and starts a car no problem, it's an opel badged battery which i believe may be a Delco.

VW in their handbooks say " Batteries older than 5 years MUST be replaced"

Voodoomelon

One thing which has improved massively since changing my battery which I didn't mention, is my power steering. My steering was always heavy since I bought the car, I replace the battery and low and behold the Servotronic has kicked in much more aggressively and the steering is much lighter. Well worth the change for that alone!

griffin100

Looks like the original battery in my 2003 S60 with 210k miles has just gone kaput. Left the highbeams on for 20 minutes with the engine off a couple of weeks ago which flattened the battery and had to jump it. If driven every day there's no problem but it won't hold the charge now if not driven for a couple of days - like over Christmas. Tried to start it today after 5 days sitting in the drive and nothing happening. Wounder if I could get away with not replacing it until january's pay cheque comes in..............

TheUsual

dgt wrote: »

Depends. Calcium batteries can last up to 5 years. Normal ones 2 to 3 years

2 to 3 years for me too ... a cheap breakdown to fix if you change it before that but, who here has money to be spending on batteries that are not broken.

unkel

griffin100 wrote: »

Wounder if I could get away with not replacing it until january's pay cheque comes in..............

If you drive it everyday, and not use it for very short journeys, you might get away with it

TheUsual

By the way on the battery chargers, have an optimate for 7 years now and they are great yoke for cars and bikes. (and I imagine big lawnmovers and tractors)

http://www.optimate-sp.com/

But you don't leave them connected for the whole winter as they are just for charging up to full capacity.
Also if you're battery is sick and weak, they will not fix it, just get enough chanrge to get you home or to work. Once your battery is knackered, that's it.

CJhaughey

TheUsual wrote: »

But you don't leave them connected for the whole winter as they are just for charging up to full capacity.
Also if you're battery is sick and weak, they will not fix it, just get enough chanrge to get you home or to work. Once your battery is knackered, that's it.

You can safely leave them connected for the winter, They aren't a trickle charger they actually check the battery condition and charge accordingly.
Generally if you hook it up to a pretty flat car battery they will take a while to bring it up to charge, possibly days, The output is pretty small for most units as excess amps tends to warp cell plates which isn't good for battery life.
They won't work wonders but can desulphate batteries.

TheUsual

CJhaughey wrote: »

You can safely leave them connected for the winter, They aren't a trickle charger they actually check the battery condition and charge accordingly.

No you will damage your battery, don't mind the advertising, batteries need a rest to let the acid settle and recharge. Take them into the kitchen or shed for a while to let them rest and them charge them again every few days.
Trust me I have 3 bikes and have had these problems with them.

CJhaughey wrote: »

Generally if you hook it up to a pretty flat car battery they will take a while to bring it up to charge, possibly days, The output is pretty small for most units as excess amps tends to warp cell plates which isn't good for battery life.
They won't work wonders but can desulphate batteries.

No they can't sorry. Once the battery is damaged you might see 12.5 Volts when fully charged but it only just enough to start your engine.
It's a breakdown on the commute waiting to happen, especially in cold weather when batteries are at their weakest. You can't bring back a damaged or dud battery "back from the dead".

Fishtits

Batts are simple. You get what you pay for.

Buy cheap, you get junk.

Buy good you get ten years service., provided you keep it charged, that's all it asks.

CJhaughey

TheUsual wrote: »

No you will damage your battery, don't mind the advertising, batteries need a rest to let the acid settle and recharge. Take them into the kitchen or shed for a while to let them rest and them charge them again every few days.
Trust me I have 3 bikes and have had these problems with them.

I don't listen to advertising, I have had an Optimate for over 10 years and it has been hooked up to batteries for 99.9% of that time, and it has never boiled a battery on me in that time.
My last Yuasa YTX9-BS lasted 5 years with the charger connected when not in use.

Batteries start to sulphate once they aren't charging.
If they are charged the lead sulphate crystals on the plates are converted back to soft lead.
The best way to keep a battery good is to keep it fully charged, and that means either leaving it connected to a good intelligent charger OR regularly going out and testing the state of charge and charging it if below 80%
You are talking about removing a surface charge which isn't necessary if the battery is being maintained by a small charger.

TheUsual wrote: »

No they can't sorry. Once the battery is damaged you might see 12.5 Volts when fully charged but it only just enough to start your engine.
It's a breakdown on the commute waiting to happen, especially in cold weather when batteries are at their weakest. You can't bring back a damaged or dud battery "back from the dead".

Actually you can in some cases, depends what you consider damaged, if it is mild sulphation then constant current charging at 14.4V dc and 1% of the Ah rating for between 2 and 5 days and cycling to 50% of capacity and then recharging can bring the battery back. You need to monitor the temp during this process and not let the battery get above 50 deg.
I have recovered a few batteries this way.
Some newer 4 stage intelligent chargers can do this automatically

If it is physically damaged by overcharging, plates bent or heavy sulphation then yes the battery is dead and is not likely to be looking like Lazarus.:D

Regarding bike batteries, if yours failed I wonder if they came dry charged with the little acid packs that you refill?
The biggest problem with these is the fill process introducing bubbles into the cell, these sit on the plates and can reduce battery life by a huge amount, its a known problem.
I use an Odyssey on my bike, they work great!

Micky 32

Something to note when you start talking about de sufaters etc. A well maintained never flattened battery when it comes to the end of it's life doesn't die from sulfation. It dies from positive plate corrosion.

During vibration, charging and discharging cycles bits( active material shedding) fall off the positive plates and fall to the bottom of the battery..

Overtime the battery either loses capacity from the positive plates being nearly depleted due to this process and/or the build up off sludge at the bottom of the battery( from the pos plates) that eventually builds up and touches the bottom of the plates and shorts the cell out.

Batteries that die of sulfation are due to undercharged batteries or batteries left lying up for long periods without charging.