When do I need a new car battery

yoginindublin

Hi all. So lately in the past few days, my car sometimes won't start on the first to at it. Does this mean my batttery is about to die? How do I know when I need to change my battery? How do I know if that's the issue and not the stater?

Atlantic Dawn

Is the car fully turning over each time you try to start it? When were the spark plugs last changed?

biko

Is current battery 4 years or older? How old?

fancy pigeon

Test with a multimeter and note your voltage. Check battery depletion rate when cranking the engine again with the multimeter. If a new battery is needed I always tend to try get a higher CCA and AH battery than what was in it prior

Source: years at this (no google bots )

Del2005

biko wrote: »

Is current battery 4 years or older? How old?

We've batteries in their teens and still starting tractors fine. Age has little affect compared to multiple short trips or dodgy electrical system.

Eric Cartman

Del2005 wrote: »

We've batteries in their teens and still starting tractors fine. Age has little affect compared to multiple short trips or dodgy electrical system.

Tractors are a lot simpler machines though. Modern cars with sensors all over, coilpack ignition and auto gearboxes dont like less than perfect batteries.

biko

Del2005 wrote: »

We've batteries in their teens and still starting tractors fine. Age has little affect compared to multiple short trips or dodgy electrical system.

We're talking about a battery that may be failing. Interesting tractor anecdote though.
Many factors are involved when it comes to battery condition. Age is one of them, hence batteries have a date stamped.

listermint

I've yet to see a battery work well past 7 years on an average car. I use seven as a guide but if the car has a badly fitted radio or other electrical faults or is infrequently driven that can be slashed dramatically

Del2005

Eric Cartman wrote: »

Tractors are a lot simpler machines though. Modern cars with sensors all over, coilpack ignition and auto gearboxes dont like less than perfect batteries.

A big diesel is hard to turn over without a good battery. If a battery is treated right age won't affect it, short trips kill batteries. If a battery can recover properly every time it starts a vehicle it'll last.

Merrion

We'd probably need more symptoms - what noises do you get? Is it turning over but not firing or not turning over at all? Can you hear a solenoid "clunk" when you turn the ignition? What car make and model is it?

(In my own experience this tends to be a loose earth strap or terminal connection but this is with old cars. More modern cars with anti-theft devices and EMS have a vastly increased scope for faults)

CiniO

yoginindublin wrote: »

Hi all. So lately in the past few days, my car sometimes won't start on the first to at it. Does this mean my batttery is about to die? How do I know when I need to change my battery? How do I know if that's the issue and not the stater?

Usually when car doesn't start first time but starts the second or consequent time, it can't really be a battery issue.

If battery was dying, car would struggle to turn over the engine. The more you try it, the worse it would get.

biko

Move key back and forth between "off" and "on" a few times in the morning (do not actually start car).

Then turn ignition on.
Does it start first time? If so it''s the fuel delivery.

yoginindublin

I'm not sure what turning over means?
There is no clicking sounds. It's an audi a3. I got it second hand its from the UK. Regards is 2010.

CiniO

yoginindublin wrote: »

I'm not sure what turning over means?
There is no clicking sounds. It's an audi a3. I got it second hand its from the UK. Regards is 2010.

Turning over is when engine is being turned over by a started.
You can hear the sound of it betwee 0:03 and 0:04 on the video

coylemj

yoginindublin wrote: »

I'm not sure what turning over means?
There is no clicking sounds. It's an audi a3. I got it second hand its from the UK. Regards is 2010.

The starter motor is driven by the battery and turns the engine until it fires up and the normal combustion cycle cuts in. Can you hear the starter motor turning the engine for a few seconds or does it just die after a feeble attempt to start?

If the starter motor turns and turns but the engine just won't start, the problem is not the battery.

yoginindublin

ok. So sometimes the motor turns and won't start and it takes a long time. So I turn it off and try again. A couple of times it turns and dies.