life span of an automotive battery....

[John Terefenko]

Most of the stories I hear about car batteries is that the original battery that comes with the car usually outlasts any subsequent battery installed in the same car. Lots of reports of five or six years on the original battery and subsequent batteries often only last three years even with a name brand battery. I replaced the original battery in my car just as winter started. It was five and a half years and still working just fine, but I didn't want to end up stuck in the cold. We'll see how long the NAPA battery by Deka East Penn I installed lasts.

Boy do I agree with this statement. Happened on 2 vehicles I have bought

[Jason Roehl]

I should know this, but is there any kind of easy test one can do with basic electrical tools to check the status of your battery? Voltmeter across the terminals?

You can pop off the cell caps and check the voltages between cells. They should all be the same at about 2.05-2.1V. One terminal is at the same potential as the adjacent cell, the other will have that same 2.1V between it and the adjacent cell, so you should get 6 readings. I was fighting a battery in my wife’s vehicle that, by Friday of the week, after charging it on the weekend, wouldn’t start her vehicle. The auto shops said it was fine. Finally, after trying to chase parasitic drain, I took off the caps, and started measuring individual cells. I found a short between two of them. This was on an 18-month-old battery, when I normally get 5-6 years on them here.

[Tom M King]

I keep Battery Tenders, and NOCO's on every small battery, and regular ones that sit for more than a few days at the time here. I forget how many years I've been doing that, but I've not had to replace a single battery since then. There are four full sized tractor batteries that might be 10 years old.

Our Farm Use car battery dies every few months. That car doesn't run long enough at the time to charge the battery, but we don't want to bother to plug, and unplug a charger every time we use it. Charged with a 10 amp NOCO, it's good for another several months. It's been doing that for some years now, and wasn't new for several years before that.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I think that is what the 200 amp guys were doing getting rid of sulfation or is it sulfitation you call it?

I've watched several of those videos. Just don't understand how it could work, when most alternators now put out over 100 amps.

[Lee DeRaud]

I've watched several of those videos. Just don't understand how it could work, when most alternators now put out over 100 amps.

They do, but how much of that actually shows up as charge current at the battery? It's connected in parallel with the rest of the electrical system...I've never been able to get my head wrapped around the effective "resistance" of a battery, which makes any normal Ohm's Law calculation a bit sketchy.

A related question I've never gotten a plausible answer to is, how much driving does it take to fully recharge from a typical cold start? Due to the local geography (e.g. less than a mile to Home Depot ), I'm kind of the poster boy for short-trip-driving, so it's actually something that might be a concern.

[Rod Sheridan]

After getting stuck at work with a dead battery (oem-4yrs old, wouldn't take a charge on the jump, alternator fine) on my previous truck, I adopted a policy of replacing the battery after 3 years, no questions asked. For the few extra dollars I fork out, it's a risk I no longer worry about.

Having spent a lifetime diagnosing large stationary battery problems and developing PM plans for batteries, I replace mine at 3 years also.

Nothing like having battery issues New Years Eve, when you’re in a suit and it’s-25😀😀

[Chuck Wintle]

Having spent a lifetime diagnosing large stationary battery problems and developing PM plans for batteries, I replace mine at 3 years also.

Nothing like having battery issues New Years Eve, when you’re in a suit and it’s-25😀😀

and i bet that is -25C!

[Jason Roehl]

and i bet that is -25C!

…which is -13°F…

[Ron Citerone]

They do, but how much of that actually shows up as charge current at the battery? It's connected in parallel with the rest of the electrical system...I've never been able to get my head wrapped around the effective "resistance" of a battery, which makes any normal Ohm's Law calculation a bit sketchy.

A related question I've never gotten a plausible answer to is, how much driving does it take to fully recharge from a typical cold start? Due to the local geography (e.g. less than a mile to Home Depot ), I'm kind of the poster boy for short-trip-driving, so it's actually something that might be a concern.

I think it charges pretty quickly. 4 second crank X 225 amp starter draw = 900 ampseconds.

Even with an "effective" charge rate of 20 amps it would take: 900ampseconds/20amps =45 seconds

My math brain has senior moments so I am open to corrections.

[Lee DeRaud]

I think it charges pretty quickly. 4 second crank X 225 amp starter draw = 900 ampseconds.

Even with an "effective" charge rate of 20 amps it would take: 900ampseconds/20amps =45 seconds

My math brain has senior moments so I am open to corrections.

Fair enough...guess I can cross that off my list of "things to worry about".

Especially given that four seconds is a LONG crank for any modern car. Every car I've owned this century, sub-1-second is more normal. (Note: I don't do diesel. )

[Ron Citerone]

Fair enough...guess I can cross that off my list of "things to worry about".

Especially given that four seconds is a LONG crank for any modern car. Every car I've owned this century, sub-1-second is more normal. (Note: I don't do diesel. )

Yeah, my 2007 minivan fires up instantly, but my wifes 4Runner cranks pretty long compared to most it seems.

I was on a 4Runner forum trying to find out about originl battery life last year and people had great longevity with original equiptment battery. It is made by Panasonic. I thought I would replace hers with a Panaonic but found out they don't sell them in the U.S.

[Lee DeRaud]

I was on a 4Runner forum trying to find out about originl battery life last year and people had great longevity with original equiptment battery. It is made by Panasonic. I thought I would replace hers with a Panaonic but found out they don't sell them in the U.S.

Huh. Seemed like for awhile every piece of electronic equipment I bought came with Panasonic AAs for the remotes etc, and they were total rubbish.

[Ron Citerone]

Funny thing about the AA batteries. For a Middle School science project, a student in the school I taught at compared AA battery life of several name brand batteries and off brand (store brand). In his experiment, CVS batteries out lasted them all in a flashlight test. I never bought the name brand again although I realize it was a school experiment, I figured at best they were of similar longevity and not worth the $ premium for the name.

[Rod Sheridan]

Battery resistance measurement is essentially the change in output voltage during an increase in discharge current.

For large cells internal resistance will be between maybe 80 and 400 micro-ohms, depending upon battery condition and capacity.

That’s why batteries are so dangerous, very low internal resistance yields very high short circuit currents. Many cells have short circuit currents between a few thousand and 30 thousand amperes…..Rod.