Acceptable lifespan for average car battery!

[supercharged turbo]

Had one bosch battery last lest than a year with plenty run around from the dealer and another over 3 years comfortable.

[rollingstock]

Optima yellow top now hit 8 years.
Starts car normal, voltage drop to 12.1v with music loud, but realise with vehicle switched off the reserve capacity isn't there.
Considering a pricesmart redtop or wait till it finally caputs.

[joe_d_boss]

My Bosch lasted 5 years before showing signs of failure

Yes, I find the Bosch S4 series to be really good. You can get a good 5 years with them, and I am constantly driving because of my job in sales.

As for what is acceptable, I would say 3 years solid for the average-priced battery, but the Bosch costs more and you truly get more for the extra that they cost.

[VexXx Dogg]

Optima yellow top now hit 8 years.
Starts car normal, voltage drop to 12.1v with music loud, but realise with vehicle switched off the reserve capacity isn't there.
Considering a pricesmart redtop or wait till it finally caputs.

WOW.
That's some kind of record for a battery down here yes

[Musical Doc]

My Bosch lasted 5 years before showing signs of failure

Yes, I find the Bosch S4 series to be really good. You can get a good 5 years with them, and I am constantly driving because of my job in sales.

As for what is acceptable, I would say 3 years solid for the average-priced battery, but the Bosch costs more and you truly get more for the extra that they cost.

My one time I bought a bosch s4 it failed after just over a year. Got plenty run around about the warranty. Eventually had to shine them up on fb and go to consumer affairs then got it replaced

[hydroep]

Meh Turbo 2001 making ah 5 years come November. No lazy tumble but resting voltage does be around 12.1 - 12.2v — will replace just to be on the safe side...

[adnj]

Meh Turbo 2001 making ah 5 years come November. No lazy tumble but resting voltage does be around 12.1 - 12.2v — will replace just to be on the safe side...

Your battery is at about 40%-50% of original capacity.

[dan86]

My Bosch lasted 5 years before showing signs of failure

Yes, I find the Bosch S4 series to be really good. You can get a good 5 years with them, and I am constantly driving because of my job in sales.

As for what is acceptable, I would say 3 years solid for the average-priced battery, but the Bosch costs more and you truly get more for the extra that they cost.

My one time I bought a bosch s4 it failed after just over a year. Got plenty run around about the warranty. Eventually had to shine them up on fb and go to consumer affairs then got it replaced

I just changed a Bosch S4 after 5 years. It was still starting the car but gave a lazy tumble after being parked over the weekend. Had an S4 in another car that lasted 4 yrs. Left the car by painter and it ran down for a month and didnt last long after that. I replace it with another S4 and that going on 3 years.

That being said, the vibe i get from the seller after one issue makes me believe that any warranty claim will be a real pain and runaround.

[nick639v2]

Question, I see a battery seller change out batteries while the car running... Is this a no no or is it ok?? I never did it but I don't think that's a safe practice

[hydroep]

Meh Turbo 2001 making ah 5 years come November. No lazy tumble but resting voltage does be around 12.1 - 12.2v — will replace just to be on the safe side...

Your battery is at about 40%-50% of original capacity.

Thanks, I was checking my records and it's been stable around 12.22v since October last year and has since been slowly declining. It probably has life in it yet, but between the acid bath and potholes I don't trust the internal links to last much longer.

[hydroep]

Question, I see a battery seller change out batteries while the car running... Is this a no no or is it ok?? I never did it but I don't think that's a safe practice

...In the old days of generators and magnetos their would be no problems. In a current car the charging circuits will be unstable. Meaning spikes in voltage and current. Circuit boards don’t handle either well. Damage will vary but ignition, fuel injection, and dash pods are good prospects for damage...


...Your battery does more than just provide electrical current. It also shorts AC, spikes and transients to ground. Removing the battery from the circuit allows those spikes and transients to travel around, potentially destroying every semiconductor circuit in your vehicle. The ECU, the speed sensitive steering, the memory seat adjustments, the cruise control, and the vehicle’s stereo as well. I’ve never been struck by a bus but I’ve never stepped out in front of one either. Some mechanics still do this little feat and some are lucky and some…not so much...

https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-happens-if-i-disconnect-the-battery-while-my-car-is-running/82462/2

[The_Honourable]

Question, I see a battery seller change out batteries while the car running... Is this a no no or is it ok?? I never did it but I don't think that's a safe practice

It's a no no... you at risk screwing over your electrical system. You could have gotten away with that in older vehicles that didn't have sensitive electronics.

Only time i recall doing that is to help a padna start his old ford laser. His battery died and we had no jumper cables. Took my battery out, put it in his vehicle, start, then switch back to the bad battery within 20 seconds with the engine running. Told him not to idle at all when stopping. If he has to, put the gear on neutral or park and rev up a bit so it would not cut off. He reached home safely.

[88sins]

Question, I see a battery seller change out batteries while the car running... Is this a no no or is it ok?? I never did it but I don't think that's a safe practice

It's a no no... you at risk screwing over your electrical system. You could have gotten away with that in older vehicles that didn't have sensitive electronics.

in a perfect world, it's best to avoid the practice if at all possible. But this can be done safely, IF the person doing it knows what they doing, and what the vehicle is doing.
As long as extreme care is taken to ensure that at no time should the positive battery terminal contact any grounded part of the vehicle, it can be done. One can either hold the positive terminal in your hand as far as possible away from everything metal or electrical at all times during the swap (risky), or wrap it in a non-conductive material in case it might fall.
In most vehicles, even newer ones, the alternator is grounded (negative side) to the engine and chassis. So a negative battery terminal touching these areas while the alternator is generating current (engine runnig & alternator spinning) doesn't have much of an ill effect. But if the positive side is never connected to the chassis or engine, and if ever it did it'd create a short circuit that could damage an ECU, alternator, sensors & wiring.

[88sins]

as a side note
for those ona budget that can't afford those fancy mini jumpstarters or those multi purpose units with compressor/ light/charger/jumpstarter all in one, it's not a bad idea to keep a fully charged good 7-8AH battery handy in vehicle if you have one. last I priced them they were about 150-250 for one depending on brand and supplier, and it can help start a vehicle with a weak or even almost dead battery.

this is really aimed at them fellas that HATE asking for a jump start form yuh neighbor, or those just want to be a bit more self sufficient in emergency situations (imagine you being far from home and the last vehicle leaving an area with not much vehicular traffic and yuh realize yuh battery deader than yuh great-granpa's jimmy)

[agent007]

Update:

Since I started tracking battery longevity, the longest I've gotten was 32 mths with an AC Delco as mentioned earlier ITT.

So we replaced that ACD with another one and thus far, 16 mths later, we have no issues.

We also have an Aurora battery made by Atlas. It's a Korean brand, a subsidiary of Hankook. 15 mths later and we're still good to go.

Tell us about the length of time your batteries are lasting so we can all form better opinions, thanks.

[Numb3r4]

32 months is good, I usually change at about 36 months.

When I carry the car in for a servicing I let them check the battery as well and usually at about 36 months you begin to see the degradation.

[88sins]

what's the average lifepsan allyuh getting off an Optima yellow top battery these days?
Considering getting one for a stock vehicle with no electrical heavy load

[rollingstock]

I have one 8 years and another 6 years.
The older one was showing signs of diminished capacity. Took out the vehicle and replaced with a lead acid and placed it on a charger with a desulfating mode and its back to 12.6v

I've heard of some persons only getting 2 years from theirs though.

[88sins]

Nice, thnx is. Gonna pick one up today.
The current battery not failing yet, still reading 12..6-7, but it's about 24 months old so probably best to replace it before it fails.

[pugboy]

optima in pricesmart ?

[G-DUB]

Have a Alphacell 5 1/2 years now in a hilux, tested it last week 1146 CA and load tested at 12v.

[88sins]

optima in pricesmart ?

nah, going by Steve's. it closer to home anyway

[Rovin]

i have 6 optima yellow bought 9yrs ago , had d made in mexico tag on them , doh take no chain up from competitive sellers bout optima using recycle lead or made in mexico - dise BS

most of d time they were in my music van which never really got much use & they ran down plenty times , only 1 died few mths ago so far probably got run down way more than d others , have 1 in my wagon 5yrs , 1 in a diesel pickup bout 3yrs , 1 in my L300 as a starter batt , 2 in my store to test products that get recharged now\then

all still running good so far ... had a pricesmart a time that lasted nearly 4yrs, but i guess overall its how often u use ur car & how many times a day u start up which determines how long they last, if u have more than stock music or other additional stuff well that too

[agent007]

9 years I guess my next battery is an Optima.

[33 hertz]

Optima now a has distributor in trinidad. They offer a full 2 year replacement warranty and have most of the models in stock. Give them a shout 498-1884. They also do delivery

[pugboy]

battery lifespan has a lot to do with how many deep demands it gets
ie starts
a battery in a vehicle starting several times a day will last much longer than one starting twice a day

[NR8]

battery lifespan has a lot to do with how many deep demands it gets
ie starts
a battery in a vehicle starting several times a day will last much longer than one starting twice a day

always thought it was the other way around

[Soul Collector]

Fellas, if ya had to get the cheapest battery you could, what would you opt for? It's for a regular old car and normal use. Not expecting it to last a full 2 years even, just need sumn cheap which won't blow up. Thanks.

[pugboy]

Oops yeah

battery lifespan has a lot to do with how many deep demands it gets
ie starts
a battery in a vehicle starting several times a day will last much longer than one starting twice a day

always thought it was the other way around

[88sins]

Fellas, if ya had to get the cheapest battery you could, what would you opt for? It's for a regular old car and normal use. Not expecting it to last a full 2 years even, just need sumn cheap which won't blow up. Thanks.

Unless the wiring in the vehicle has several serious problems any local made lead acid battery will work fine and not "blow up". All properly built batteries have vents to allow gases to escape so they don't explode from pressure buildup. If your wiring jacked up the car will faster ketch fire than anything.
Carry it by an electrician for a check through if you really concerned about possible problems.