When battery goes
- Thread starter Jim K
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I've had both ways. The factory battery in the Saturn gave no warning at all. Cranked mightily and never had a lick of trouble until one day it started up fine one morning, then just a few hours later it couldn't crank at all and needed a jump. Last battery got progressively weaker and noticed one particularly cold morning that the cranking was VERY slow but still started. Checked it at Autzone and they confirmed it was tuckered out.
I've had slower cranking batteries before they have failed and I've had where it was perfectly fine the night before and then went to re-start and the battery was toast.
I've had it both ways. I've had sudden internal open circuits where the battery suddenly no longer works. I've also had warning as the battery doesn't have the capacity to crank a cold engine. The only one you can head off is the latter by testing your battery.
Originally Posted by Jimkobb
Just wonder if those that have replaced a car battery if you had a warning sign when battery was dying or did you go out one morning and go to start up with no or little cranking?
Originally Posted by Jimkobb
Just wonder if those that have replaced a car battery if you had a warning sign when battery was dying or did you go out one morning and go to start up with no or little cranking?
Originally Posted by CT8
It depends .
+1 it depends.
Now if you used a carbon pile load tester every October you would probably never be surprised with an unexpected battery failure. (October was picked due to winter. Florida may be different).
It depends .
+1 it depends.
Now if you used a carbon pile load tester every October you would probably never be surprised with an unexpected battery failure. (October was picked due to winter. Florida may be different).
Usually little to none. I suppose load testing would say something... but usually just out of the blue it drops a cell. I think one battery did fail to hold a charge overnight for a couple of nights, that was its sign (got replaced pretty quickly).
I'd care but what I've done is just get a jump and then drive to Walmart, change the battery in the parking lot, and motor on. I usually have a tool kit in the car so it's a 10 minute job (assuming nothing breaks!).
I'd care but what I've done is just get a jump and then drive to Walmart, change the battery in the parking lot, and motor on. I usually have a tool kit in the car so it's a 10 minute job (assuming nothing breaks!).
AGM batteries usually dont give any warning. Flooded ones do.
The short answer is yes.
All depends on how the battery fails!
All depends on how the battery fails!
Best I can remember , always started to crank slower before the battery died . I hope / expect to get about 4 years out of a battery . Some do , some don't . Be sure to test the alternator output voltage at the alternator & look for corrosion / bad / loose connections at the battery .
Loose fan belt is not usually an issue with serpentine belts .
Loose fan belt is not usually an issue with serpentine belts .
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Originally Posted by Donald
Originally Posted by CT8
It depends .
+1 it depends.
Now if you used a carbon pile load tester every October you would probably never be surprised with an unexpected battery failure. (October was picked due to winter. Florida may be different).
Another +1.
I've had one unusual experience not listed above. My previous '97 Legacy used to kill its Yellow-top (deep-cycle) battery relatively frequently, but it would always recharge and last for months before having it go dead again. It would literally crank fine one time, then, during the next crank, it would have just enough to slowly crank over, but not enough to start the engine. The previous owner had installed the yellow-top before I took ownership. I'd only ever used deep-cycle batteries for boating (e.g., trolling motors, back-up/starter batteries, etc.), so maybe that's why it was so unusual for me to live so long after so many drains...
//
Outside of that one instance, I've experienced batteries that would die after too many jumps (before I knew better than to simply jump and drive...); I've experienced a battery that simply died after previously operating normally (Honda OEM); I've also experienced batteries that slowly degraded (past couple of Subaru OEM) --> they would test fine, but would crank noticeably weaker from winter to winter.
//
Since then, I've made it a habit of charging our batteries to full at least a couple of times per month, weekly if I can help it. I use a DC power supply to ensure an actual full charge. It's amazing how low of a charge these batteries get to. Our Legacy had to be re-flashed due to a TSB for too little charging from the alternator, resulting in too many dead batteries. Even after this reflash, it's still not perfect; better than it was, but not perfect. The Forester will have a battery at ~12.35VDC after a couple of weeks, and take 1A of charge for hours before reaching 14.4VDC, then take 14.4VDC for more than a day before showing a completely full charge!
I don't use really any gizmos or heated seats or the like, unless my family is in the car with me. I simply don't need them. My wife's Foz, however, has a lot of heated things and probably draws a ton more power during her driving, which is likely the cause of the lower battery levels. That....combined with a likely poor charging logic from Subaru to save 0.1 MPG...
I my practice of fully charging the batteries every so often helps them live a long live; however, it won't matter if a cell shorts! I could charge them every single night and it would all be for naught, if a cell shorts tomorrow...
Originally Posted by CT8
It depends .
+1 it depends.
Now if you used a carbon pile load tester every October you would probably never be surprised with an unexpected battery failure. (October was picked due to winter. Florida may be different).
Another +1.
I've had one unusual experience not listed above. My previous '97 Legacy used to kill its Yellow-top (deep-cycle) battery relatively frequently, but it would always recharge and last for months before having it go dead again. It would literally crank fine one time, then, during the next crank, it would have just enough to slowly crank over, but not enough to start the engine. The previous owner had installed the yellow-top before I took ownership. I'd only ever used deep-cycle batteries for boating (e.g., trolling motors, back-up/starter batteries, etc.), so maybe that's why it was so unusual for me to live so long after so many drains...
//
Outside of that one instance, I've experienced batteries that would die after too many jumps (before I knew better than to simply jump and drive...); I've experienced a battery that simply died after previously operating normally (Honda OEM); I've also experienced batteries that slowly degraded (past couple of Subaru OEM) --> they would test fine, but would crank noticeably weaker from winter to winter.
//
Since then, I've made it a habit of charging our batteries to full at least a couple of times per month, weekly if I can help it. I use a DC power supply to ensure an actual full charge. It's amazing how low of a charge these batteries get to. Our Legacy had to be re-flashed due to a TSB for too little charging from the alternator, resulting in too many dead batteries. Even after this reflash, it's still not perfect; better than it was, but not perfect. The Forester will have a battery at ~12.35VDC after a couple of weeks, and take 1A of charge for hours before reaching 14.4VDC, then take 14.4VDC for more than a day before showing a completely full charge!
I don't use really any gizmos or heated seats or the like, unless my family is in the car with me. I simply don't need them. My wife's Foz, however, has a lot of heated things and probably draws a ton more power during her driving, which is likely the cause of the lower battery levels. That....combined with a likely poor charging logic from Subaru to save 0.1 MPG...
I my practice of fully charging the batteries every so often helps them live a long live; however, it won't matter if a cell shorts! I could charge them every single night and it would all be for naught, if a cell shorts tomorrow...
Originally Posted by Chris142
AGM batteries usually dont give any warning. Flooded ones do.
You beat me to it! +1
AGM batteries usually dont give any warning. Flooded ones do.
You beat me to it! +1
The only warning was the starting was getting slow and sounded weak. When i noticed that I checked and charged the battery only to find it didn't hold a charge so I replaced it.
Originally Posted by Pelican
Originally Posted by Chris142
AGM batteries usually dont give any warning. Flooded ones do.
You beat me to it! +1
Good to know since the one in my truck is my first one. It's a little over three years old and it still spins that 5.7 like there's no tomorrow, hoping to have it for a long time.
Seems like most batteries I have used always show signs, mostly slower cranking. The times they been completely dead have been my fault by leaving the doom light on.
Originally Posted by Chris142
AGM batteries usually dont give any warning. Flooded ones do.
You beat me to it! +1
Good to know since the one in my truck is my first one. It's a little over three years old and it still spins that 5.7 like there's no tomorrow, hoping to have it for a long time.
Seems like most batteries I have used always show signs, mostly slower cranking. The times they been completely dead have been my fault by leaving the doom light on.
I load test all of them around this time of year, before the cold weather hits (it was early this year), replace any when they drop below around 80% of rated CCA. Seems to work pretty well, haven't had to bust out the jump box too often. Combined with solar battery maintainers on the infrequently driven vehicles, of course!
A while back, somebody put it really well. To paraphrase since I can't remember, batteries are fatally wounded by excessive heat in summer, but they manage to not die until winter. The high temperatures cause issues with the internals, but stress on the battery is highest in cold weather and the battery just can't handle it.
Originally Posted by javacontour
I've had it both ways.
Same here... I have had some weak ones that I nursed along for months (this is the norm)
Only twice ever (over at least 100-150 different batteries) have I had them just "die" suddenly.
Once many years ago, and recently was a MAXX-1 (grp 65) in my F150. Perfect one day, the next - nothing.
Now, Harley-Davidsons are very hard on batteries.
To have one "fail suddenly, for no reason" is commonplace.
It's the heat and vibration that kills them. I replace every 2 years no matter what.
I've had it both ways.
Same here... I have had some weak ones that I nursed along for months (this is the norm)
Only twice ever (over at least 100-150 different batteries) have I had them just "die" suddenly.
Once many years ago, and recently was a MAXX-1 (grp 65) in my F150. Perfect one day, the next - nothing.
Now, Harley-Davidsons are very hard on batteries.
To have one "fail suddenly, for no reason" is commonplace.
It's the heat and vibration that kills them. I replace every 2 years no matter what.
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