Replaced battery today

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The Bosch branded 96r gave up in 3 years of driving. Car almost didn’t start this morning, went to O’Rileys on lunch and put in a Super Start battery. (I’m told they are made by east penn). It is nice and fresh also, sticker says 2/18. Engine turns over with authority now.

This was the second Bosch battery that has died in 3 years. Made by Johnson Controls. Junk
 
I used to get 5 years out of a battery. The first Bosch that died lived its life in North Georgia before I moved back to the panhandle.

I hooked up the batteryMINDer when I got home for an overnight topping charge. I’ll be topping it up at least once a month I think.
 
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Not long at all...
frown.gif
 
mine normally lasts about 3 years, i had all major brands in past 9 years
 
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Mine seem to last about 3 weeks longer than the warranty. My brother has been a mechanic for about 20 years now and in his opinion the 96R is one of the worst; none of the manufacturers seem to make a “better” 96R. IMHO buy the cheapest one since you’ll be replacing it in short order.
 
3 years is the average lifetime for a battery that lives under the hood in the engine compartment. I get 12 years out of my Bosch batteries.
 
The average temperature of the battery, followed by its average state of charge through its lifespan, will have much more effect on battery life than the sticker on the casing.

Since it takes a long time to charge from 80% to 100%, but can be drained from 100% to 80% quickly, the voltage allowed by the vehicle's voltage regulator will play a huge part in how quickly and closely it is returned to the ideal 100% state of charge, which in a vehicle, is basically never.

So it is likely the battery is junk. Most starting batteries are. Most are designed to last only the warranty period and a day, and battery manufacturers are doing their best to cheapen them to this ideal max profit point and spending part of that profit on marketing.

A wise person wanting to make the battery last far longer than the warranty period, would protect it from engine heat as best as possible, and use a grid powered charger to top it off every so often, and asap after any significant discharge of it.

Average state of charge, and average battery temperature. Both of these can be influenced by the vehicle owner to some degree.
 
Sorry about your misfortune.

I'm not familiar with the coding in the US, but on this side of the pound Bosch batteries are coded S3, S4 and S5.

Got two S5 running in two diesel vehicles like a clock for about 5 years each and that is quite good since we have hot summers and pretty could winters (100 to -5)
 
Next time consider buying a interstate battery from Costco they all come with a 42 month free replacement! Plus their $15 TO $25 cheaper than any place else.
 
Originally Posted By: SilverFusion2010

This was the second Bosch battery that has died in 3 years. Made by Johnson Controls. Junk


Bosch switched their US battery supplier to Exide in 2008, so any examples bought within the last decade or so would be Exide-, not JCI-made junk.
 
Avg age of the batteries I've replaced last year was 3 years (5+2+2+3). Heck it was a record year for me seeing car batteries dropping a cell which luckily some were under warranty.

Heck I've periodically used a pulse shooter battery tester to check for battery strength but they can't predict when a cell is gonna die. I've always carried jumper cables for that reason.
 
Yeah I keep a set of cables with me.

This new battery has a slightly different design, no removable vent caps. I’m hoping that means it has a slightly higher internal pressure so gases recombine. It has a bit better amp ratings vs the Bosch it replaced.

It’s wait and see now.
 
I suspect batteries will continue to be an issue for most drivers. Companies trying to be competitive in their offerings, production being moved off shore, the companies selling under their own label like Walmart negotiating to save the last penny.

I guess it's best to fully test the battery spring and fall and replace if it does not test well.

At least batteries are well recycled so replacing a little early does not consume more of the Earth's resources.
 
Its impossible to compare batteries in a forum nationwide. Spent most of my life up in NY until 10 years ago.
Im in shock how quickly batteries get killed by the heat down here ...

I used to think cold kills batteries, NO cold doesnt kill batteries, not like heat does and the South Carolina/Georgia area away from the coast gets far hotter on many days then Florida in the summer. (no ocean nearby)

Anyway, Walmart down here has 3 year replacement and I think Sams club too. We have received many free batteries for all our vehicles so far. Just got lucky and had them die right before warranty ended and then sometimes not so lucky and right after.

I now realize, heat kills batteries, never much thought about it till moving south..
 
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Originally Posted By: Andy636
Sorry about your misfortune.

I'm not familiar with the coding in the US, but on this side of the pound Bosch batteries are coded S3, S4 and S5.

Got two S5 running in two diesel vehicles like a clock for about 5 years each and that is quite good since we have hot summers and pretty could winters (100 to -5)

Batteries in the US are typically given a month/year code. The old way was a letter for the month and a single digit for the year. So a fairly recent A-5 would have meant January 2015. However, more recently they've shifted to a direct code. I remember seeing a combination with the old and new codes, but these days it's more like 02/18. That's what I saw on my last battery purchased last month.
 
Originally Posted By: SilverFusion2010
Yeah I keep a set of cables with me.

This new battery has a slightly different design, no removable vent caps. I’m hoping that means it has a slightly higher internal pressure so gases recombine. It has a bit better amp ratings vs the Bosch it replaced.

It’s wait and see now.

Well - removable caps means that you can replace the water. That's kind of basic maintenance that a lot of people don't do because it seems that it should be "maintenance free".
 
I had a mech tell me that batteries don't last as long as they use to because of the recycled lead is not as good as virgin lead. I wonder if there is any truth to that!
 
Originally Posted By: Duffyjr
I had a mech tell me that batteries don't last as long as they use to because of the recycled lead is not as good as virgin lead. I wonder if there is any truth to that!

That's a load of [censored]. The big thing isn't it's "virgin" or "recycled" but the actual purity. Virgin lead still comes from impure sources that need to be refined. The cost in getting it down to higher purity is going to be the main obstacle.
 
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