New battery

Do you waite till your battery fails or replace it when you figure its about
to.

Thanks
Tom

 

On my '92 accord, I replaced it when the car reached 5 years old as
noted on the door jamb sticker. I was working then (now retired) and
didn't want to have a problem on the road. I have decided to let the
current (get it? CURRENT!) battery stay in there till it dies, just to
see what happens. bob

 

like the other poster said he replaced his at 5 years. Not a bad idea and
the purchase isn't going to break the bank. I usually wait until I start
having a noticeable hesitancy in the cranking of the motor. It isn't long
after that that the battery will go usually.

CaptainKrunch

 

I have never prematurely replaced a battery. They get replaced when a)
outright failure - on the newer cars, this seems to be the way they go, or
b) too weak to crank the engine - haven't had one like this since moving to
Texas in the 1970's.

It doesn't get cold enough here (North Texas) to have the winter
battery-to-weak issues that plague the snow belt cars.

Current experiences:

- Last three Honda/Acuras: original batteries died at 24-27 months in a
one-minute-its-fine-next-minutes-its-stone-cold-dead manner. Honda's
maintenance free batteries don't seem to be able to handle Texas summers.

- Last four Nissan/Infinitis: 6-7 years before failure. These are
traditional screw cap over each cell style batteries. As long as the water
is kept up, they seem to last forever. Here too, when they have died, it
has been the one-minute-its-good-the-next-there-is-nothing mode.

- Volkswagen: car was 12 months old; drove over a railroad crossing; battery
was instantly dead.

If I had to predict when a battery should be replaced, I would say for this
part of the world, the maintenance free models at 24 months and the
traditional ones at 6 years. For myself, I will stick with the "if it ain't
broke, don't fix it" philosophy.

 

I'd say replace before failure. My anecdotal reading indicates that a failing
battery puts a strain on the alternator and may contribute to premature
alternator failure. E.g.

"A weak battery that is not storing enough power will cause the alternator to
work harder and possibly cause premature alternator failure. Dirty or corroded
battery terminals can severely reduce the lifespan of the battery and
alternator." http://www.trustmymechanic.com/35.html

" ...depleted batteries make recharging much more difficult, shortening
alternator life." http://www.intra-tech.com/news/homeapriltwentnine.html

"By maintaining batteries in peak condition alternators do not work as hard,
batteries accept charge more readily so alternator life is extended. Healthy
batteries start engines easier, so your starter should also last longer."
http://www.megapulse.net/faq.htm

I (imprudently) let the first two batteries on my 1991 Civic (152k+ miles) stay
until they died completely. Each lasted 4.5 years. I had a few jumpstarts on
each. Jumpstarts also shorten battery life. I am on my second alternator (hmm).

The first battery was OEM and the second was the best quality battery Sears
offered for my car.

===============================
My Criteria for Replacing My Present Battery
===============================
My present battery (the third, another Sears battery) is approaching 4 years in
age. I recently took "benchmark" voltage readings on it: They're 12.4 volts when
the car is not running, and 14.5 volts when it is.

Naturally, any voltage below 12 volts when the car is not running (and the
battery is supposedly fully charged) indicates a suspect battery. Also, sites
like http://www.justbajan.com/cars/maintain/052501-01/volt.htm suggest about
14.4 volts when the car is running is one indication of a satisfactorily
operating battery.

At the four year mark, I plan to check the battery voltages monthly. I'll be
looking for voltage drops below 12 volts (not running) or under 14 volts
(running).

Also, as others here said, I will be watching for signs of hard starting.

These voltage checks are only a crude gage of how the battery is doing. A
certified mechanic would also probably check the battery with a hydrometer (if
possible; some batteries are sealed) and the battery's ability to deliver
current. But I don't want to pay for this (though places like Autozone might do
it for free), as I think I now have a pretty good feel for when the battery is
dying.

If the voltages are still satisfactory at 4.5 years, I'll probably replace the
battery simply as a precaution.

I note also that any given make of battery will be specified for "cold climate"
or "hot climate." I have always had "cold climate" batteries in my car, as I
have lived in the Northern U.S. until a year ago. Now I'm in a much warmer
climate, so the battery currently in my car is probably not quite right.

Also, heat is harder on batteries than cold.

I likely will buy an Interstate battery next. I understand this is what Honda
puts in its new cars. They're more expensive than what I can get at Sears (by
around $15), but I'm told the Interstate battery will last longer.

tflfb wrote

 

Except that when CRANKING the engine,the alternator is NOT in use.
(the real battery test;cranking,the greatest strain on the battery,100s of
amps drawn in a short time)

Lead-acid batteries fail from loss of electrolyte(evaporation of H2O) or
from the paste falling out of the plate grids and piling up at the bottom
of the cell,shorting it,or from sulfation,causing the internal resistance
to increase,causing a greater voltage drop under loads.

Alternators fail when a bearing fails,when a rectifier diode fails,or the
slip rings brushes fail from wear.(bad contact)

 

If you want to save yourself the hassle of reprogramming all your radio
stations, connect a 9V battery to the car battery cables before you
disconnect the cables (observing the correct polarity, of course: + to +, -
to -).

Bearman

 

I used to wait until they failed until the last one failed on my wife while
I was at sea (Navy) and she had to deal with it. I've now been instructed
at the 4 year point (where the last factory Honda battery died) that we will
NOT do that again. They're cheap enough, but I really hated turning in a
battery that may have had a few more months left in it. For my car I wait
until they die then get pissed when it happens. I guess it's a man thing.

Roger

 

Why wait until it fails? You'll likely wind up getting stranded somewhere.
However, replacing it too early before it's really due to be replaced isn't
cost effective either. A simple solution is to determine the CCA (cold
cranking amps) remaining in the battery. Many shops have a small hand held
device which hooks up to the battery and measures the reserve capacity. I
recently replaced my 410 CCA Interstate battery as it had gotten down to
about 225 CCA and was noticeably cranking the engine slower especially when
the car had sat for a day without being driven. I don't know what to make
of the "four year" rule that was mentioned. My battery took eight years to
get to the point where I replaced it though your mileage my vary.

Eric

 

Test again, sorry.