Life span of a battery

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dag019

dag019

Well-Known Member
Posts
6,073
Location
Warwick
What would people expect to be the life span of a battery?

This morning for the first time in a long long time the 110 (200tdi) failed to start and let me down. I currently have a 663HD battery fitted 110ah 750(ish)cca and felt like it was turning over slow. I will charge the battery (typically I have leant my battery charger to a friend so need to re-acquire that to remedy the problem) and have a new set of glow plugs I bought last year, when I felt it was slow to start in the spring, but never got around to fitting. The current battery was fitted in 2016, has been to the dessert and back a couple of times and has probably done over 100k in that time. I know some people claim to get over 10-12 years from a battery but I feel they are the same people that only do a few thousand miles a year on a summers evening in their land rover which is very different from my use. Is it likely to be time for a new battery?
 
It has always confused me that the battery that comes with any car usually lasts around 8-10 years without any serious issues, but the replacements only ever last 3-4 years. No where seems to advertise more than a 4 year guarantee. o_O
 
Very variable, I have had batteries last 10 years - I have one on a 2nd car that doesn't get much use, its been on 10 years and tests up as weak but after a few days driving comes back fine. The one on my Series just packed up at 4 years but it was a cheapy from a local factors and its a 3.3 diesel that takes a huge cranking current. Got a premium make this time so will see how it goes. The warrenty is usually 3 years so anything beyond 4 is a bonus. I paid £84 delivered for an Exide 019 (100ah / 900cca) and I'm hoping for 5 years.
 
it really depends on the quality of the battery, the types and frequency of journey you do and the condition of the charging system
check the voltage in the morning before starting, it should be over 12.4v ideally, if nothing is awake or turned on. start the car and watch the voltage while the starter is engaged, if it drops much below 11v then its past its best. 10.5v or less and its definitely on its way out
 
I tend to get about 5 years from a decent make battery. I'm always in denial when they start to struggle and I'll keep charging them until I'm fed up of it. I think people who have the luxury of parking their car in a garage keep their batteries a year or two longer. Motorbike batteries are the worst, they're not much cheaper than car batteries and don't last anywhere near as long, and that is when they are parked in a garage and connected to a battery minder. A battery rep who worked for Varter once told me that the bottom part of a battery is a sludge trap and manufacturers use up some of this space to get bigger plates in, the trouble is there isn't so much room for the sludge to sit so it shorts out the plates quicker.

Col
 
Colthebrummie said:
I tend to get about 5 years from a decent make battery. I'm always in denial when they start to struggle and I'll keep charging them until I'm fed up of it. I think people who have the luxury of parking their car in a garage keep their batteries a year or two longer. Motorbike batteries are the worst, they're not much cheaper than car batteries and don't last anywhere near as long, and that is when they are parked in a garage and connected to a battery minder. A battery rep who worked for Varter once told me that the bottom part of a battery is a sludge trap and manufacturers use up some of this space to get bigger plates in, the trouble is there isn't so much room for the sludge to sit so it shorts out the plates quicker.

Col
Click to expand...
AGM bike batteries are very expensive per amphour compared to a car battery :( and usually underrated for the application
 
kermit_rr said:
AGM bike batteries are very expensive per amphour compared to a car battery :( and usually underrated for the application
Click to expand...
All three of my bike batteries have failed this year. The missus reckons it's my fault, how she comes to this conclusion is a mystery to me. I think she just works on the assumption that everything is my fault when in fact only about 90% is.

Col
 
I have a number of battery's on different vehicles, car landrovers, tractors and on the last on motor bike I had the dam battery went on fire and burnt the bike out while I was on it, things got rather warm down below :eek: and I had to bail.
Quality counts with batts, no need for top of the range just don't go for the cheapest.
Fitting a bigger than standard helps with longer life, both my landys have 664 type tractor batts.
Regular use is better than now and then but if leaving vehicle for a while trickle charge overnight to top up.
Even on a regular use truck a trickle charge every four months or so will maintain the full charge level.
I do get close on ten years from most batts.
 
Last edited:
tottot said:
I have a number of battery's on different vehicles, car landrovers, tractors and on the last on motor bike I had the dam battery went on fire and burnt the bike out while I was on it, things got rather warm down below :eek: and I had to bail.
Quality counts with batts, no need for top of the range just don't go for the cheapest.
Fitting a bigger than standard helps with longer life, both my landys have 664 type tractor batts.
Regular use is better than now and then but if leaving vehicle for a while trickle charge overnight to top up.
Even on a regular use truck a trickle charge every four months or so will maintain the full charge level.
Click to expand...
Wow, that makes my knackered battery pale into insignificance.

Col
 
Just on my way to pick up a nice LR battery for the RR.

Will be interestng to see how old the old is when I take it out.

Cheers
 
Well I would not class what I currently have as a cheap battery. It’s a yuasa 663HD (110ah 735cca) but when I got it tested the voltage is good but it is only putting out about 400amp. So has lost nearly half is cranking ability. Just bought a new one from a local motor factor. Another yuasa, ybx3642 110ah and 925cca. £130 inc vat which I didn’t think was too bad for the rating. And if it last same amount of time reliably I will be happy given the mileage and usage it gets.
 
The 80Ah 740CCA battery in the Squirrel was new in 2014 and wont start the car (first thing) until I wait for the heater relay to click off. I have a volt meter in the fag lighter socket which shows less than 11V when the heaters are on and over 11.6V when they click off. I'm sure it wasn't always like that and I think it's lost some capacity over time (another owner).
My other 300tdi 90 has a much larger battery (110Ah 920CCA) and that just starts the car first turn even with the heater light still on, on an icy morning. The battery is around 8 years old.

I think you need to be able to supply enough current so as not to strain the battery and not to leave it connected in too low a charge state for any appreciable length of time.
If I am not using the car for a few weeks I disconnect the battery (isolation switch).
 
[QUOTE="miktdish, post: 5021875, member:
If I am not using the car for a few weeks I disconnect the battery (isolation switch).[/QUOTE]

Agree, disconnect when not in use, or if you need to keep live use a solar charger.
 
When I bought my 90 it came with an old Halfords one, that died the first winter and I put a new battery on. That was 2008 and it gave up this spring with the lockdown meaning the car was sitting for 3 or 4 days without being used. Prior to that I was doing 25-35k per year and the battery never gave a hint of problems, so I think regular use is best.

It was not an expensive one, but I just bought the biggest one that would fit from the local auto-electrics place. The new one this time came from Tanya, and so it will be interesting to see how long it lasts. I’m betting not 12 years.
 
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