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BATTERY LIFESPAN

sebrussellsmith

sebrussellsmith

PCGB Member
Member
My battery died on me yesterday, however, it is a Varta battery that was fitted in January 2010. Just over 3 years doesnt seem all that long a life.
Any thoughts?
thanks
Seb
 
I had one fitted that only lasted a year. The battery had a 3yr warranty so it was replaced free of charge. After this then the replacement almost immediately it went flat! I tracked the battery drain down to a fault on the radio. Might be worth investigating further if you have a similar fault. If the battery gets discharged for a period it can soon become goosed.....


Graeme
 
I had mine fitted 4 years ago, it still starts the car, just, up to 4 weeks. Anything more than that and compression is just too much. I have only charged the battery twice in 4 years, one of them after my long stay in bed 10+ weeks. Having just had the RS pulley conversion fitted, it remains to be seen how much extra strain that will put on the battery. Guess I will find out on Monday, when I get the car back. Mine was only a standard heavy duty Motorfactors Battery, not a reputable brand. Hope I don't get struck off for that comment!
 
My Bosch AGM Silver Star (?) is going strong (touch wood) after 5 years but I keep it exercised during the winter with a CTEK conditioner and I suspect this helps. Although various things I have lurking in the car using up milliamps mean I don't expect it to start if I've left it for 4 weeks (it just manages 3)
 

ORIGINAL: Mark Elder

My Bosch AGM Silver Star (?) is going strong (touch wood) after 5 years but I keep it exercised during the winter with a CTEK conditioner and I suspect this helps. Although various things I have lurking in the car using up milliamps mean I don't expect it to start if I've left it for 4 weeks (it just manages 3)
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Same here - same battery, similar life span (on only second battery) and mine is on a conditioner every time the car is parked at home. One point, these type of batteries don't like being fully discharged, I think that can shorten their life.
 
The thing that really kills lead batteries is being fully drained. I have had a two week old battery die because of this. Doesn't matter what brand.

So the biggest factor in the life of the battery is how often and much the battery gets drained between use or if you can keep the battery on a maintainer when the car is unused. All my cars sit on a maintainer and have Halfords batteries and have been going for years and years with no failures.

Ian.
 
slight lateral question[8|]:

If you disconnect your battery when not in use / taken off the road - ( provided you've got somewhere safe to park it so the alarm is not an issue ) - how long should / would you expect a fully charged battery to retain enough charge to start the car?

Thanks,[&:]
 
Two things....

A really simple tip is to tape the receipt fopr your battery to the side of it in a freezer bag. When it fails, the last thing you want is to be looking through years of paperwork for that receipt, and I bet they rely on people not claiming a new one under warranty.

And, we've just replaced the battery on our Legacy at 9 years and 130K miles. My van has it's original two (yes, two on a Hiace [8|]), at 11 years and 150K miles. Is it really just down to regular use, and batteries die if the car is sitting for days, or weeks, without a good run?
 
OK guys, shall we put it to the democratic vote ? Strike Option 911 off or not ?
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Since I've had Varta, Porsche and Bosch and none have lasted more than 4 years I'd vote for congratulating him on his choice instead.. [:D]
 
We had been away for 6 days and when I came back to the car I found it had a flat. Having not driven it (although started) I inflated the spare tyre via the compressor plugged into the cigarette lighter.
I guess this is what drained the battery as I didn't have the engine running whilst inflating.
Strangely though the car did start after this as I drove around to the tyre fitters (not even a mile). It was only when I tried to start the car once the fitters had sorted the tyre did it not start.
 
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