Car battery life?

roswell

10 years X 365 days assuming you start it once a day .. how much blood do you want out of that battery ?

Joe_Horner

daveyjp wrote: »

The battery may simply have low water level in one of the cells. If the battery isn't sealed for life check each cell.

And, if it is "sealed for life", then break off the glued-on cover and check each cell

pineapple

roswell wrote: »

10 years X 365 days assuming you start it once a day .. how much blood do you want out of that battery ?

That's why I posted - because I had no idea how long a battery should last

victor2

pineapple wrote: »

Thanks. I just thought a battery was a battery was a battery. Do they vary greatly then? That said - given the age of the car not sure how much longer the car itself will go on anyway.
PS the neighbour who lent me his charger assured me that now that it is fully charged it should at least see the rest of the winter out ??

It could last the winter or could be dead tomorrow. If you can trust whoever services it for you, ask them what replacement they'd recommend. Then you can shop around for a good price on it, or just let them supply it. Our mechanic gave us a choice of a cheaper one that would do the job, or one for a little bit more that should last longer. We are fortunate to have a mechanic we totally trust and went for the more expensive one.
Not expecting to have to replace it again.

pineapple

Well I bit the bullet and had the village garage fit a new one. Living out in the sticks I need my car. I was reading that a lot of AA call outs are due to dead batteries We may still get some winter yet and I can't risk being stranded.
Thanks for all the replies.

takman

Most places manufactures replacing batteries after no more than 5 years. If you go into halfords they have a machine to test the battery and it says what percentage of the original capacity it still has but don't buy a battery from their because they are too expensive.

I recommend Exide Premium batteries they are a good price and have a 4 year manufacturers warranty. I have them in both of my cars and one of them is now 3 years old and still starts the diesel engine instantly. They also have a little indicator on them that tells you when the battery is no good.

Ectophile

10 years is about right for the batteries that are fitted to a car when new. For some reason, the replacement ones never seem to last as long.

If the battery is failing, replace it now. Otherwise, you will kick yourself when it fails completely one cold morning, and you need to get somewhere, and you knew that the battery was on it's way out.

I've been there myself!