Is it possible to make the car battery last 'forever'?

Conrad3000

Hi all.

Let's say you drove your car every day for about 20+ years, would it be possible for the battery not to die?

Yes, it may get weak, but personally I think it should start up without any major issues. I've a battery that's lasted nearly 9 years and still going.

If the car's started up on a daily basis, I can't see how it'd go flat immediately the next day.

neilmcl

In a word no, it won't last forever. Car batteries will deteriorate over time eventually to a point where they simply won't hold a charge.

thegentleway

Batteries degrade (whether you use them or not). After 20 years, it won't be able to deliver as many cold cranking amps or hold as much charge when compared to new. I very much doubt it will start a car (unless it was massively oversized) after 20 years.
Starting a car draws current, you need to drive it around for the alternator to charge it.

born_again

Conrad3000 said:

If the car's started up on a daily basis, I can't see how it'd go flat immediately the next day.

For a battery not to go flat, it needs to be recharged. So simply "Starting a car on a daily basis" is going to flatten it faster than not starting a car on a daily basis. If you were to take the car for a good run to replace the charge taken out by starting it, then it will/may last longer.
But as batteries work on chemical reaction. Then they are never going to last forever.

AdrianC

A new battery is capable of delivering 500A from cold. The starter motor probably requires less than 200A
It will store 60Ah. Probably 1-2Ah is consumed between switching the engine off and it starting to charge after starting it again.
Starting it probably uses that 200A for maybe 2 seconds at most, so 0.1Ah.
The alternator can deliver, what, 100A? So 2Ah consumed will take a little over a minute to replenish.

That is a MAHOOSIVE margin for the battery to deteriorate before you notice anything actually amiss.

Conrad3000

Cheers guys. If my current (nearly 9 year old battery) is still going in a few years time, I'll let you know 😊

tr7phil

I replaced a 15 year old battery last year, if I had been using the car it was in daily or even weekly I wouldn't have needed to replace it as it was holding sufficient charge to start for about 9 or 10 days when I replaced it.

Ectophile

I find that the OEM batteries that manufacturers fit seem to last about 10 years.  Most fail gradually, needing replacing in the autumn or winter as the load on them to start the car increases.  Sometimes a battery will fail suddenly with no warning.

With replacement batteries, if you get one that's not cheap or under-sized, then it will probably last he rest of the life of the car.  Under-sized batteries may last a few years, but will eventually fail.

UncleZen

Its very hot or very cold temperatures  that tend to speed up their degradation

Mickey666

I've never really understood the issue with car batteries.  They 'wear out' and you replace them - same as tyres, brakes, windscreen wipers etc.  And they're a lot cheaper than tyres and brakes.  I've never understood why some people insist on 'nursing' a failing battery and spend money on chargers and jump leads when the best solution is to just by a new battery.
Yes, I get that £100 might not always be easy to find at short notice, but it's not really short notice is it?  It's usually 4-5 years, which is around 50/week and anyone running a car can afford that, so it's really just a budgeting issue.

Ditzy_Mitzy

My car, which has been in the family for 12 years or so, required its first replacement battery a couple of years ago.  It was odd as there were no warning signs of any description; I drove the car for a considerable distance and then parked, when I returned the car was electrically dead.  I had the battery replaced and all was fine again.