2013 Equinox, 93k miles, original battery. After sitting over the weekend the care turned over slowly but managed to start. I decided not to push my luck and get a new battery. To save myself a return trip to the parts store for the core deposit I removed the battery from the Equinox. I noticed a bit of corrosion on the negative terminal. I had disconnected the terminal on 12/14/19 for the first time to work on the engine, at that time there was no corrosion after 7 years.
I took the battery to Autozone to have it tested. They told me the battery was at 100% capacity. They suggested I reinstall the battery and bring the Equinox in for a check. I then took it to Advance Auto to have it retested. The results were 12.8V and 483 of 485 rated CCA for a 7 year old battery.
When I reinstalled the battery I noticed if the clamp was not fully seated on the post the clamp were be loose after the clamp was tightened up. I’m thinking I did not seat the negative clamp correctly back in December and it was a bit loose. I cleaned the clamps and the battery posts before reinstalling the battery. It started right up and the alternator voltage was 14.5 - 14.8V at the battery terminals with the headlights on (it was dark at this point).
I live in South Jersey near Atlantic City.
Is it possible for a 7 year battery to be in such good condition? Could a loose battery clamp cause the corrosion and the difficulty starting?
Is it possible for a 7 year battery to be in such good condition? Could a loose battery clamp cause the corrosion and the difficulty starting?
[/quote]
Yes a loose clamp can cause problem’s as far as age goe’s I always heard that heat will shorten a battery’s life span but I live in the south and get an average of 8 year’s from battery’s so I guess it would depend on where you live.
Yes to both questions. I have a 2012 battery in one of my work trucks still going strong. Where you live and how the battery is treated can absolutely see a battery lasting 7-8 years.
My original battery in my Toyota Camry bought in 2011 still tests strong, My daughters 2010 Corolla’s battery is still going strong even though she left the lights on and ran it dead last month.
Yep… I agree with the others on this one. The answer would be yes to both as @eddo so eloquently mentioned.
Clean your batt terminals and the clamps… tighten down and see what you get. Wouldn’t hurt to put the battery on a charger overnight just to bring it back up to fully charged also. The alternator in the car is only supposed to maintain a fully charged battery…not to charge said battery.
Thanks for the replies, more often than not I don’t get much warning when a battery fails. I’m glad I was dead wrong about the battery. I drove up to Philly last night to take my Dad to his doctor’s appt, about a 160 mile round trip with no issues. I will make a habit of checking the battery clamps on a regular basis.
It’s good to know both parts stores are honest and provide good service.