Heat wears out batteries, cold exposes weakness.
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But the North East and most parts in the North donāt even come close to that. Here in New England batteries last 7+ years on average. Alabama - 3 years. The colder temps in the North East keep batteries lasting longer. The far extreme colds (like -40) are damaging to batteries. Those cold temps are very extreme and very few people live in places like that. But the heat to kill a battery is no where near that extreme, and TENS OF MILLIONS of people live in those places.
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Where we live we have moderate summers but very cold winter weather. A battery thatās OK in the summer months may not start the car on a winter morning. Therefore, if the battery cannot carry a full load when tested in October, it will be replaced. Even with that batteries last about 7 years here.
We had out 1994 Nissan Sentra for 18 years and only installed two batteries.
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While living in Anchorage 12 years I donāt remember batteries having shortened lives.
Ever heard of the Grand Canyon?
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It seemed worthwhile to consider the owner/driver and their driving conditions to judge when to replace batteries and other components such as belts, hoses certain sensors and even thermostats. A mini van from a fleet of 140+ various types of vehicles driven 400+ miles each by 20 year old students carrying cancer patients from their homes to a treatment center seemed to be worth throwing a battery on after 3 years as would the battery on cars driven by 70+ year old couples who lived on isolated rural roads. On the other hand fleet vans driven by various service technicians who never left the city limits could run a battery until there was an indication of approaching failure regardless of years or miles. I have removed the mini van batteries at 36 months and installed them on vehicles that remained in town especially when driven by older more experienced drivers. Some breakdowns are more critical than others. Six of those mini vans were kept running 300k+ miles each without ever having a breakdown of any kind, not even a heater or AC failure.
Battery failure seems to be regarded as a sudden event where it suddenly stops working without any warning and age related, but itās able to be detected as it degrades with a load tester with its diminishing capability to deliver the cranking amps while maintaining sufficient voltage too soon the starter motor.
If you live in an hot conditions or have an electrical system that is poorly regulated, causing shorter battery lifespans, replace them at shorter intervals. If you always do it simply on a time basis, itās really only benefiting the battery industry. No guarantee either that installing the new battery doesnāt have issues, as it introduces a small risk any time a service is performed without checking. If I were going on a long trip to the boonies, I would not do all sorts of maintenance on it the day before; Iād want to do it well in advance and make sure itās okay before heading out with it.
If thereās a consistent incidence of battery failure at the three year mark without being in an extreme environment, check the charging voltage regulation or some issue like a loose battery mount that allows it to impact hard as it gets thrown up and down on bumps.
Itās generally not like a crank sensor that fails like turning off a light without any prior indication. A change in the cranking speed can indicate if itās on the verge, but if you arenāt sensitive to detecting changes, a $20 load tester is good for earlier detection, drawing 100A and displaying the maintained voltage at that level. I put an additional digital meter on mine to read to tenths of a volt, but even the analog meter that they come with shows up any shortcomings that may not be seen in normal cranking and starting.
Three years ago, I replaced my Outbackās battery, and because I was in somewhat of a rush that day, I went to the closest Autozone. I was offered three grades of batteries, and I selected the most powerful one, with the longest warranty.
Well, a few days ago, I checked my maintenance file and realized that the 3 year free replacement warranty on that battery will expire next week. So, on Friday, I returned to that Autozone and requested that they test my battery. The readout on their test equipment was very clearā¦BAD BATTERY.
About 20 minutes later, I drove away with my free replacement battery. Yes, there would still have been warranty coverage on that battery for another couple of years, but I would have had a co-pay (rangingāI thinkāfrom 30% to 50% as time went on), so I am very glad that I had them test the battery before the expiration of the free replacement period.
So, I can tell you thatāYESābatteries can go bad after only 3 years, and I donāt live in an extremely torrid climate.
My former landlord was one of those people who buys used appliances. Rather than let him replace my refrigerator with another used one, I decided to buy my own mini fridge. Itās a decision I never regret.
As far as I know, actual load testers arenāt available for $20. Not new, in any case
At that price point, you get a capacitance tester, not the same thing as an old school load tester, which in fact applies a heavy load
The $20 capacitance tester isnāt capable of drawing 100 amps, but it will give you some ideas, as to whether your battery is on the way out
Okay, rounded up itās $21, not 20. Or wait for a sale to get it below $20, I got it at some point earlier. $20.68 at Amazon with Prime 2 day shipping.
The tester is resistive, a 120 milliohm load to draw 100 amps at 12V.
Iām a fan of replacing components when necessary and testing allows you to determine the need early instead of adopting a blind replacement schedule. Yes, they can fail early, or they can go double the time if cared for, and not allowed to discharge completely, which will shorten the lifespan as was previously mentioned.
I stand corrected
I had assumed you meant an old school load tester . . . such as a VAT40
Wow, that is 1200 watts dissipated inside that little plastic box. I would suspect it shuts off after a second or two, or has all sorts of thermal cut-offs.
Yes, this is economy with a wire wound load resistor. I added a 12V fan to mine to help keep it cooler, though I still donāt leave it on for extended periods, just enough to make the determination.
Itās a metal box,not plastic.
On time is suggested to be less than 10 seconds, but I donāt even go that long.
I generally test it only when Iām in a position to charge it right after, as I like to always keep lead acid batteries at full charge. Realistically the single test doesnāt affect it much, but still.
I put my digital meter connection right at the clamp to get more accuracy, with a four wire connection setup.
A 100 watt resistor (Ohmite brand) that is rated for 10x overload for 5 sec is 8 inches long and not too expensive, so this makes sense. $10 each, $5 in large quantity.
Iām impressed that you understand 4 wire connections (aka Kelvin connections) ā¦
Actually, I did what you did. Read it and formed an opinion based on what I read, and stated my opinion. Just as you did.
Except I didnāt make any accusations about you. If you canāt see the difference, there is no sense continuing any discussion on it.
Other factors would be the charging system of the vehicle, if it overcharges or undercharges, and any propensity to forget to turn lights off and drain down the battery to deadness. Thatāll permanently take the life out of lead acid batteries each time.
Went and had my 6 1/2 year old battery tested a month or so ago. Passed with flying colors. I have never had a battery fail without some notice. Cranks slow om an extremely cold day, headlights get brighter when you step on the gas, dashboard clock starts losing time, all mean get a new battery for me. One big benefit of the 0W synthetic oils, cars start much easier.
Lack of cold weather in Florida results in no notice failures. Drove 40 miles, stopped for 8 hours, return home, all fine until we stopped a mile from home for groceries. Totally dead, would not even take a jump. Put in a new battery, all fine for next 3 years.