“Heat kills 'em and cold buries 'em.”
IOW heat does the actual damage and cold brings out the symptoms of weakness.
“note the difference”
Warm that same battery up and the load test improves, so cold doesn’t do permanent damage.
What is worse is conditional,if it is so hot that the electrolyte boils away permenant damage will be done but if the battery is discharged (like from cranking a car that won’t start when it is cold) the battery can freeze crack. There are conditions where both cold and hot will be factors in permentaly damaging a battery.
Both hot spells and cold snaps will increase the traffic in your shop but that battery that tested out of spec but still started the car, that is the one that will fail to provide the needed amps to crank the vehicle when both the battery and the car (as in it’s oil) are affected by the cold.
Hotter temps evaporate the electrolyte faster but a caveat could be added to that.
Batteries with removeable caps are meant to have the electrolyte checked on a regular basis. If someone does not do this or have it done is it the fault of the battery? No.
Judging by the number of people who don’t even check the engine oil level, ever, I would suspect that none of them ever check the battery either.
Maintenance free batteries are designed to recycle the water that evaporates and if a maintenance free battery loses enough water over time then it’s aged and dead meat anyway.
To me, it’s a wash and I’ve had to replace far more batteries that gave up their life in cold weather than died in the summer months.
High temperatures make the battery plates and separators deteriorate more quickly, even when the electrolyte level is kept up.
To me, it’s a wash and I’ve had to replace far more batteries that gave up their life in cold weather than died in the summer months.
Actually when I worked as a mechanic we replaced far more batteries in the cold months then the warm months…But that doesn’t mean the cold is killing the batteries. It’s the hot warm months that were killing them slowly. They just have to work a lot harder in the winter…so a battery that’s been weakened during the summer months will show it during the winter.
I think that’s the reason several of us had discussions here about how long batteries last. Some say 4-6 years…and for the life of me I couldn’t understand why they were saying that…I’ve NEVER owned a battery that didn’t last at least 7-10 years. 10+ years is not unusual…especially on a small 4-cylinder. Not a lot of cold crank amps needed to turn over a small 4-cylinder.
Well according to the Interstate Battery…probably the LARGEST producer of batteries in the world…Summer heat is far more damaging then winter cold.
http://corporate.interstatebatteries.com/heat_kills_batteries/
One of the (remote) dangers of letting a battery go till its end of life is you run the risk of shorting out your alternator.
As a battery ages with use, the active positive plate material sheds (or flakes off) due to normal expansion and contraction from charge/discharge cycles. That material builds up in the empty area below the battery’s cells. If that buildup is sufficient to touch two cells, you now have a short - which alternators don’t do well with.
This cartalk forum used to have several vocal contributors who advocate buying a new car battery before its end-of-life simply to avoid alternator failure.
I keep my batteries until they start showing signs that they maybe on their last legs. When we have temps at -20…a weak battery will show it. So I tend to keep batteries 7+ years…
The last alternator I changed was for my 84 GMC S-15. Our 2 Honda’s and 2 Pathfinders…all with well over 250k miles…original alternator and starter.
You should really consider replacing your battery as a “cheap insurance” measure if you rely on this car for regular transportation. I did this last year. I have an old Buick that had its battery stamped as being installed in December '99. I replaced it last May because that is when I realized how much I was pressing my luck in the matter. I didn’t previously realize how old that battery was. I replaced the battery anyway, despite the fact that I have NEVER had any kind of electrical or battery related problem with that car, never had to jump start it, and the battery still started the car without any complaints the previous winter, even on -20 degree days. I replaced it because I didn’t want to be left stranded or have to replace the alternator when that weakened battery took it out (battery was rated at 650CCA, tested at 500CCA when replaced, which is still strong enough to give no symptoms).
A similar story: I used to work with a guy who had a bought-new 1994 F150. In 2005, he replaced the original battery as a preventive measure, but kept the old one. He still has this battery and it still gets used on a regular basis for starting cars or tractors that need to be moved but don’t normally have their own battery. That battery is fast approaching 20 years of age and still going strong, though is no longer trusted for regular service.
How about the guy that floated around the forum some months ago that “poo-pooed” my source simply because it was linked to someone who sells? (it was the guy that thought “CIS” was in reference to the old (or perhaps new) Soviet Union). A guy just does not know who to bring in on their side any more.
I have always heard that heat causes the damage, but the cold brings out the symptoms.
The “average” life of a battery is 5-6 years. You lucked out that your battery was on the upper limit of battery life.
Most good batteries are around $100.I have a gel-cell battery in my Corvette with a trickle charger moniter attached.The battery is now 10 years old.
We were doing Delco replacements at 19-23 months here in Tucson. I think it gets hot here also.
I buy my batteries from Wally world and my wife’s honda is a 2 yr battery and my camry is a 3 year. I replace both in the month of the 2 and 3 year anniversary even if it still works. Pain in the butt getting a jump or getting a new battery to the car if it dies. Especially since my wife is a woman, I don’t want getting stranded. Don’t be cheap.
I bought my Ford Fusion 1.4tdci new in 2003. It had a new clutch fit after 198,000 miles as it started to slip at times. I still have the original battery, now 15 years old. When it’s frosty or minus degrees C, it does not crank the car over as fast as it should, but always starts. Is this a record?
Well, I looked in the Guinness Book Of World Records, and there was absolutely nothing about auto battery longevity. So I guess no one even cares. Do you have a question or concern that was not already addressed somewhere in this almost 8 year old thread?
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Not really. Just thought it was an interesting point. As for the 8 year old thread, I didn’t even bother to look how old it was. I guess you must have cared enough to look in the Guinness Book of Records.