stevenelle Posted August 4, 2007 Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 I think my Auto Zone 6 v battery purchased 2.5 years old is about dead. How long should these last? I start it 2 - 4 times per day, sometimes more. Usually drive it only 2 - 4 miles per trip with top speed of 40 or 50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Evans Posted August 4, 2007 Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 Maybe it just needs a good charge from a battery charger or a 25 mile drive. Have you checked the cells with a hydrometer. Hows your battery connections. Clean and no corrosion? Low on water? I took an exactly 1 year old battery back to NAPA a couple of weeks ago and was givin another one free. It had one dead cell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted August 4, 2007 Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 One of the things that will happen to a battery over time especially with alot of short hops is a bridging of plates. This occurs as lead off the plates sluffs off under charge and collects on the bottom of the battery case. If it builds up high enough to contact the bottom of the plates they will short out and become ineffective causing the cell to produce less that its normal 2 volts. To break the build up, remove the battery, put a piece of plywood or a plank or piece of old carpet on your garage floor. Then hold the battery as level as possible about 1.5 to 2 inches high and drop it as squarley as possible. The shock will knock the lead particles down and out of contact with the plates. This may help along with a good high rate charge to get thing stirred up. Also unlike today's batteries, these will loose water through evaporation with the charging cycle. Have you checked that the plates remain fully covered with electrolyte? If they are not fully covered add some distilled water up to the recommended level. I got 4 years out of the first battery I bought, my current on eis going on its third summer of driving. I just added about 3 ounces of waer to each cell. Also make sure you clamps ar good and clean and tight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenelle Posted August 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 Thanks for the info. I went ahead and took the old one back to Auto Zone and they gave me a $40 credit toward a new one, so I got a new one for $19. The tester said the battery was no good. Possibly it was the bridging like Greg mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm's Coupe Posted August 4, 2007 Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 Greg, I agree with "Almost" everything you said. Have a problem with the dropping the battery part. I don't think I would want to take the chance on breaking that thing open with that acid in there. If the plates have a buildup, I just buy a new one and call it a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted August 5, 2007 Report Share Posted August 5, 2007 Well from being the frugal son of a child of the Depression, I tend not to buy stuff unless it is absolutely necessary. I have droped many a battery from 2 inches up with no bad results and about 60 percent recovered enough to be useable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey beard Posted August 5, 2007 Report Share Posted August 5, 2007 Batteries are funny things and not too easy to understand. Best analogy I can offer is that they are a sort of "chemical soup" that begins to age the minute the electrolyte (acid) is poured into the cells. They have a definite shelf life. The problem with all this is that none of us can see the manufacturer's date stamp when we buy them new - what we take home with us may already be two or three years old. Once a battery has been placed in service, it's normal life expectancy is based on several factors - mainly how deeply and how often it is discharged and recharged. This is called deep cycling. The less of it you can do, the longer your battery will last. If no one ever leaves the headdlights on on foggy mornings, and no one ever leaves the key on, etc. , the battery will live long and well. If your engine is out of tune and requires long cranking each time it is started, the battery's life will be shorter. The longest I have ever seen an automotive storage battery live myself was eight years. This was in a friend's Honda Accord, which was well maintained, started quire easily, and was never abused. This is amazing to me, for many batteries live only a few years and then stop taking a charge. Vibration will help kill a battery. Just how many batteries do you suppose are rattling around in Pilothouse trucks without any hold-down? I'll bet there are quite a few. I try to keep mine secured. I also use a scrap of rubber matting or mud flap underneath them, to help absorb shock. Keeping them clean and tight in their mounts will go a long way toward extending their lives. Fewer deep cycled events will also help extend theri lives. One last througt - batteries for 6-volt Dodge trucks should be group II, and not the much smaller and cheper group I. This is really not a good place rto pinch pennuies. Using the smaller battery is sorta' like asking a pony to do a horse's job, and will not help the battery live any longer. The best battery arrangement for any six volt application would be two Optima batteries connected in parallel. This would give enough cold crank amps to make the radiator boil over, would never let you down, and would have the added benefit of offering a source of 12 volts when connected in series for radios, CB's, etc., without switching the charging system to 12 vcolts. The charging system would remain stock, the batteries would last many years, and you would hve 12 volt supply as needed for accessories. AND, the two Optimas will fit in the battery space under the floor where one group II used to live - sort of the best of two worlds - not cheap but quire effecrtive. JMHO:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Coatney Posted August 5, 2007 Report Share Posted August 5, 2007 For some good information on Lead Acid batteries follow this link. http://www.vonwentzel.net/Battery/00.Glossary/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bach4660 Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 thanks Greybeard, I am going to bolt mine down tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanT_Qld Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 Humm, mine always had a sponge "pillow" below it, maybe Granddad knew something, and now I should put that back and bolt it down now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.