Should I replace the battery?

[FoxProTwisty]

Batteries that pass enough current to start car engines should remain in service until they no longer do so. Or my name isn't Mr Stopwastingmoneyonbatteries.

 

[Marcozi]

Replaced the almost 8 year old battery with a new Odyssey. After I installed it checked the charge: 98%!

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

Batteries that pass enough current to start car engines should remain in service until they no longer do so. Or my name isn't Mr Stopwastingmoneyonbatteries.

agreed. I feel that the "weak batteries kill alternators" is a myth. Alternators are capable of 80 amps or more, a few amps to charge up a battery won't make a difference. Assuming that there isn't a short in the battery, that is.

 

[f355spider]

agreed. I feel that the "weak batteries kill alternators" is a myth. Alternators are capable of 80 amps or more, a few amps to charge up a battery won't make a difference. Assuming that there isn't a short in the battery, that is.

Perhaps....but dead batteries certainly can. I have had more than one technician tell me that cars rarely driven should always be on a battery tender. They regularly get "garage queens" that get jump started whenever the owner decides to take it out for a drive, and all that work the alternator does to charge up a dead battery....fine once or twice. Do that several times and the alternator can fail.

 

[Marcozi]

agreed. I feel that the "weak batteries kill alternators" is a myth. Alternators are capable of 80 amps or more, a few amps to charge up a battery won't make a difference. Assuming that there isn't a short in the battery, that is.

80amps! The amp in my car is rated at 180amps!!!!

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

Perhaps....but dead batteries certainly can. I have had more than one technician tell me that cars rarely driven should always be on a battery tender. They regularly get "garage queens" that get jump started whenever the owner decides to take it out for a drive, and all that work the alternator does to charge up a dead battery....fine once or twice. Do that several times and the alternator can fail.

I keep my truck on a battery tender and am at 8 or 9 years on the current battery. It's a great idea.

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

80amps! The amp in my car is rated at 180amps!!!!

Must be remembering the alternator in my '79 Toyota truck

 

[f355spider]

80amps! The amp in my car is rated at 180amps!!!!

It's crazy how power hungry cars are now...my old 2001 BMW has a 150amp alternator...and this post made me look up my 2018 BMW, it has a 250 amp alternator...insane requirements. It also has two batteries...an H9/95R 105amp hour in the trunk and an aux H5/group 47 in the engine compartment. I think the car is supposed to run on the aux battery when the engine is off using the start/stop feature, which I have permanently coded off, except when in "ECO" mode.