When to replace a battery?

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I went and had a complete charging system test done on my Jeep. It's all working as it should. The tester showed that my battery was fully charged but only had 80% of its rated capacity.

At what percentage of capacity loss should a battery be replaced?
 
This is not a technical answer, but I shop for a replacement battery before I need one. I think anything over 5-6 years is asking for trouble, besides, if you stretch the old battery too far it will put extra strain on your charging system.
 
I kinda go by time. After 5 years, I keep an eye out for drag...
The factory battery in my old 93 Toyota 4WD 22RE lasted more than 10 years.

If you see signs of trouble, I would replace it to avoid getting stuck.
Especially if it was wifey's car.
 
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
I kinda go by time. After 5 years, I keep an eye out for drag...
The factory battery in my old 93 Toyota 4WD 22RE lasted more than 10 years.

If you see signs of trouble, I would replace it to avoid getting stuck.
Especially if it was wifey's car.


Well I've got a 12 year old AGM battery. I check the voltage, it's been about the same as last year. Could have gotten a Champion battery on Black Friday at Pepboys, I guess I'll wait another year or so...
 
I went 3 yrs on a battery similar to yours....total of 6 yrs. At the 3 yr point it had fluid level well below the cell tops and lots of sulfation. Was lucky to bring it back with a lot of charging. 6 yrs total was fine with me. I replaced it once it acted up again. I'm sure the capacity was never near 100% after is run down so low. You need enough capacity to start the car in cold weather. California is pretty temperate. But then again, batteries tend not to last near as long in hot desert climates.
 
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That vehicle has that battery in the trunk too....

Extremely helpful to battery lasting a long, long time.
Vs having the battery in the motor compartment with all that heat exposure.
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
I went and had a complete charging system test done on my Jeep. It's all working as it should. The tester showed that my battery was fully charged but only had 80% of its rated capacity.

At what percentage of capacity loss should a battery be replaced?

I believe that if it drops below 70% of rated capacity then it's time to replace the battery... Maybe as low as 60 percent...
 
My 2011 F150 still has the factory battery and is going strong. Just tested it this weekend, read 12.4v and 800 cranking amps when it was tested.

Wish I could find a aftermarket battery as reliable as that.
 
I go 4-5 years on a battery and replace it. I've never had one fail, never needed a set of jumper cables, and it has never left either me or my wife stranded.
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
I went and had a complete charging system test done on my Jeep. It's all working as it should. The tester showed that my battery was fully charged but only had 80% of its rated capacity.

At what percentage of capacity loss should a battery be replaced?


At 80% you are fine. You are not in Maine where the temps get really low and battery capacity is reduced.

At 60% I would start to think. At 50% I would definitely get a new one.
 
Originally Posted by 2010Civic
I replace the battery when I notice it getting sluggish.



Me too. There is a better way though A good addition to your tools is one of those $25 or cheaper battery testers. Amazon has them . It's like a stress test for your battery when you push the load button.. it's one of the few metal cased devices I've seen in years. It has to be to take the heat when that battery heats up its inner pile. Stinks so good🙊 but it will tell you exactly how much juice your battery really has while it's cranking.
 
Rule of thumb is to replace every 4 years. That is what I do.

As for battery testing and inspection, check for signs of corrosion. Do a battery load test with a carbon pile VAT 40 or some that can apply a load , anything over 10 Volts is consider good.

Or you can just disable the fuel or ignition, crank the vehicle and measure voltage should be above 10 volts is consider good.
 
When the battery reaches it months of service date. On my Corolla it was 84 months the battery had passed that date by 5 months and winter was coming. I replaced it then even though I hadn't had problem one with it.

[Linked Image]
 
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Originally Posted by 2010Civic
I replace the battery when I notice it getting sluggish.


My Banner battery was sluggish before 3 years of use .It is now 8 years old
banana2.gif
still cranking.
 
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