time for a new battery...I think

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My 02 Maxima has been hard to start after sitting for a few days at a time for the last few months. I didn't suspect the battery since they normally just straight up fail on me without any warnings. This time it would start turning the engine over for a couple times and pause a bit and then the car would start. I suspected it might be a starter or fuel delivery problem.

But today after sitting in the garage for a week and getting started to move it out to get washed and back in for wax and then back out, it finally wouldn't crank. The dash lights went dim when I turned the key and no sound from the starter. Since it was in the garage, I hooked up a battery charger to it and it showed around 25%. Let it charge for 2 hours and the car started without any hesitation. The trip meters both reset so does my head unit.

At this point I'm about 80% sure it's the battery, but seeing that the car is 15 y/o, I would like a second opinion before getting one. Current battery is a 3.5 y/o Carquest Premium. Time wise, it's about right for a battery in FL from my previous experience. Is there anything else I should consider before replacing it? I don't think it's the alternator since it actually starts fine after driving for a little bit.

Also, this is my dd/beater. It is a fairly reliable car mechanically, but it's old and I'm trying to maintain and keep it running as economically as possible. I'm considering the ValuePower battery from WM made by Johnson Controls if they have it available. Tried searching and found very little info about it. Is it a decent battery?

Backup plan is an Autocraft Gold with AAP code, but it's still $40 more after the discount.
 
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A bunch of sam's club have optima yellowtops for 99$ otherwise
an AAP autocraft silver/gold with code seems reasonable.

If you are set on a valuecraft why would you go AAP gold instead of silver?
 
Originally Posted By: Rand

If you are set on a valuecraft why would you go AAP gold instead of silver?


Because the Gold is only $4 more than the silver
 
According to Autozone your maxima takes a group 35 or a group 24

A group 35 battery is 65Amphours capacity a group 24 about 75Ah capacity.

Your charger, what is its max amperage?

When hooked up and your charger indicates 25% charged would equate to ~11.75 volts

Which indicates a *very* dischrged battery.

Putting your charger on it for an hour or 2, say it is a 10 amp charger, at best would have returned 20 AH into a battery that when new contained 65 Amp hours. you started with about 20 in it and added 20 more at best leavng you wel lshort of a full charge

Yes it started your car, but it was nowhere near full charge.

now your battery is likely only 80% of its original capacity, but still 2 hours on a 10 amp charger would not have brought it from 25% to much above 50%.

Any time a battery is under 80% cjarged the sulfates on the plates are hardening.

PLug your charger in overnight. if it flashes the green light righ toff the bat you have to tuen on the lights until voltage drops below 12.6, then restart charger.

One other thing to consider is that most people assume an alternator is some magical near instant battery charger, and that each time you drive the battery is 100% charged. This is very very false.

Say the battery is 80% charged. To get this battery 100% charged, takes no LEss than 3.5 hours, and that is at a voltage of 14.4 or higher and a source capable of at least 10 amps.

your vehcile will likely allow much less than 14v after driving for 15 minutes, so this 3.5 hours of driving to reach 100% state of charge just turned in to 7 or more hours.

So long story short, your battery might be duying and nearly dead, but it is certainly less than fully charged right now.

Is your charging system working properly?

See any corrosion on battery terminals? Alternator terminals? Battery to engine ground cable?

If it is a beater, I;d say you want to milk the battery for more life. Put it back on your charger, When it stops charging, turn on the lights, drop voltage to below 12.6v and restart the charger. Eventually it will get to fully charged. The green light on chargers are liars, which is why I say to keep restarting charger.

If you keep this battery topped up with a plug in charger, you could get a lot more life from this battery and have time for a battery deal to fall into your lap, or get rid of the beater and save a minimum of 55$ in your pocket.

If you do get a new battery, then definitely check the voltage at the battery terminals when the engine is running right after starting, and again when the engine is hot 15 or more minutes later.

If your alternator charging circuit has develped a lot of resistance, your next battery will die a premature death too.

In fact even after it goes through its algorithm, turn on the lights, drop voltage to below 12.6 and restart charger again
 
Originally Posted By: wrcsixeight
or get rid of the beater and save a minimum of 55$ in your pocket.



I like it too much

It has a 24F.

And the charger I was using was something my dad bought in the 90s. It has a needle gauge and a switch for 6V/6A, ?V/2A, and 12V/6A. Like the one in this picture:
1279992735-16431_full.jpg



Appreciate your reply. I don't have anything to measure voltage so the process is a little complicated for me at the moment.
 
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That's a manual charger you will need to watch it or you could bake the battery.

You might be able to salvage the battery if you fully charge it but most people only get a few years out of the batteries in Florida.

If you want a good charger that's automatic I recommend the pro Logix PL2320 or 2310
 
I have a similar old school manual charger but 10 and 2 amps outputs. When I put my ammeter on it it was only doing 6 amps in to a well depleted battery, which was disappointing. as it shoudl have been doing 10, or perhaps more.

901M is right, that charger can indeed overcharge if left on for too long.

Harbor freight sells the cen tech digital multimeters, and sometimes gives them away free with coupon and another purchase. Sometimes they are just 3$.

Not a professional tool but it is accurate enough for checking battery voltage.

http://www.harborfreight.com/7-function-multimeter-98025.html

These can be calibrated too by opening it up and moving a small potentiometer within with a screwdriver while looking at a known accurate DMM.



Your existing charger can safely be used, but not overnight. In general The less amperage the battery is accepting the more charged it is, but as far as it actually being 75% charged when you hooked it up, that is not accurate.

I thought it was one of the more modern 'smart' chargers which renders a guess as to state of charge at the initial voltage when first hooked up.

I can't guess at the state of health of your battery, only that 2 hours at 6 amps output did very little to actrually recharge it to full if it was only 25% charged.

With that charger, remove the battery caps, wear eye protection and shine a light into the cells. Put charger at 6 amps on it until you see about 1 bubble rise to the surface every second, then switch it to 2 amps. If bubbling continues , or when it restarts, then let it go for another half hour then terminate charge.

It would be safer to remove the negative cable from our nissan, but you will lose your stereo settings.

You can likely get more useful life from your current battery if you recharge it, and any future battery would also last much longer if kept fully charged by a grid powered AC charger.
 
^^^^^^ Battery expert here. I always enjoy reading his posts. Very informative and well stated.
 
Charge it and have it load tested. Batteries are lucky to go beyond 4 years anymore. Get a mid level battery from WM. No dilly dally, do it and move on.
 
Originally Posted By: Lubener
Charge it and have it load tested. Batteries are lucky to go beyond 4 years anymore.
one of the reasons i buy agm batteries now. I got 90 months out of my first one.I replaced my red top @7 yrs just because I didnt want to take any chances.
 
Yup your battery's shot. The vastly reduced capacity is the top symptom. I'd get the WM special. Less CCA = thicker plates= a better time in FL.
 
put it in the 2a setting and leave it 24 hours.if it has been left partially discharged a while it needs an equalizing charge.
if it still gives trouble its a goner anyway.
you have a common "deficit charging"situation we often see in solar setups i service.
a long eq often makes the battery bank usable a while longer but its still wounded.
if the sulphation is not hard yet your battery may "wake up" with this eq.
 
where cheap is the top design concern it may also mean high cca plates but only fill half the space vertically.
been tempted to carry a scale into walmart and weigh the same size same cca batteries to see.
my guess is that your discount on the exact same battery is just the cost of honoring a replacement warranty 2 more years.
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Less CCA = thicker plates= a better time in FL.
 
Originally Posted By: kc8adu
put it in the 2a setting and leave it 24 hours.if it has been left partially discharged a while it needs an equalizing charge.
if it still gives trouble its a goner anyway.
you have a common "deficit charging"situation we often see in solar setups i service.
a long eq often makes the battery bank usable a while longer but its still wounded.
if the sulphation is not hard yet your battery may "wake up" with this eq.


How does one do an equalizing charge?

Is sulphation something you can see when looking into a cell?
 
Originally Posted By: kc8adu
where cheap is the top design concern it may also mean high cca plates but only fill half the space vertically.
been tempted to carry a scale into walmart and weigh the same size same cca batteries to see.
my guess is that your discount on the exact same battery is just the cost of honoring a replacement warranty 2 more years.
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Less CCA = thicker plates= a better time in FL.


According to this person , it's a 5 lb difference between the ValuePower and the Everstart Maxx for the size 35.
 
the 2a for 24 hours is the eq.
no you cannot see sulphation unless its really bad and if you do see it that battery is shot.
i tend to go for the biggest size that fits the tray and then the heaviest/highest rc.
i have a 24f dry charged in the trunk waiting for the 3 year old interstate in the accord to fail.
it has 2 cells with lower sg than the rest and oddly 2 different caps.tests fine and starts in 0f weather.
might have been damaged and spilled those 2 cells.then topped up with water.was in it when i got it and car was repaired.aftermarket hood and headlight on that side.
its going to be odd seeing a new 80's panasonic battery in a 99 car.
 
Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
Originally Posted By: Rand

If you are set on a valuecraft why would you go AAP gold instead of silver?


Because the Gold is only $4 more than the silver


Personally I'd opt for the silver as less CCA in the same case size should equal sturdier plates, which should equal longer life. Even in Iowa where it can easily dip into double digit negative numbers, I'll recommend and/or install the mid line battery. The ones I sell still carry a 3 year replacement warranty (same as the more expensive batteries), are typically cheaper and still meet or exceed OE CCA requirements.
 
i have the valuepower from walmart so far great battery, never hesitated even in temps near 10f
no matter how many codes or discounts you use you cant beat the price, and free install for most cars
and walmart is everywhere for warranty purposes
 
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