Car battery at 12.2V: replace?

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Since it is a 6 cell battery, overall voltage readings do not tell you anything significant about the health of the battery. You could have a weak cell and a strong cell but averaged out, everything seems fine. A fully charged car battery should be 13.8-14.4 VDC. You need a temperature compensated specific gravity meter to tell you the health of each cell, if each cell measures 1.72(ish) SG then keep running it, if under 1.250 for any given cell, replace it.
 
Id suspect there is some sludge settled in there that is mildly conductive, and formed a high impedance short. Time to replace.
 
Originally Posted By: thastinger
Since it is a 6 cell battery, overall voltage readings do not tell you anything significant about the health of the battery. You could have a weak cell and a strong cell but averaged out, everything seems fine. A fully charged car battery should be 13.8-14.4 VDC. You need a temperature compensated specific gravity meter to tell you the health of each cell, if each cell measures 1.72(ish) SG then keep running it, if under 1.250 for any given cell, replace it.


You're thinking of the voltage of the car battery when the alternator is running. There are many state of charge charts out there and they all pretty much say the same, they basically translate the specific gravity to a voltage reading and that's 12.7. I bet you won't find any battery on Walmart's shelf that has a 13.8-14.4 voltage. Remember, the car's electrical system has to put out a higher voltage in order for current to flow back and charge the battery. But hey what do I know, my degree is only in electrical engineering.

The real answer should be to get it load tested, otherwise you may be throwing out a perfectly good battery.

Remember, those state of charge charts and reference voltages refer to a battery at rest with no load on it. A battery connected to the car has a load on it as all systems like alarms, clocks, computer memory all take a little current to keep alive. The voltage will be higher once it's disconnected.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
You lucky devil, your 26R is one of the five sizes WM has in their econo line.

Since your starter is probably smaller than a can of beer it's been getting by on what's left of the stocker, but time is likely not on your side.

El Jefe,
Thank you for the footwork
 
As others have noted, time to buy a new one.
You've had exceptional life out of the OEM battery.
 
Originally Posted By: pandus13
The original battery on my Toyota Yaris (9.5 years, in the Midwest), reads 12.2 in the morning, before start-up.
Should I change, before cold/winter comes?


The battery in the 05 Matrix lasted 8 years before it died. Going on 5 years for Rural King Exide battery for $55 that just tested fine at a few different places. I'll probably replaced it next year when it will be 6 years old.
 
update:

i got a manufactured 10/17.

I was in a brrrrr hurry (cold outside) so I don't know who made the battery.

some cuckoo with the idle speed/programming, it tried to stay around 500rpm, almost stalling, but after some driving, seems to be back at the 750 rpm.

This is the easiest and quicker battery exchange on my personal record: under 10 minutes (only 3 bolts, + figure out the height riser/extender)
 
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