Technical Stupid Napa Battery

7 year battery only 4 years old and it went dead as a door nail in 5 months. Heated garage. No battery tender. Put trickle charger on and over night its back to 12.4 volts. In 60 yrs of messing with car batterys never had one drop dead not being my error, was like I left the lights on [didn't] . I put another battery in the car that had been sitting for 1-1/2 years to use the car, started right up. So is the stupid battery trustable? Some kind of internal short? Drop it in Napa's lap to check out/exchange?

 

Did you check for a drain? Doesn't take much in 5 mo. to kill a bat .

 

Not just Napa batteries, put a new Duralast Gold from AZ in my commuter, started it up fine. Idled for 20-25 minutes as I was looking for leaks. My kid had put an amp in it, and I wanted it out, so disconnected the battery, pulled the cable out, etc. and got busy with something else. Next day went out, hooked it up...womp, womp, click, click.
Would have been real fun at 2:30-3:00 am when I get off work.

 

I get 5 years out of batteries that get used regularly, then I replace them. Any battery that has to sit unused for months...I don't expect it to last, after I neglect it like that.

In other words, if I were you, I wouldn't be bitching, I'd just buy a new battery and get on with life.

 

You didn't say what kind and year of car, but if it has a computer it has a small draw all the time. So do some radios, to keep your stations in memory. If it's an old car with none of those things, if it has an electric clock, that can drain a battery dead in 5 months.

 

A battery tender is cheap insurance for a car that's seldom driven. I would put Sta-bil in the tank as well.

 

ask Leno how much he spends on batteries every year---------------

 

Inanimate objects can't...be stupid..!

Mike

 

Battery's can be hit and miss these days it seems. I never do anything to my seasonal stuff, cars, tractors, lawnmower, no tender, just park em and 5 months later they usually start. I have had a couple that went 9 years !!, most 5 years like they should, and some for whatever reason choose to die early of unknown cause. All you can do is buy em, and use em. trouble is they have about doubled in price over the last couple years, but what hasn't

 

I got 14 years out of a Costco battery. I don't know if the battery shut off I had on it had anything to do with it. I know it's a pain but I always shut the battery off every time I put it back in the garage. I started doing that after a guy a few miles from my house had an old Caddy that caught fire in his attached garage and burnt his house down.

 

The thing about batteries that do last more than five years....how much reserve capacity do they have left? how long will the engine crank, on an old battery? It's not a problem if everything is perfect, but if you do have something happen, like run out of gas, get the distributor wet, etc. that old battery will probably leave you looking for someone with some jumper cables.

Might also be putting some extra wear on your alternator or generator.

I just replace them while they're still working, it's not worth the hassle of having one die.

 

My battery in my 69 Elcamino went dead on me today. Its been acting up a little but I found a corroded terminal after buying the new battery. But the dude at Al & Bobs in Pittsburgh, Pa. said it was good that I had a bad connection. Sure enough the starter lug was loose..

 

You do know that batteries self discharge right? Not hooked to anything a lead acid battery has a self discharge rate of about 5-10% per month, that’s if they are stored in a cool dry place...

Also at 12.4 volts it’s still only 75% charged. 12.6-12.8 volts is normal open circuit voltage for a battery


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

We all know that, anything, like a battery will not always last as long as they should.
Batteries, tires, washing machines or anything

This is why we get warranties when we purchase items.

Sent from my SM-G973U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I made a doorbell for my garage using a 6 volt battery and a model a horn. Had to charge it once in awhile. There was times that thing would startle the shit out of me so I took it out.

 

I personally wish they'd put the money the warranty is costing us in to make a better quality , longer lasting product !

 

Planned obsolescence is... planned.

 

I never pay extra for a warranty on a battery...I get the ones with the two year warranty, and the $50 price. They generally last 5 years, it taken care of.

 

With all the electronics on new cars today, you're pushing your luck if you let one sit for a week.

 

I know, I know what your gonna say but, I run Optima red tops. I let my 65 plymouth set 3 months and bam fired right up. I have one in my O/T chevy pickup. never a problem. Yep, it's expensive but never had a problem, never left me stranded. Your results may vary. Lippy

 

We buy thousands of items. We then get an item that doesn`t live up to it`s name, so we complain about it. Then everybody else complains about the same item that let them down. Ever since I started driving, my battery`s have worked 99.9% of the time. Sometimes it was my fault and the jumper cables have gotten it started.

 

squirrel had it correct a few posts above, the older battery the less likely its still really up to its rated capacity that you would like to have for emergency situations. My equipment at home I play the game of " see how long it lasts", but in my cars I want a real battery

 

Seems like a problem with cars that don't get driven enough to charge the battery (especially modern cars).

https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/archive/what_causes_car_batteries_to_fail

My DD is 7 years old, still got the same battery as when I bought the car. I've had it parked for 2-3 weeks in the middle of the winter while on vacation, never a hiccup. However I drive 45 min on the freeway to and from work, so the battery gets a good charge every workday.

I keep battery tenders on the stuff that sits for months.

 

Great article Kaspar! If I buy a 3 or 5 year battery, it lasts about that long, no matter what car its in. In my toys that sit through the winter, I've tried battery tenders, tried starting them from time to time, nothing helps. Guess I'm tickled they made it through the warranty. lol

 

I wonder if OEM batteries are of higher quality than the ones you buy at the stores - even though it's the same brand, capacity etc?

It may be a bigger deal for battery manufacturers to deliver a gazillion batteries to car manufacturers, and it would hurt them more if they lose the contracts due to a lot of failures. Maybe they sort out the "top 20%" batteries and ship to car manufacturers, and the rest hit the store shelves?

Warranty cases from regular Joes are probably seen as minor problems... maybe? Anyone out there with insight in the business?

 

The battery in my El Camino went on me the other day. I had just charged it tried to start it the next day and it was dead... Time for a new battery. I look for the cheapest battery I can find. I got 4 years out of this one..

This battery is 4 years old. I let the car sit all winter and was fine. I started it right up a couple weeks ago. I checked the water and it was low all the way across. So I bought some distilled water and topped it off. it was working fine then started acting up. I have a stock 454 and like to run high initial timing and remove the vacuum advance. It started giving me hot start issues so I backed off the timing to 18 and it seemed better. But it started acting up and now its dead in 10 hours after a charge. The things is it takes the charge and right after having it on the charger it starts right up but the next day it's dead..

 

Almost all my batteries last the limit ,,,,5 years .
A few months ago,,,,,the battery in my sons dd died dead,,,,,sitting on the carport overnight .
No problem,,,,,lasted exactly 5 years,,,,,,good service there .
One month later the battery in my dd died,,,,,,sitting on the other carport overnight .
Lasted 5 years exactly .
The funny thing was,,,,,,the batteries had been purchased one month apart,,,,,I keep up with the battery and service records.
Lol,,,,,,that was kind of spooky,,,,,but 5 years to the month,,,,,both of them just laid down .
I replaced mine and he replaced his with same brand and style of battery .
I anticipate 5 more years of service,,,,,these are older dd,,,,,,a 99 model,,,and a 2000 model ,,,,so 5 more years will likely get these closer to the finish line .

oh yes,,,,,,I had one battery that I purchased year before last for another old dd that worked great for about two months,,,,then just died dead,,,,,,had to take back and get replacement.
No problem,,,,,,they can’t all be perfect,,,,,I replaced with the same kind as always,,,,,,working great for over a year and half now .

Tommy

 

I buy the Walmart batteries that offer free replacement for 3yrs, (used to be 5), and because my
cars sit a lot over the winter, I have always gotten a new replacement within the warranty period.
Keep in mind that the replaced battery still falls under the original 3yr period, but that's ok.
On my wife's newer car, we were waiting with the engine off, and only the radio on with the
key on ACC., and in less than 5 minutes a warning came on to start the car because the battery
was getting low. Newer systems are not used for charging any more, simply maintaining the
charge.

 

Napa will pro-rate it. I think they're full replacement policy is 2yrs now. Invest in a Deltran Battery Tender. I changed the original battery (tended) in my H-D after 11yrs just because. Whatever the wife's driving gets a fresh battery every 4-5yrs regardless. Ain't worth losing sleep over...
I've had good luck with cheap tractor store batteries, and been burnt by top of the line Die-Hards. Crap-shoot it is.

 

I’d do Walmart batteries too, but the one that has an auto center is 25 miles from me, guess I could have it sent to the one that’s 18 miles from me.
I buy batteries locally to save time. Worst case is it’s a 12 dollar round trip in a taxi for me local, if I can’t find a ride.
Plus my local AZ knows me well enough that when I tell them I’m bringing one back, it’s on the counter waiting for me, no pissing around for a load test, etc.

But, for old stuff, you still kinda get a hint a battery is getting bad, or let’s you know you need to check some things. Seems like on the daily drivers that start up so quickly, we don’t know there’s an issue until it won’t start.