replacing the battery early
05-18-2004, 10:14 AM
#13
Actually the average ambient temperature has the largest influence on wet cell battery life. The hotter the temps the more rapid the chemical process that destroys the battery. In hot climes the norm is two to three years so I was OK with replacing the OEM battery at 32 months.
05-18-2004, 02:28 PM
#14
Registered User
I posted that a while back - I never let my batteries die, because they do not die fast, they die slow! The plates deteriorate gradually over the life of a lead acid battery, and towards the end, the alternator does have to work harder. Dave Solomon at motorminute.com (Nutz and Boltz) atold me he had seen may cars replace alts when the batt was left to slowly die. So I take the number of months of the guarantee, subtract 6 from it, and replace them.
You can do voltage tests, or specific gravity, etc. but I just let them time out. Even the cell light is not a good indicator, since it only shows the condition of the one cell.
You can do voltage tests, or specific gravity, etc. but I just let them time out. Even the cell light is not a good indicator, since it only shows the condition of the one cell.
05-18-2004, 05:06 PM
#15
^ I'm curious about the "harder on the alternator" idea. Doesn't seem quite right to me.
The more common battery failure is where internal resistance goes up as the battery wears out, due to plate degradation or polluted electrolyte (weak acid). And as we all know, a higher resistance draws less current, which is a smaller load on the aternator.
One of the best indicators of a good battery is that when it is discharged it will draw a huge amount of current when you start to charge it. A weak battery will not pull as much charging current as a good battery, and is therefore less stressful on the alternator.
I'm sure somebody here is thinking "if the battrery is low then the alternator will have to power the car's electrical system all the time, thereby increasing the load on the alternator". But that's not true, because the alternator powers the electrical system all the time anyway. For the most part the only time the battery gets used is for starting the engine and maintaining the electrical system when the engine is not running (radio memory, ECM memory, etc).
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The more common battery failure is where internal resistance goes up as the battery wears out, due to plate degradation or polluted electrolyte (weak acid). And as we all know, a higher resistance draws less current, which is a smaller load on the aternator.
One of the best indicators of a good battery is that when it is discharged it will draw a huge amount of current when you start to charge it. A weak battery will not pull as much charging current as a good battery, and is therefore less stressful on the alternator.
I'm sure somebody here is thinking "if the battrery is low then the alternator will have to power the car's electrical system all the time, thereby increasing the load on the alternator". But that's not true, because the alternator powers the electrical system all the time anyway. For the most part the only time the battery gets used is for starting the engine and maintaining the electrical system when the engine is not running (radio memory, ECM memory, etc).
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05-19-2004, 04:38 PM
#16
Registered User
But since the older battery is starting to drop voltage, isn't the alternator going to produce more amperage to try to keep the total "draw" constant? And since the battery also acts as a buffer, isn't the alternator also assuming the need to do that job as well? Finally, when the battery shorts or starts to intermittently short, it would cause stress on the voltage regulation, especially if it is iterative over a number of cycles. It seems to me it (the alt) might have some of its internal components begin to de-rate under the stress cycles. I might be wrong.
Since a deteriorating battery will not hold its "base" voltage of 12.6, the alternator will be frequently re-charging it, compared to less frequent cycles of charging when the battery can hold its own. And since the battery provides buffer current at idle, for high draw things like A/C, powerful sound systems and the like, the alternator would again be doing mroe fo this when the batt is not performing as it should.
http://www.adverc.co.uk/technical/technical-altmis.asp batteries
http://www.carcarecouncil.org/Electrical/a...lternator.shtml
these do not answer the question specifically, but hint at it. I will PM one of my EE biddies for his opinion.
Since a deteriorating battery will not hold its "base" voltage of 12.6, the alternator will be frequently re-charging it, compared to less frequent cycles of charging when the battery can hold its own. And since the battery provides buffer current at idle, for high draw things like A/C, powerful sound systems and the like, the alternator would again be doing mroe fo this when the batt is not performing as it should.
http://www.adverc.co.uk/technical/technical-altmis.asp batteries
http://www.carcarecouncil.org/Electrical/a...lternator.shtml
these do not answer the question specifically, but hint at it. I will PM one of my EE biddies for his opinion.
05-19-2004, 04:49 PM
#17
Originally posted by Road Rage
[...] Since a deteriorating battery will not hold its "base" voltage of 12.6, the alternator will be frequently re-charging it, compared to less frequent cycles of charging when the battery can hold its own. And since the battery provides buffer current at idle, for high draw things like A/C, powerful sound systems and the like, the alternator would again be doing mroe fo this when the batt is not performing as it should. [...]
[...] Since a deteriorating battery will not hold its "base" voltage of 12.6, the alternator will be frequently re-charging it, compared to less frequent cycles of charging when the battery can hold its own. And since the battery provides buffer current at idle, for high draw things like A/C, powerful sound systems and the like, the alternator would again be doing mroe fo this when the batt is not performing as it should. [...]
06-07-2004, 04:33 AM
#18
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when I start my engine, it'll actually crank over and start.. however after a couple seconds of idling, it'll start to putter and then die out.. this started a while back and it now happened 2 out of every 3 times I start the car.. this isn't the battery is it? what's the deal?
thanks,
jason
thanks,
jason
06-07-2004, 05:23 AM
#19
Jason,
I don't know. It could be that a weak battery ends up putting a higher load on the alternator, and thus stalling your engine, but it doesn't sound right.
You should make a separate thread for this (maybe in UTH). Sounds more likely to me that one of your sensors is jammed up (MAP, idle valve, etc.)
I don't know. It could be that a weak battery ends up putting a higher load on the alternator, and thus stalling your engine, but it doesn't sound right.
You should make a separate thread for this (maybe in UTH). Sounds more likely to me that one of your sensors is jammed up (MAP, idle valve, etc.)
