6.5 years on a battery - new personal record!

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Dana67Dart

Dana67Dart

The parts you don't add don't cause you no trouble
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Short story..

My dart has had some odd charging issues lately. The issue was high current in the ammeter but low voltage at the battery. I checked out everything and am satisfied the battery is the issue. Changed it and the issue went away.

Now the ammeter reads slight charge right after starting and off idle 14+ volts

Long story...

So for the last few months I would occasionally notice that the ammeter was reading about 10 amps charge at anything above idle. But the voltage would read only in the low 13 range. Totally stock wiring that has had all the pressure points cleaned and inspected. no add on electrical devices.

Yesterday I went to start it (last started 1 week ago, garage temp was in the low 50s) and it was slow spinning like the battery was low, but on the second try it started.

ammeter showed 10A charging off idle.

I checked the voltage at the battery at idle and above idle and it stayed at 13.5 (battery with car off and no load 12.5 ish). I shut it down and hooked up my battery charger. Normally I can watch the battery voltage while charging rise, but this time it was constant about 12.8-13.2 . After about 30 minutes the charger went into standby mode. I hit the charge button again and after a short time it went to stand by mode again.

My theory is the battery was having internal issues and was presenting an excessive load to the car. (higher than normal internal resistance) it was not totally gone just tired.

I have never had a battery last past 5 years, normally they start acting up at about 4 years and I string them along for another 1/2 to 1 year.

BUT talk about sticker shock!!!! this battery (same brand and type as I had in it) was almost twice as expensive as the old one from 2017, and that one was about 2x as expensive as the last battery I bought for any car in the years prior.
 
Dana67Dart said:
BUT talk about sticker shock!!!! this battery (same brand and type as I had in it) was almost twice as expensive as the old one from 2017, and that one was about 2x as expensive as the last battery I bought for any car in the years prior.
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no lies man. i've bought four batteries in the last year. none of them were exotic by any stretch of the means and the cheapest one was $225

people wanna talk about paint and body, but batteries and tires gonna get ya every time! ;D

btw, great diagnosis on the bat-tree. likely a sulfated cell going south. i figure any battery that's 4+ yrs old doesn't owe me a darn thing.
 
I've had batteries last 6-7 years but they have been the more expensive AGM batteries. I got away from the old lead/acid batteries because of corrosion. Started using them in my race cars (in the trunk where the weight did the most good), then my trucks. Sears DieHards were my favorite when they were made by Odyssey. For the last several years I went with Walmart AGM which seem to be the best bang for the buck in my trucks.

What type/brand have you been using?
 
I had a Delco battery that I bought used in my Ventura that lasted me 13 years, I finally had to replace it at the start of the summer this year. I have no idea how old it was when I got it, I never disconnected it over the winter, never had a trickle charger on it, nothing. It would always start the car after sitting all winter in my unheated garage. I think I paid $40.00 when I bought it.
 
My 05 Ram battery lasted 15 years, my SRT Challenger lasted 9 years and replacements have been good so far
 
Locomotion said:
What type/brand have you been using
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O'riley

800cca

Fits he battery tray well is flat topped so my battery topper fits really good

Screenshot_20241230-205606.png
 
We have a local Interstate Battery outlet near us in Beersville Pa. Every battery I bought there so far froze solid and died come winter. I have Duralast and Die Hard and Deka in some trucks and they don't freeze. Every dam interstate freezes and destroys itself. Wonder if they are refilling them with plain water?
 
mopar head said:
A local store, called Battery Mart. Doubt they are a national franchise.
Just checked, $137.
Buy local, get something that heavy shipped, = no savings probably.
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yeah there's a battery mart 1.5hrs away from me, the prices are no better than AAA or autozone or whoever else and the warranties are worse.

i've used them for powersports batteries, and they've got good stuff at good prices.
 
Late model vehicles, i think 5-8 years is the norm anymore. Oreillys has been decent for Me, as well as Napa. As far as old cars, with high compression, electric fans, electric fuel pumps, and a mix of 50 year old, and new wiring, and they sit all winter with a tender on them; I feel like my norm is 3-4 summers. Or "Long enough to make you look stupid at a car show when it dies unexpectedly". Whichever comes first
 
Johnny Mac said:
Or "Long enough to make you look stupid at a car show when it dies unexpectedly
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That's why I carry this.

Screenshot_20241231-190014.png


Just fully charge it 3 times a year. I'm on year 7 with this one.


AND, you get to be the hero at the car show.

Done that several times over the years.
 
Had one last about 9 or 10 yrs.
It was one of those walmart types, power start or some sht. .. and it was a freebie used from a friend. Sheer luck.
 
My 2015 SRT, 36,000 miles same battery. My 2006 Ram 4x4 3500 one battery still in there other kinda bad in 2016 so I replaced it with a junk yard battery, $26. I doubt I’ll ever buy a ‘new’ battery again. 2005 Dakota on it second one for nine years now, 2015 Subaru same battery. 2008 BMW got talked into buying their battery $350, lasted 2 years.
 
My best friend from high school still has the Sears Die Hard Daddy bought new for his Falcon in the mid 70s. In the early 80s, Daddy got scared of it and bought another battery. I gave him the 3 buck core charge for the Die Hard. I took it and emptied it out and flushed it out and put new electrolyte in it and put it in a 69 Chevelle I had. I sold that car but kept the battery and put it in a 67 Chevelle. This was probably about 87 or 88. I ended up selling that car in 89, right before I married my first wife, but again, I kept the battery. I emptied it out again but didn't fill it back up. I gave it to my high school friend for a shop decoration. He still has it today and I am 100% certain if he wanted to he could refill it with electrolyte, charge it and go. It just will not die.
 
Dana67Dart said:
The issue was high current in the ammeter but low voltage at the battery. I checked out everything and am satisfied the battery is the issue. Changed it and the issue went away.
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I agree. Good diagnosis.

I had similar but not the same observations on my Barracuda's recharging. Once the engine started, it would show a high charge rate very briefly (15 - 20 amps for second or less) and then quickly drop to no current (full recharged). That battery seemed fine otherwise but this Novemeber wouldn't start the car after I got back home and had just unloaded. After getting it jump started, I drove to the garage and swapped in a newer version of the same battery from the Jeep. I kindof lost track of which vehicle had the newer battery.

The dead battery out of the Barracuda was stamped Made in Aurora, Colorado. OK that must be pretty old!
According to my records I bought it in Feb. 12, 2009. 15 years! and I think it got cooked once.
1735736123019.png

The top has a manufacturing stamp of A9KKR.
I later noticed it also has a Made in Mexico sticker on it. That's odd.

According to an old news clip I found on the internet, Johnson Controls announced they would be moving manufacturing from Aurora to Mexico in 2009. So my guess is the case was made in the Colorado but the assembly was done in Mexico.

I didn't always have AGM's in the Jeep. That was a bright idea to save a little weight and have the same battery in both vehicles for just this sort of situation. Before that it was Interstate MT series with the 75 month pro-rate. Got about 6 years out of them, but like Optima, pretty sure they are not made now the way they were 20 years ago.

1735736954715.png


I turned it in for a new "Diehard" platinum flooded 24F sold by Advance/Carquest.
My mistake was that battery cables in the Jeep weren't really setup for the reverse terminal position of the 24F so a little rerouting was needed.
My logic was that the flooded battery may better handle the slow battery drain that maintains the digital clock and radio. That and I could just drive over and buy it. Expensive but no more than the current prices for an Optima. I'll take the 10 lb penalty over the front wheels in 4000 lb, 1/2 ton wagon.

One more observation:
The small Optima smart charger indicates the battery from 2009 is still good and fully charged. Obviously this is wrong. Under load from the starter that battery's voltage drops to 5.
 
Mattax said:
The dead battery out of the Barracuda was stamped Made in Aurora, Colorado. OK
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That's the problem right there...

When we watch the news here in Colorado, when ever they talk about something bad that has happened, the next line is Aurora!

This has been going on LONG before the recent gang / no gang debate.

My daughter was working temporarily in Aurora when she was still in collage.

I was worried so I contacted their police dept and was told. " It's the safest mid sized city in Colorado" I had to hold my laughter back.

Like all cities, there are the good areas and the bad. When ever the debate comes up the news media goes to the good area and the people there are like... "We love it here, there's no issues"


:rofl:
 
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