Car battery share

billybob11

i wanted to share what I have seen with car batteries.  The newer cheaper built batteries will fail unlike older type batteries.  When the crud settles to the bottom of the plates after time.  It develops a solid   Short.    Sometimes you can jump it off and will not stay running or gauges freak out.  First one I saw was a solid short and was smoking the ground cable to body.  Very different from you got a dead battery and jump it off and you can drive home. I think the smaller the battery the worse it can be.   Hope this helps somebody in the future

skyway

Agree and car manufacturers are taking the cheapest contract.
Therefore a 2 to 3 year battery.
some are even jumpstarted at the time of sale.
Sad new world.

ebryant

I recently (4 months ago) bought a Duracell from Sam's Club to replace one in a UTV. I was very surprised at the power it had. It's much stronger than the other ones I had. I guess I will find out how good it is later, but I'm impressed so far. It's sealed also.

micci_man

Been buying Ever-start batteries from Walmart for years. Made by Johnson Controls. Get 4-6 years out of them. 

swampdog

If we get three years on a battery, we’re good. I worked with an electrical engineer years ago who always bought a battery and placed it on a charger before installing in his car. He said batteries off the shelf are not fully charged and wouldn’t take a full charge in a vehicle. I don’t know if there’s an ounce of truth in this but he was a very sharp guy in all other aspects of his life.

Slough

There isn't but a handful of battery manufacturers out there. East Penn and Johnson Control are probably the 2 biggest.

gogittum

I have a Suzuki V-Strom 650 motorcycle that quit cold on me last fall.  Long, long story, but for a start, of course I checked the battery - which was a Yuasa about a year old.  Low charge, so I put the smart charger on it.  Charger hummed and went 'Click.'  ?????  Checked everything, charger re-set, all looked good, so hooked the charger back up.  Click.

So, I went and got the multimeter and checked it - DC voltage was low.....but meter was flashing a warning - reversed polarity.  ?????  Checked connections - + to +, - to -, all good.  Popped the hood on the car and checked battery voltage....good.  ?????

Back to motorcycle.  Reversed polarity.  Yup, true story and I've kept the battery for proof.  I have never in a very long lifetime of turning wrenches seen or heard of such a thing, but I've got it.  Not sure which came 1st or caused what, but there was a whole laundry list of other, related problems that I spent most of the winter working on and sorting out.

ferris1248

I remember that happening once. Seems like we discharged the battery completely, till dead. Then recharged and it corrected itself. Do not how it happened.

Slough

Seen several that were charged reverse. Most of the time , the battery is toast. Read this morning where Johnson Control (JCI) has sold out to Clarios.

gogittum

Slough said:

Seen several that were charged reverse. Most of the time , the battery is toast. Read this morning where Johnson Control (JCI) has sold out to Clarios.

Yah, reverse charging will definitely mess up a battery, but my smart charger won't allow that.  It trips and shuts off.