Batteries
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Tuned
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 445
Likes: 2
From: College Station, TX
Batteries
When do you folks buy new batteries? Mine are four years old. The Dash Boss is reading good. But I don't want to wait until there dead. Don't want to trash the FICM. Whats a good sign? Is time a factor, or something else?
Postmaster
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,424
Likes: 12
From: BC Canada
Measure and monitor voltage, test specific gravity of each cell, put on a charger once Ina while, top off deionized water once in while. If your alt is working, and your voltages are good, they can go as long as 7 or 8 years. I am sure it depends on cold starts, number of starts, how well your alternator works, size of alternator?
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 19,311
Likes: 97
From: Waterloo, Iowa
^^^ This.
Also a basic midtronics conductance tester is about $100, they aren't strictly necessary but they sure are quick to reject a bad battery. They are slick. The old school testing is only really definitive at weeding out the bad ones after charging, and load testing, charge acceptance testing and then recharging etc. If a battery tests OK, no sense replacing it, but after 5 or 6 years they can go at any time without warning. It seems risky to me to allow for outright battery failure with modern electrical and charging systems and $ensitive electronics.
Also a basic midtronics conductance tester is about $100, they aren't strictly necessary but they sure are quick to reject a bad battery. They are slick. The old school testing is only really definitive at weeding out the bad ones after charging, and load testing, charge acceptance testing and then recharging etc. If a battery tests OK, no sense replacing it, but after 5 or 6 years they can go at any time without warning. It seems risky to me to allow for outright battery failure with modern electrical and charging systems and $ensitive electronics.
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