Batteries for cars and motorbikes.

[Valkie]

Sorry about last night.
The old guy up the road had a flat battery.

He needed to get to the hospital, his wife was ill, just the usual problem because of chemo.

I put my spare battery in his car and put his on charge until this morning.
He has it serviced but they missed the corrosion around the terminals.
All good now, his battery is back and I sprayed it with the terminal protector.

But I advised him to get his battery and alternator checked.
Corrosion usually only forms where there is a problem or overcharging causing acid leakage.

[Bobby]

Sorry about last night.
The old guy up the road had a flat battery.

He needed to get to the hospital, his wife was ill, just the usual problem because of chemo.

I put my spare battery in his car and put his on charge until this morning.
He has it serviced but they missed the corrosion around the terminals.
All good now, his battery is back and I sprayed it with the terminal protector.

But I advised him to get his battery and alternator checked.
Corrosion usually only forms where there is a problem or overcharging causing acid leakage.

Use a multimeter and measure the battery charging voltage.
It should be about 14 to 14.2 volts when the engine is running.

[Valkie]

I'll leave that to his service people.

It's enough to help him get out of trouble.

The poor blokes wife will be in hospital for a few days, my wife will cook him up a meal or two, she does that.

[Bobby]

I'll leave that to his service people.

It's enough to help him get out of trouble.

The poor blokes wife will be in hospital for a few days, my wife will cook him up a meal or two, she does that.

Good job.
Modern charging systems should never overcharge the battery.

[Valkie]

My new car Isuzu Mux, has what they call a smart charger.
What a crap idea.
The theory is it takes a load off the engine by only charging a battery part way.

Problem is, it never fully charges the battery.
The fix, a load on the charging system overrides this stupid idea.
Parking light on all the time
Or a small resistor on the loom in the right place and all good.

My car has been wired up for towing and charging a spare battery.
This also overcomes the smart charger and keeps my battery nice and charged.

A also rip it out and top it up with a charger every six months or so at the recommendation of an engineering mate.
I use a very expensive battery conditioning charger.

My spare battery is one I took out of my boat.
But it's a calcium deep cycle battery, not great for normal use, but perfect for jump starting and fiddling around with circuits at home.

The battery on my wife's car it tiny about 6 x 4 inches.
But it never seems to have a problem.

When mine dies, I'm fitting the biggest one I can get.
Diesel 4x4s need a good battery.

[Bobby]

My new car Isuzu Mux, has what they call a smart charger.
What a crap idea.
The theory is it takes a load off the engine by only charging a battery part way.

Problem is, it never fully charges the battery.
The fix, a load on the charging system overrides this stupid idea.
Parking light on all the time
Or a small resistor on the loom in the right place and all good.

My car has been wired up for towing and charging a spare battery.
This also overcomes the smart charger and keeps my battery nice and charged.

A also rip it out and top it up with a charger every six months or so at the recommendation of an engineering mate.
I use a very expensive battery conditioning charger.

My spare battery is one I took out of my boat.
But it's a calcium deep cycle battery, not great for normal use, but perfect for jump starting and fiddling around with circuits at home.

The battery on my wife's car it tiny about 6 x 4 inches.
But it never seems to have a problem.

When mine dies, I'm fitting the biggest one I can get.
Diesel 4x4s need a good battery.

Good - I fitted a larger battery when my car battery failed.
It actually had the holes for the clamps at a wider spacing to fit a larger battery.
The factory battery was the smallest pissy one they could fit.
It's better now.

[Valkie]

I have had many cars over the years 10 or more of my own and (I think) 7 or 8 company cars.

Batteries, or more importantly, the life of a battery, seems to be luck of the draw.
Some have lasted for years, the best was nearly 7 years
Others less than 12 months.

But perhaps it not just the battery.
I had a brand new Ford AU, it chewed batteries like lollies.
At least one every 12 months.
Had the car electrical system tested several times and even had the alternator replaced.
Fortunately, a company car, so it was handed back pretty quickly.

On the other hand, I had a Honda Civic, my own car.
I purchased it three years old with the original battery.
I had that car for 4 years, still with the same battery and had it not been written off in a storm which made it look like a colander, Id probably still have it. Loved that car.

My bikes were all bad for batteries I could expect a new battery for each of them every year or so.
My old Yamaha 2 stroke was the worst, In fact, the battery was more a ballast than a battery, Thankfully it was a kick start.

Boats are also big battery munchers.
My last boat had a mercury 80 HP 4 stroke outboard.
It required a 100 CCA battery to kick that big bugger over.
Add a fish finder, navigation screen, radio, lights, washdown pump, anchor winch, and a few other bits and bobs (most used with the engine off for hours at a time) batteries were a consumable item.
Put a second battery in just before I got rid of it, but never really needed it.

[Bobby]

I have had many cars over the years 10 or more of my own and (I think) 7 or 8 company cars.

Batteries, or more importantly, the life of a battery, seems to be luck of the draw.
Some have lasted for years, the best was nearly 7 years
Others less than 12 months.

But perhaps it not just the battery.
I had a brand new Ford AU, it chewed batteries like lollies.
At least one every 12 months.
Had the car electrical system tested several times and even had the alternator replaced.
Fortunately, a company car, so it was handed back pretty quickly.

On the other hand, I had a Honda Civic, my own car.
I purchased it three years old with the original battery.
I had that car for 4 years, still with the same battery and had it not been written off in a storm which made it look like a colander, Id probably still have it. Loved that car.

My bikes were all bad for batteries I could expect a new battery for each of them every year or so.
My old Yamaha 2 stroke was the worst, In fact, the battery was more a ballast than a battery, Thankfully it was a kick start.

Boats are also big battery munchers.
My last boat had a mercury 80 HP 4 stroke outboard.
It required a 100 CCA battery to kick that big bugger over.
Add a fish finder, navigation screen, radio, lights, washdown pump, anchor winch, and a few other bits and bobs (most used with the engine off for hours at a time) batteries were a consumable item.
Put a second battery in just before I got rid of it, but never really needed it.

I normally get 5 years or more out of a battery.
As I said if the charge voltage is between 14 and 14.2 volts then they don't
get boiled up so they last a long time.

[Valkie]

You have just piqued a thought.

Batteries don't like hot environments, shortens their lives.
Yet they are placed under the bonnet with a hot engine, and more heat funneled in past hot radiators, heat exchangers and air conditioning radiators.

Bike batteries are even worse, placed under seats directly above hot air cooled engines with nowhere to dispel the hot air around them.

I wonder if I run a cooling duct to the battery, if it would extend its life?

[Bobby]

You have just piqued a thought.

Batteries don't like hot environments, shortens their lives.
Yet they are placed under the bonnet with a hot engine, and more heat funneled in past hot radiators, heat exchangers and air conditioning radiators.

Bike batteries are even worse, placed under seats directly above hot air cooled engines with nowhere to dispel the hot air around them.

I wonder if I run a cooling duct to the battery, if it would extend its life?

Of course the battery would last longer if it got more air cooling.
In cars they are normally close to the air blown off by the radiator
so I suppose they do get a breeze to help them.