When to change battery

[Pisces69]

 

Some cars might have a temporary disconnect during cranking, but you don't know.

Some cars straightaway turn on the radiator fans when the aircon switch is on, like mine.

So It's better to play safe and manually turn off the aircon before cranking engine.

 

 

I do notice that when I crank the starter, all the other stuff like lights, radio etc wil go dim or off for the period while I am cranking.

 

This dun mean those equip has been turned off but since now all the elect power is drawn by the starter motor so there is nothing left to power those other equip.

 

Just like u try this experiment.

 

U wire up a 1.5volt D dry cell batt to a few lights(low drain) n they all nice n bright. Then u tap in a high drain motor n run it n all the lights wil go very dim cos now the motor is drawing all the power from the batt so nothing left for the lights.

 

Thats why a high CCA batt wil still have enough power to run the starter n the lights at the same time. The lights might just dim slightly.

[Fuelsaver]

 

 

Higher CCA (Cold Cranking Amp) means the batt has more power to drive high drain equip like the starter motor.

 

I believe a higher Ah is better cos it has more "space" to store more power when needed.

 

Ah is Ampere Hour. so 60Ah batt can power a 1amp device for 60 hours.

 

A 70Ah batt can power a 1 amp device for 70 hours.

 

Both is for new batt in optimum condition at full charge.

 

So higher Ah means at full charge the 70Ah has more power to last longer than a 60Ah batt.

Then next time will look for max ah n cca taking into account alternator AH rating. Tks bro.

[Fuelsaver]

 

Wah, dun scare me leh....mine already 20 months liao.

 

Don't b scared, just chg if u find batt cranks slower than previously. Dat wat I did. Or test ur batt in ws using batt testers. I tested twice in a span of 2 mths, both test shown replace batt w cca rating, state of chg. if ur cca is 70% of orig, MAY wanna try to drag till 24 mths.

[Zippaboy]

 

 

OK how do u know this?

 

U got some reason to say this?

 

I also still not sure.

 

Is there anything about this in yr handbook? I am still looking for some proof either way.

 

on my first toyota, my head unit totally turn off for that split second when i crank.

 

i think i realise that when my wiper was on and i crank, it just paused in the middle of the windscreen. haha

 

this is what i found on the net too

 

The starter circuit on most cars since 1970 (or even before, in many manufacturers) cuts off all unnecessary electrical drains while cranking the engine - this is why everything stops when you turn the key to start. This is not a modern thing by any means. In other words, everything that turns on when you turn on the ignition will be turned off while you are cranking (and starting) the engine. There is no extra battery drain. Hence, there is no drain on the 'system' when the engine is cranking from the AC. It is a compressor that is not turned on until electrical power is allowed to it - ie after the engine starts and the starter is released. The AC, the blower, the lights.. nearly everything is disabled while the engine is cranking to give it the best chance of starting.

 

This advice is badly misguided and stems most likely from either a complete misunderstanding of car electrics (at worst) or on knowledge from 1950/60's cars (at best). Hence either way it is plain wrong for modern cars. There is no truth at all in the AC 'adding load' to a starting engine.

 

 

about the aircon cutting off during full throttle, this part i am very sure i read it in the car manual.

Edited September 16, 2014 by Zippaboy

[Kb27]

 

 

I do notice that when I crank the starter, all the other stuff like lights, radio etc wil go dim or off for the period while I am cranking.

 

This dun mean those equip has been turned off but since now all the elect power is drawn by the starter motor so there is nothing left to power those other equip.

 

Just like u try this experiment.

 

U wire up a 1.5volt D dry cell batt to a few lights(low drain) n they all nice n bright. Then u tap in a high drain motor n run it n all the lights wil go very dim cos now the motor is drawing all the power from the batt so nothing left for the lights.

 

Thats why a high CCA batt wil still have enough power to run the starter n the lights at the same time. The lights might just dim slightly.

 

One way to be sure is to read the wiring diagram.

 

Many cars have switch when put to crank position, cuts off some electrical devices. Some may not be cut off.

 

During cranking, the crank voltage or battery voltage drops to around 10v depending on how big/healthy the battery is and state of charge.

 

There's always argument about whether it's cut off or simply the battery voltage is too low.

 

In my car, when the battery is in powerful enough state, the radio don't cut off during cranking. Otherwise it does.

So it's the battery crank voltage and not the cut off switch issue.

 

Another way is to disconnect the wire to the starter motor and put the key to crank position.

Since there's no motor load now, the battery should be able to power everything, if they are still connected.

But then, it's a bit of hassle to disconnect that wire..

[Victorlht88]

driving a '05 nissan sunny with amaron battery last replaced on 3 april 2013. recently experience intermittent engine cranking (sometimes engine will only start on the 2nd crank or after a prolonged cranking).

 

time for a battery replacement?

[Pisces69]

driving a '05 nissan sunny with amaron battery last replaced on 3 april 2013. recently experience intermittent engine cranking (sometimes engine will only start on the 2nd crank or after a prolonged cranking).

 

time for a battery replacement?

 

 

OK.

 

At night u observe yr dash meters lights.

 

Do they dim when u on yr turn signal light? If they do.............Its time to consider changing yr battery soon.

 

Now battery dun give much warning b4 they die on u. Once crank in morning is slow. Prob by next crank, its already dead.

 

If my battery already 2 years old n the above happens.......... I wil change my battery asap.

[Pisces69]

driving a '05 nissan sunny with amaron battery last replaced on 3 april 2013. recently experience intermittent engine cranking (sometimes engine will only start on the 2nd crank or after a prolonged cranking).

 

time for a battery replacement?

 

 

If u can still do a prolonged cranking....Yr battery seems quite strong still. Maybe got other problem with engine?

 

Maybe plugs old. Or fuel filter clogged.

[Wishxsr]

Anyone using Bosch S5? My S5 last for 13months only. Meter show at 10.5. I just change it to Amaron Pro yesterday. According to the shop, they said Bosch battery cant last as it cant take the heat .

[Kb27]

Anyone using Bosch S5? My S5 last for 13months only. Meter show at 10.5. I just change it to Amaron Pro yesterday. According to the shop, they said Bosch battery cant last as it cant take the heat .

 

10.5V usually means a shorted cell.

[Furrynadz]

Anyone using Bosch S5? My S5 last for 13months only. Meter show at 10.5. I just change it to Amaron Pro yesterday. According to the shop, they said Bosch battery cant last as it cant take the heat .

 

 

1 yr exactly, notice very weak cranking over 1 wk 2-3 times, swap back to amaron pro also

 

lousy qc liao

[Ake109]

Anyone using Bosch S5? My S5 last for 13months only. Meter show at 10.5. I just change it to Amaron Pro yesterday. According to the shop, they said Bosch battery cant last as it cant take the heat .

 

Been using it for over 2.5 years. No problems at all leh, still going very strong. Leave car 1 month in car park after going overseas, still cranks up as per normal.

 

I bought S5 because I thought it was a high end german battery so happily paid a bit more. So far has not given me problems.

 

Quite surprised the 2 of you experienced failure for the S5 so soon!

[Ake109]

Tokin about this, does it mean higher cca or higher ah batt better n last longer? Supposing car manual specifies 68ah n 60ah mf type, if I get 70ah type should last longer assuming I don't abuse them.

 

Say you have 2 similarly built batteries, one is 50ah and the other 60ah,

 

under similar conditions of use and abuse, both suffer 20% drop after 1 year.

 

Your 2 batteries become 40ah and 48ah respectively lor.

 

But in real life, too many variables.

 

When talking about battery life, it is really like play jackpot. Same brand battery, some can die after 1 year, some last 5 years. Some die slow, can see cranking become weak, some crank like hero in morning, next day cannot start. Really heng-suay one lor.

[Kb27]

 

Been using it for over 2.5 years. No problems at all leh, still going very strong. Leave car 1 month in car park after going overseas, still cranks up as per normal.

 

I bought S5 because I thought it was a high end german battery so happily paid a bit more. So far has not given me problems.

 

Quite surprised the 2 of you experienced failure for the S5 so soon!

 

My take is Bosch quality is inconsistent. Some get short life and some get normal.

Depends on your luck, as they say.

 

S5 is made in korea, I think.

[Ake109]

 

My take is Bosch quality is inconsistent. Some get short life and some get normal.

Depends on your luck, as they say.

 

S5 is made in korea, I think.

 

I thought mine made in Germany! Let me go check my battery and see if can find out country of manufacture.

 

As far as car batteries are concerned, my take is that ALL brands can be inconsistent. And there is also the wide variety of abuse different cars/owners subject the battery to.

 

So far my S5 lasted 2.5 years and still going strong, agar-agar I think is fair enough.

[Aaronlkl]

My Amaron 4.5yrs old already. Still going strong. No hiccups whatsoever even car left untouched for a few days. Really good stuff!

[Furrynadz]

Yeap as kb27 said

My prev din 62 I used and then swap with my friend car, total last 1.5 year before die, so when I fitted another on new car expected it to last that long too, apparently it didn't

[Fuelsaver]

My Amaron 4.5yrs old already. Still going strong. No hiccups whatsoever even car left untouched for a few days. Really good stuff!

Wat the model u usin?

 

Wat ur ride?