When to change battery

[Kb27]

Just to share, my Amaron suddenly died on me after idling over the wkend. No crank, no lights, not even cabin light.

 

No choice but to buy one at slightly more expensive $$$ from jump start helper.

 

Funny thing is one week later, I used my multimeter at home and measured the old battery. It showed 12.4V. New installed battery was 12.5V only, cannot understand why a slight drop in voltage cannot start car, even cabin light also cannot light up. ( Amaron battery indicator still showing green color,2 yrs old)

 

My friend told me it could simply be a case of loose battery connection. Thought was cheated by the battery man and Called up to ask. Was told its because old batt CCA super low, and got voltage does not equate battery still can use. (Is it Possible 12.4V all radio, cabin light will be turned off?)

 

Anyone can confirm?

 

 

 

Battery indicator, indicates state of charge. A weak battery can be fully charged and showed "green" but unable to start the engine.

 

In other words, 12V only showed one part of the battery condition, that it's fully charged. It doesn't say anything.

 

CCA check is more indicative of the state of battery.

 

[Kb27]

Just to share, my Amaron suddenly died on me after idling over the wkend. No crank, no lights, not even cabin light.

 

No choice but to buy one at slightly more expensive $$$ from jump start helper.

 

Funny thing is one week later, I used my multimeter at home and measured the old battery. It showed 12.4V. New installed battery was 12.5V only, cannot understand why a slight drop in voltage cannot start car, even cabin light also cannot light up. ( Amaron battery indicator still showing green color,2 yrs old)

 

My friend told me it could simply be a case of loose battery connection. Thought was cheated by the battery man and Called up to ask. Was told its because old batt CCA super low, and got voltage does not equate battery still can use. (Is it Possible 12.4V all radio, cabin light will be turned off?)

 

Anyone can confirm?

 

 

 

You can also try a load test. If you can find a 100 A load, connect to the battery and see how much voltage it dropped.

If it dropped below 9.x V, it's bad.

 

[Pisces69]

i rather pay more than let the chao ah tiong earn my money.

 

when my fav stall in the hawker centre hired ah tiong take over, i choose to patronise other stalls

 

 

Ya I also try to avoid their food stall cos their cooking style different n I dun quite like the taste of their cooking style.

Just to share, my Amaron suddenly died on me after idling over the wkend. No crank, no lights, not even cabin light.

 

No choice but to buy one at slightly more expensive $$$ from jump start helper.

 

Funny thing is one week later, I used my multimeter at home and measured the old battery. It showed 12.4V. New installed battery was 12.5V only, cannot understand why a slight drop in voltage cannot start car, even cabin light also cannot light up. ( Amaron battery indicator still showing green color,2 yrs old)

 

My friend told me it could simply be a case of loose battery connection. Thought was cheated by the battery man and Called up to ask. Was told its because old batt CCA super low, and got voltage does not equate battery still can use. (Is it Possible 12.4V all radio, cabin light will be turned off?)

 

Anyone can confirm?

 

 

 

 

Ya possible yr battery connection was loose. U sud check that first.

 

Did u go to any WS recently to do any work on yr car where ty had access to yr engine compartmernt? It cud b a case of sabotage also.

[Astralee]

Was contemplating purchasing a Solar CCA tester from amazon, those $70-$80 type. A lesson learnt that a multi meter is basically unable to gauge the health of car batteries.

 

 

You can also try a load test. If you can find a 100 A load, connect to the battery and see how much voltage it dropped.

If it dropped below 9.x V, it's bad.

 

[Yuan]

Was contemplating purchasing a Solar CCA tester from amazon, those $70-$80 type. A lesson learnt that a multi meter is basically unable to gauge the health of car batteries.

 

 

I am sorry to hear that.

 

To date, I have been using multi-meter or battery checker to check my car batteries and they have been pretty accurate (recent checking resulted in driving car to workshop and changed to a new OEM battery).

Edited April 19, 2014 by Yuan

[Astralee]

 

2 days b4 the battery incident a wkshop jus resettled my ECU and did some minor servicing and replacement of parts.

 

Dun think its sabotage, but I seriously guess that it's a loose connection. Coz almost 2 weeks Liao, battery still holding abt 12.4V. And when u encounter battery flat at 8pm when most wkshop r closed, u r jus glad to get a battery man attending to u. Guess its human nature to avoid more hassle and just pay to change new battery.

 

But anyway, all is past Liao.

 

See got strike 4d this wkend to recover cost or not, haha.

 

 

 

Ya I also try to avoid their food stall cos their cooking style different n I dun quite like the taste of their cooking style.

 

 

 

Ya possible yr battery connection was loose. U sud check that first.

 

Did u go to any WS recently to do any work on yr car where ty had access to yr engine compartmernt? It cud b a case of sabotage also.

[Kb27]

Was contemplating purchasing a Solar CCA tester from amazon, those $70-$80 type. A lesson learnt that a multi meter is basically unable to gauge the health of car batteries.

 

 

I have the Solar. It works ok.

Gives you a good feel of the condition of the battery by reading its CCA.

The readings may fluctuate a bit, so you need to take a few readings to get an average.

 

However, this Solar does not work when the engine is running or voltage over 14V.

It just go blank.

So it's useless to check charging system.

 

A multimeter is good for checking charging system.

[Si4dr]

2 days b4 the battery incident a wkshop jus resettled my ECU and did some minor servicing and replacement of parts.

 

Dun think its sabotage, but I seriously guess that it's a loose connection. Coz almost 2 weeks Liao, battery still holding abt 12.4V. And when u encounter battery flat at 8pm when most wkshop r closed, u r jus glad to get a battery man attending to u. Guess its human nature to avoid more hassle and just pay to change new battery.

 

But anyway, all is past Liao.

 

See got strike 4d this wkend to recover cost or not, haha.

 

 

Did you put back the old battery and test again?

[Volvobrick]

 

I have the Solar. It works ok.

Gives you a good feel of the condition of the battery by reading its CCA.

The readings may fluctuate a bit, so you need to take a few readings to get an average.

 

However, this Solar does not work when the engine is running or voltage over 14V.

It just go blank.

So it's useless to check charging system.

 

A multimeter is good for checking charging system.

 

http://www.dx.com/p/elm327-bluetooth-interface-obd-ii-auto-diagnostic-scanner-tool-black-white-12v-182988#.U1K2EWywqMI

 

Or you can get something like this (OBD diagnostic tool) that indicates the charging voltage (among many other measurements) via Bluetooth on your phone.

[Astralee]

Went to my regular wkshop today. They charged the battery for abt 10 min, then did a load test with printout. Battery is fine, holding charge well. CCA in good range.. Swooped back into car, no problem starting car.

 

My wkshop verdict- 99% it's due to a loose connection. Now ended up with one extra battery used for 2 weeks in my boot.

 

Extra battery in my boot, always ready to save myself. Haha.

Lesson learnt

 

 

 

Did you put back the old battery and test again?

[Pisces69]

2 days b4 the battery incident a wkshop jus resettled my ECU and did some minor servicing and replacement of parts.

 

Dun think its sabotage, but I seriously guess that it's a loose connection. Coz almost 2 weeks Liao, battery still holding abt 12.4V. And when u encounter battery flat at 8pm when most wkshop r closed, u r jus glad to get a battery man attending to u. Guess its human nature to avoid more hassle and just pay to change new battery.

 

But anyway, all is past Liao.

 

See got strike 4d this wkend to recover cost or not, haha.

 

 

 

OK to do the "soft" reset to the ECU ty might hv disconnect the battery n never connect n tighten back the terminals connections properly?

[Pisces69]

Went to my regular wkshop today. They charged the battery for abt 10 min, then did a load test with printout. Battery is fine, holding charge well. CCA in good range.. Swooped back into car, no problem starting car.

 

My wkshop verdict- 99% it's due to a loose connection. Now ended up with one extra battery used for 2 weeks in my boot.

 

Extra battery in my boot, always ready to save myself. Haha.

Lesson learnt

 

 

 

 

That spare battery sitting in yr boot wil slowly self-discharge till after abt a month u wan to use it to emergency start yr car n it wil b flat too. Hahahaha.

[Kb27]

 

 

That spare battery sitting in yr boot wil slowly self-discharge till after abt a month u wan to use it to emergency start yr car n it wil b flat too. Hahahaha.

 

Just like keeping spare tyre need to check and pump regularly, keeping a spare battery also needs to be charged regularly. :)

[QQDreamer]

talking about changing battery, i am thinking weather to invest on a battery analyzer so that can do self check and dont need to be caught in situation where cannot start car. Not sure if any bros here also invest and bought one to self check every few months on your car batt to prepare to replace battery before it fails?

[Otacon]

Went to my regular wkshop today. They charged the battery for abt 10 min, then did a load test with printout. Battery is fine, holding charge well. CCA in good range.. Swooped back into car, no problem starting car.

 

My wkshop verdict- 99% it's due to a loose connection. Now ended up with one extra battery used for 2 weeks in my boot.

 

Extra battery in my boot, always ready to save myself. Haha.

Lesson learnt

 

 

it could b that u left the car lights on throughout the nite or it could b some connections is loose, it keep draining the battery until flat. Same thing happened to my friend's car but luckily her battery was still under warranty. We went down to her place at 10pm n did a quick check for her on the spot (at no cost), it was working fine.

 

Since she is wife of a good friend of mine, we exchanged the battery for a new 1 for her out of good will. Unfortunately for us, our supplier was unable to take back the battery as they too tested it to be in working condition.

 

If a battery is going to fail, it should have some tell tale signs like cranking is weak

talking about changing battery, i am thinking weather to invest on a battery analyzer so that can do self check and dont need to be caught in situation where cannot start car. Not sure if any bros here also invest and bought one to self check every few months on your car batt to prepare to replace battery before it fails?

Dun need analyzer, like i posted few pages ahead, u can do a quick check urself using volt meter or multimeter. Most just install a volt meter in the car but u must know how to read it though.

 

I would recommend those jump start power bank for car, better than having to standby a spare battery. The jump start power bank also can charge hp

Edited April 21, 2014 by Otacon

[Kb27]

talking about changing battery, i am thinking weather to invest on a battery analyzer so that can do self check and dont need to be caught in situation where cannot start car. Not sure if any bros here also invest and bought one to self check every few months on your car batt to prepare to replace battery before it fails?

 

It's a good idea.

The Solar BA7 from Amazon is cheap and good enough.

Check every month and watch if the cca number starts to go down.

Then you know when it's time to change before getting caught.

[huiseore]

just change every 2 yrs, regardless of usage

 

Is that good for the battery life?

[Johnnylim]

 

I would recommend those jump start power bank for car, better than having to standby a spare battery. The jump start power bank also can charge hp

How does the jump start power bank look like? Where can we get it? Thks!