Battery Issues ~ Only Lasting Two Years

[J Rauco]

A question for the gang here...does anyone have issues with batteries running only around 2 yrs these days ? I had to replace a battery yesterday with the battery sticker a 9/13 battery. Any issues from anyone else ?

 

[toyotafan]

What type of batteries are you buying? If you're in a hot area they won't last as long as a more mild environment, but 2 years is pretty short. I've been averaging about 4 years most of the time on a battery, but I tend to buy upper-level batteries in terms of the cranking amps, etc.

 

[tbplus10]

Yea I average around 4 years on most battery.
Had a few last longer, that was on low use vehicles I take the battery out of and put on a tender though.

 

[tibadoe]

On average I get about 5 years out of a battery. My best was my 04 which had the original OEM battery & still going strong when I sold it 8 years later. Make sure you keep terminal connections clean and the battery topped off with distilled water if serviceable.

For our autos, every month or so I plug up the tender for 24 - 48 hrs. to keep them topped off and desulfated. The other 5 batteries stay on the BatteryMINDer 24/7.

 

[toyotafan]

I've never tried a battery tender before, how much electricity do they use?

http://www.amazon.com/Deltran-Battery-Tender-021-0128-Charger/dp/B00068XCQU

 

[tibadoe]

I've never tried a battery tender before, how much electricity do they use?............

It's not much....think I read pennies a month. I have five hooked up full time and never noticed any difference on my electric bill.

 

[toyotafan]

You jinxed me. I'm having battery issues on my non Toyota minivan and I think the duralast battery is only 2 years old maybe. Not holding a charge.

 

[toyotafan]

Okay guys you did jinx me. The battery in my minivan may only actually be one year old, its a Duralast and I just went to O'Reilly Auto Parts and I said that's an autozone battery, but they tested it for free and its not holding a charge so the batteries failing.

So I ended up buying what you all are calling a battery tender, that's where the confusion came in because I've always called them a battery trickle charger.

So I hooked it up, leaving it in the garage so I can get some work done in the home office today and if I need to go anywhere hopefully that'll give me enough juice to get somewhere turn the car off, turn it back on and get back home which is always the goal I probably will take some wrenches with me and drive to autozone and see if they'll give me some kind of credit on that.

The problem is, I'm pretty certain I was out of town when the battery went out and I think it was put in the name of one of my wife's friends who husband change the battery cuz I was not anywhere near the minivan. Hopefully they can look it up on the battery serial number or something, but there is no calendar sticker on the top of the battery! Can't believe they didn't put a code sticker, or the calendar on there.

The guy at O'Reilly's said all battery should have a sticker talking about their bill date when they were came off of the truck but this battery has nothing on there at all except for the battery type, etc.

Anyhow, this is my new trickle charger, aka battery tender.

 

[tibadoe]

............So I ended up buying what you all are calling a battery tender, that's where the confusion came in because I've always called them a battery trickle charger.............

As long as it's a "smart" type charger you are good to go.

Good article on the difference between the two: "The difference between a trickle charger and a battery tender is that a trickle charger constantly applies a charge, whether the battery is fully charged or not. A battery tender, on the other hand, has circuitry that monitors the battery and charges only when the voltage has dropped below a preset level, thus preventing overcharging and damage."

 

[toyotafan]

ok, this wasn't the cheapest until that they had, but nowhere near the most expensive. My goal was to get home and keep the battery charged up enough for me to do some local errands today and since I don't have any other battery to get a jump from, I need it to be charged up as much as possible just for that purpose.

I'll do a write-up on this unit shortly, but the box says:

Schumacher 1.5 AMP Maintainer / Trickle Charger.

• Connects in seconds / Quick-Connect Harness.
• Microprocessor Controlled
• Reverse Hook-up Protection.
• 6v/12v Auto Voltage Detection.
• "Maintains your battery at the optimal charge - for quick use after storage".

 

[jazz]

I have used a Napa brand battery tender on my Toyota for 2 years along with block heater,,,always used them as I leave my truck plugged in at work and its stinking cold in winter on the waterfront. My last truck had 2 batteries as well as battery tender and block heater.. Always starts! There are also solar chargers that are less than $20 you can leave on dash to keep battery up. They plug into your 12v outlet,,the thing we used to call a cigarette lighter,,located above the roach tray.

 

[toyotafan]

I have used a Napa brand battery tender on my Toyota for 2 years along with block heater,,,always used them as I leave my truck plugged in at work and its stinking cold in winter on the waterfront. My last truck had 2 batteries as well as battery tender and block heater.. Always starts! There are also solar chargers that are less than $20 you can leave on dash to keep battery up. They plug into your 12v outlet,,the thing we used to call a cigarette lighter,,located above the roach tray.

Roach tray, haven't heard that term in a long time.

I'm going to check out the battery powered tender.

 

[F150]

replace the battery cables

 

[kennythewelder]

place the battery cabes

Thanks for replying. Again this is a 6 year old thread.