Car Battery

[Neville]

Hi,

May I have your expereinces in selecting a quality battery (car:Toyota Allion A15 NZT240). There are so many brands, which one would be better quality and less maintenance?

Thanks,

[Uditha88]

Hi,

May I have your expereinces in selecting a quality battery (car:Toyota Allion A15 NZT240). There are so many brands, which one would be better quality and less maintenance?

Thanks,

Use "Ama***" battery water less one. It doesn't need to have any service & long period grantee is given.

But it costs more than about 4 000/= than normal standard battery.

If that's not something manageable for u, go for "G*" standard battery. It's good.

[jdnet]

Yeah go with maintanence-free batteries. They last pretty long and are worth the extra premium. The ones on my jeep and car in the U.S. had the factory batteries in em for 10 years. Although the ones you find here would probably last less longer as the materials are cheaper than those in the factory batteries and the heat depletes batteries faster. Nonetheless they will last much longer than traditional batteries.

[heavyD]

Yeah go with maintanence-free batteries. They last pretty long and are worth the extra premium. The ones on my jeep and car in the U.S. had the factory batteries in em for 10 years. Although the ones you find here would probably last less longer as the materials are cheaper than those in the factory batteries and the heat depletes batteries faster. Nonetheless they will last much longer than traditional batteries.

Wow, 10 years??? That's amazing. Didn't think vehicle batteries lasted for more than two or three years. I just bought a maintenance free battery the other day, and the warranty period is for just for two years.

[Ripper]

Wow, 10 years??? That's amazing. Didn't think vehicle batteries lasted for more than two or three years. I just bought a maintenance free battery the other day, and the warranty period is for just for two years.

yeah...10 years is super!!! some cheaper vehicles wouldn't even last that long

i too run a main free global battery and have been running that for little over 6 months or so...

but funny enough...i was asked by the battery shop guys to keep track of the fluid levels...

at least the global battery i have...the filler caps can be opened up for inspection with a one rupee coin with little trouble.

so far i've added battery water about 2-3 times...

so some of these maint free batteries are not really maint free,,,

had a yuasa maint free battery on one of the bikes and that lasted a good 4 years without any issues. didn't have to top it up either

[jdnet]

Wow, 10 years??? That's amazing. Didn't think vehicle batteries lasted for more than two or three years. I just bought a maintenance free battery the other day, and the warranty period is for just for two years.

I lived in the U.S. in an area that was generally cold though. Batteries are more tolerant to the cold than the heat (in terms of life span). Well most batteries over there come with three or five year warranties. Although the OEM batteries last well beyond the warranty period.

[jdnet]

yeah...10 years is super!!! some cheaper vehicles wouldn't even last that long

i too run a main free global battery and have been running that for little over 6 months or so...

but funny enough...i was asked by the battery shop guys to keep track of the fluid levels...

at least the global battery i have...the filler caps can be opened up for inspection with a one rupee coin with little trouble.

so far i've added battery water about 2-3 times...

so some of these maint free batteries are not really maint free,,,

had a yuasa maint free battery on one of the bikes and that lasted a good 4 years without any issues. didn't have to top it up either

So just the fact that they asked you to check fluid levels means that there is definately something wrong with the battery. Maintanence-free means you don't have to add wated. Usually in most maint-free batteries you can't even open it up as they are sealed pretty well to prevent leaks.

[terrabytetango]

Got a 4 year old battery in my Van which I do not remember the name of. That shows just how maintenance free it has been But it's on its last legs now, I'll be replacing it next month.

[jdnet]

Got a 4 year old battery in my Van which I do not remember the name of. That shows just how maintenance free it has been But it's on its last legs now, I'll be replacing it next month.

Well atleast you weren't ice fishing when your battery finally died. One of the worst feelings is not being able to start my car in the middle of the lake on eight inches of ice and not a single soul in sight to give me a jump start. Made sure I changed the old batteries in all of our vehicles after that day. Almost as bad as the day when I didn't realize how much snow was on the lake and took my car out to fish instead of the suv. Got stuck and almost melted through the ice while spinning my tires. Fun times.

Edited July 27, 2010 by jdnet

[shanX]

@jdnet: Your signature explains lol

Just an OT question, does a weak battery affect Alternator's life span?

Edited July 27, 2010 by shanX

[jdnet]

@jdnet: Your signature explains lol

Just an OT question, does a weak battery affect Alternator's life span?

Yes. It puts added strain on the alternator. This however depends on how bad your battery is.

[shanX]

Yes. It puts added strain on the alternator. This however depends on how bad your battery is.

Well it stays on charge, if I start the car atleast once a week, if not it dies

Anyother signs to findout how bad a battery is??

[heavyD]

Well it stays on charge, if I start the car atleast once a week, if not it dies

Anyother signs to findout how bad a battery is??

I think most battery shops have this gadget which they hook up to your battery and it gives a readout on the condition. That's how they checked mine when it was behaving erratically.

[Ripper]

I think most battery shops have this gadget which they hook up to your battery and it gives a readout on the condition. That's how they checked mine when it was behaving erratically.

i invested on a multimeter to take the guess work out of things...

check my voltage once a week and sometimes...especially after night drives in the rain...the battery tends to loose a bit of voltage...

to fix that...got myself a float charger!

so if the voltage drops below 12.5 or so....i hook the battery upto the charger and keep it on overnight...

in the morning she's usually about 12.8

battery shops tend to measure the specific gravity of your acid if it's an acid filled battery.

or they hook it up to their charger which indicates if the battery is not accepting charge...

a quick way to check if your battery internals are bad is to open up all the filler caps and then short the battery for a short period. If you can see air bubbles rising from any of the inside compartments...that specific unit has shorted out and the battery is kaput