I have an '03 Honda Odyssey which has been pretty reliable. About three months ago the battery suddenly died and wouldn’t take a charge. I didn’t think much of it; in my experience, OEM batteries are not of the highest quality. I went to the local auto parts store and purchased a new battery.
Now, just a couple of days ago, the same thing happened - the battery suddenly died and wouldn’t take a charge. My A/C powered charger (an inexpensive Black & Decker deal) indicated that the battery had a shorted cell (I don’t know how accurate that information is, but before I brought it back to the store, I measured less than 2V across the terminals, while it was disconnected from the car).
Now, noting that I have not had any other problems with the vehicle’s electrical system, is there any fault that could cause that to happen to the battery?
I don’t know of any specific fault that might be the culprit, but lead/acid batteries don’t generally like being deeply discharged (even the ones that claim they are ‘deep cycle’ - during the process of discharging, lead is corroded from the plates by the acid in the battery - when it is recharged, the lead is redeposited - this is best done in shallow cycles, as then only a thin layer of metal is being removed and replaced - in adverse discharging/charging conditions, bridges of metal can be redeposited between the electrodes, shorting them and rendering that cell in the battery impotent.
to answer the OP, yes there can be faults in the electrical system that can kill a battery in short order. Typically overcharging or undercharging.
While you are correct that lead acid batteries don’t like being fully discharged, one full discharge should not kill a good battery. Your battery chemistry is not correct. When fully charged, the negative plate is covered in sponge lead. The positive plate is covered in lead peroxide (PbO2) the electrolyte is hydrogen ions and sulfate ions (H+, SO4–) As the battery discharges, the sulfate is deposited on both plates giving lead sulfate (PbSO4) The oxygen that is liberated from the positive plate combines with the hydrogen to create water. The specific gravity of the electrolyte goes down.
When recharging the electrical energy drives the sulfate off of the plates, tears the H2O apart, and you again have the negative plate of sponge lead, and a positive plate of lead peroxide. as the sulfate goes back into solution the specific gravity of the electrolyte goes up.
ETA: Do you have a digital voltmeter? There are some simple tests that can narrow things down.
Also Battery chemistry link
Well, presumably if the system was undercharging then the battery would continually be undervoltage, and over time, the car would become harder to start, and eventually be unable to start at all, right? This was not the case; the car had been starting fine with no problems until the day the battery was completely discharged (as I wrote above, after attempting to charge the battery, I measured the voltage across the terminals as less than 2 volts).
First test the open circuit voltage of the battery. Key off, all electrical items off, measure the voltage across the battery terminals.
Above 12.72V = Surface charge. Turn on headlights for 30 seconds, turn off. Wait 1 minute and retest.
12.6V-12.72V = Battery is fully charged
12.4 V = 75% charged
12.2 V = 50% charged
12.0 V = 25% charged
If the battery is less than 12.4 V charge battery before going on to the next tests.
Start engine, idle at 1500-2000 all electrical items off. Measure the voltage at the battery terminals. Due to the internal resistance in the battery, the voltage measured should be about 1.2 V above what you measured above.
13.92 V - 14.5 V Normal, but as the engine runs, I would expect the voltage to return to closer to 13.92. If the voltage stays high, I would look at a new voltage regulator. Note: Some GM cars (and possibly some others) may charge up to ~15 V for a short period of time. This voltage should trend down toward 13.92 V as the battery becomes more charged.
Below 13.92V? Alternator is toast. It may be possible to put new brushes into the unit, but it is probably easier and cheaper to get a rebuilt.
Above ~15.0 V look at the voltage regulator.
Now with the engine running, turn on the lights, heater fan, radio, rear window defroster. Run the engine at 1500-2000 RPM and measure AC voltage across the battery terminals. If the AC voltage is above 0.4 V you have a shorted diode, and need a new alternator.
All of the above assumes that the battery cables are clean, tight and in good condition. Also the alternator drive belt is also in good condition.
I once had a battery destroyed by a charging system that was producing a significantly too-high voltage for the battery (something like 17-18V, as I recall). It basically got it so hot the battery burned itself out.
I just replaced my alternator on my Saturn. It was putting out 19v. At that level, I very quickly needed a new battery to go with the new alternator. The repair man said he could see the water “boiling” in the battery. Fortunately, it wasn’t so bad that the battery sprayed the engine compartment, but the battery was toast.
If you’re talking about an original 2003 battery then no, nothing you did killed it. Modern batteries produces twice the amperage as batteries in the 70’s and they are 2/3 the size. To do this they space the cell plates closer. The older style of battery would slowly fade away giving you some warning. Modern batteries die quickly, often in mid-start. The closely spaced plates short out. The car could be cranking over as fast as it normally does and then… nothing. Average battery life is 4 to 5 years.
My 2000 Saturn battery died so thoroughly that it would not take a jump start from a professional shop charger with enough amps to start the car by itself.