A partial solution to that: here in Minnesota, we passed a law requiring scrap dealers to get valid state ID from each seller, and to keep a copy of that in their records. If the dealer doesn’t get ID, accepts an invalid ID, or fails to keep a copy of the ID, they can be charged with a crime, like any other fence.
This has helped to reduce this kind of stuff.
Previously, we had some thieves saw off the arms & head of a bronze sculpture in a park, and take them to a scrap dealer, who bought them – no questions asked!
Most batteries are sealed today…so you never add water or do anything (except keep the terminals clean).
But in years past, car mags used to carry ads for mysterious additives (VX-70?), that were supposed to magically resurrect dead batteries-were these things basically snake oil?
I had my OEM battery fail last November-I came out of a store, and the engine wouldnot turn over-no hint of a problem.
I sallped in a WalMart battery, and no problems since.
This. Modern batteries ain’t like 10-20 years ago. The don’t run down, then recharge, drive another year, etc. When they die, they’re dead. Get used to it.
Would it be a good idea to just pop in a new battery as the old one nears the five year mark, or would it be wasteful? Is there a practical reason why vehicle batteries can’t be manufactured to indicate somehow that they were running out of juice? It would sure save headaches.
It would be wasteful. I’ve had plenty of batteries last more than 5 years.
The main practical reason you can’t have one that indicates how much use it has left in it is cost. You can however take the battery to ye ol local auto parts store and have it tested. Many places will test it for free since if it tests bad, it’s an instant sale for them.
There is a practical way. Your instrument cluster should have a voltage gage. When you turn the key to the ACC position it will read the voltage from the battery. Not an exact measurment for sure, but should give you an indication of the health of the battery. Once the car is running the alternator is charging the battery so the gauge wouldn’t give you the reading from the battery alone.
the only practical thing they can do is what some already do; e.g. put a hydrometer in one of the cells. It gives you a rough idea of the state of charge by showing how much of the electrolyte is sulfuric acid vs. how much is stuck on the plates as lead sulfate.
the problem is that it only shows one of the six cells, and it can’t indicate shorted/broken/bad plates or any other failure mode.
I disagree. Of course, it all depends on how much money you have and how much your time is worth vs. inconvenience.
If a new battery for your car costs $100, then you’re talking $20/year to own a battery. If you made it through five years, get a new battery. Sure, if it make it through another year, then you wasted about $20. If it doesn’t, and you’re getting ready to go somewhere(work, trip, anything) and your battery is dead, it only cost you $20 to not have to have a hour or two of your time wasted.
So back about 10 years ago, Volvo used one battery supplier for both new and replacement batteries. The OE battery was molded in White plastic, the replacements were black. I had technicians swear that the white batteries were shit, and the black ones were awesome. Same battery.
Also with Volvo the battery is covered by the 4 year 50,000 mile warranty so there was no advantage to putting in a battery that only lasts 1 or 2 years.
New cars have a fair sized parasitic draw (things that use power while the key is off) All the on-board computers, radios, alarms all consume power. Depending on the car 2 months could put even a new battery down. BMW had a law suit a number of years ago, customer did not drive his car but about 1X a week, after Og knows how many batteries going dead, he asked for a buy back. BMW took him to court, they lost BIG time.
Heat kills batteries. The kicker is the damage often does not show up until the weather is cold. The hotter the environment the battery lives in, the shorter its life.
Can’t speak for all car makers, but Volvo doesn’t do this
Every computer in the car draws some power as does the alarm. Car makers work very hard to minimize parasitic draw, but it is a huge issue. There is a constant battle inside the car companies with the battery guys not wanting any draws, and everybody else wanting their widget to get some power with the key off.
Unless you are working on an OLD British car, always disconnect the negative (ground) or run the risk of getting an impromptu lesson in arc welding when your wrench touches some piece of metal in the car. See post #14
Good ideas
This is incorrect. First off most cars don’t have a voltmeter in the dash. Secondly if you turn the key to accessory you have already turned on a bunch of the computers, so you are not reading the unloaded voltage of the battery. Finally, a reading of the charging voltage of the battery will give you an excellent idea of the state of charge of the battery, the problem is, I have never seen a voltmeter installed in a car that had anywhere near the accuracy needed to tell what the state of charge is. A DVOM will tell you with the state of charge in a second.
It is much easier, faster, and less messy to measure the open circuit voltage of the battery. That will tell you everything a hydrometer will tell you with one exception. A hydrometer will tell you which cell is dead, the DVOM will only tell you there is a dead cell, but then again who cares which cell it is, if there is a dead cell, the battery is a goner.
Getting back to the OP, the damage to the battery might have been done on the dealer’s lot, before he bought the car. If the car sat for a couple of months or more with no maintenance on the battery it might have been discharged and lost a fair amount of its life when he bought the car.