new battery - about 5yrs

I live in Arizona and batteries get worked pretty hard. I'll go 4 years and replace. It depends a lot on your "climate". Consider it preventative maintenance.

Roughly the same here.

That's why I buy a high quality battery from Exide or Bosh with a 5-6 year warranty. (some times you can find them non pro-rated). About every four years I'm out another $30.

Easy way to tell when the battery is going is to look at the sides. Batteries that are failing tend to swell and look "puffy".

I take mine out to about 4 then start testing them every now and then for cranking amps and float. Fairly easy with the right tools and some places like PepBoys/Autozone/etc will test the battery they sell for free.

The yellow top Optima in my YJ is 10...

PaulinVA

I generally buy a 5 or 6 year warranty battery, replace at the first signs of weak start any time after 4 years. If the battery give me ANY grief at the 3/4 mark, it is false economy to stretch it the least bit.

Replacing it 'just because' is pushing my envelope a bit, can't argue with the general thought though.

Here in NH it is not unusual to get 10 years from a battery. The battery in my wife's VW Cabriolet is 13 years old and that car starts up like a rocket (sure, I know it may die at almost any time, but so far so good...) The battery in my Dodge truck is 8 years old, gets beat because I plow with the truck, and still is going strong (I give that one a year more perhaps!)

Climate is the main factor, colder climates make a battery very happy, hot ones bake it to death in a few years.

A lot of old folks remember when a battery gave you a warning before it dies. That is not true of the new batteries. Pick a life span that relates to it's quality and actually look at the cost. Even a $100 battery that only lasts 4 years has a cost of $.50 a week .. less than a cup of coffee and surely less than the hassle of sitting there waiting for assistance even if it does not cost you a bunch.

I got 5 years out of the first battery and two years out of the second one, so five years is sounding pretty good to me. Considering that alternators literally abuse a battery, i.e, charging to fast in cold weather, five years is really good.

I also have a 2001 GC and when the battery is dead forget about attempting to drive it. There is not enough power to run the fuel pump unless you can keep the engine at a high idle. That is why you kept stalling out.

I did mange to limp to the repair place once I was able to jump start it from my other jeep.

BTW this happened just after I had the radiator cap fail leaving a lot of coolant on the driveway. So it was a weird time.

Larry

Sounds pretty close to my experience in Colorado. When I bought the MJ the dealer put in a new battery - obviously the cheapest one he could find - and it lasted right at 10 years. The replacement Excide unit is 5 years old now and still tests at 100% rated capacity.

Biggest killer for me has always been the mount. If the battery can bounce around it usually goes in a hurry.

After flying a/c maintenance flights for years, I'm one of those that carries around one of those jump-start units. Good for 3-4 starts on a charge, it can also be dropped in under the hood to get you home as it charges just fine off the alternator. It's also a whole lot more convenient than jumper cables when others need a jump so it's worth the $30 - $40 for one of the Harbor Freight units.

ok - since we are here with the new battery, and a chopped "negative" battery cable that was/is now in the screw/clamp terminal on the post....

#1 - What can we use to smear on the terminal post, cable, clamp to help inhibit the corrosion ?

#2 - What is the reaction that causes the corrosion, and why only on the "negative" battery terminal ?

You can buy a spray to coat it. I usually just glop on a wad of vaseline or wheel bearing grease after I tighten the clamp. Messy, but right at home under a Jeep hood ;-)

The reaction is the sulphuric acid and local metal. Easy way to claen it is to pour baking soda over the terminal then wet the powder. Let it fizz a while then wash the top of the battery really well with water. In a pinch, pouring a bottle of Coke on the terminal will also work but that makes for a sticky mess.

Sounds like you modified the cable: not a good plan. They like to corrode inside the clamp area. Replace it with a new crimped cable. Not too expensive, good insurance.