new battery - about 5yrs

On 06/19/2012 11:32 AM, ps56k wrote:

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.

--
FRH

Frank_v7.0 wrote:

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.

--
DougW

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

PaulinVA

On 6/19/2012 4:15 PM, Frank_v7.0 wrote:

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.

--
I'm never going to grow up.

PeterD wrote:


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.

--
Will Honea

On 6/19/2012 1:32 PM, ps56k wrote:

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.

On 6/19/2012 10:33 PM, RoyJ wrote:

   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.


--

      AJ  -- To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason
is like administering medicine to the dead. - Thomas Payne

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

Larry wrote:


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.

--
Will Honea

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 ?

ps56k wrote:


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.

--
Will Honea

On 6/27/2012 12:09 PM, ps56k wrote:

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.