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-   -   Car battery life - How long did your battery last? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/38613-car-battery-life-how-long-did-your-battery-last-72.html)

Yes, sulfation also causes reduced chemical reaction in the battery so the starting trouble for car - much more so if you have plenty of power hungry/draining equipment hooked on.

Alternative to long drive charging - idling - the boring way! While idling you could also keep revving to speed up the charging process and let the alternator do its work.

As R2D2 mentioned, it may also be time to replace the battery now. With the sulfation, its useful life (from limited chemical reactions) is surely reduced and there is risk of the battery dying on you "randomly."

To ensure better battery health for the next battery, you might have to give it frequent long-ish drives.

The best practice that helps ()in my opinion is to attach a battery tender/ maintainer to the car battery terminals if the car is not driven daily or frequently, as there are so many electronics on board a modern car these days that always run on the battery even though the car is off i.e. radio station memory, seat position memory ,ECU on board etc,etc. I always plug in battery tender to all my cars and keep it plugged especially the modern AGM batteries which are quite expensive. There are so many great brands available and here in US C-tek , battery tender (also name brand ) are quite popular.

Your battery is in its last 4-6 months of life.

Other than the main +ve and -ve cables, I see two separate thin cables running - one red and one black from the battery - what are those?

1. The sulfation on the terminal is too high. Clean it out immediately as R2D2 suggested but beware- your terminal lead and its bolt might have already been partly eaten away.

2. If you find the clamp and the bolt in good shape, disconnect the terminal, use some fine emery to clean the terminal and the clamp, apply petroleum jelly/vaseline and then fit the clamp back.

3. If the starting trouble is faced with the engine hot, then have the battery replaced without further delay.

Normally the first battery in the car lasts the longest but today, manufacturers resort to all kinds of austerity measures due to which the life of the battery has dropped to 40-48 months.

And the idling should be done in a well ventilated space preferably an open space and not in a garage to reduce risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

I am sorry to say this, but my dad, without telling me a word, tried to clean the material with a dry cloth and then applied vaseline to the terminal:deadhorse. The material was not properly wiped off.

The clamp and the bolt seem to be in good shape. I shall attach the images.





There is no starting trouble currently, but I think of replacing the battery as the shop is open now. I don't know whether the shops will be open in the near future because of the lockdown.

I guess those cables should be present in all the vehicles. I don't know exactly what they are for. Are they used for running the devices which require battery?

Your clamps are in good shape at least in the photos but have the zinc anti corrosion coating stripped off. Never mind, just keep them clean & coat regularly with Vaseline. And I will encourage you to at least have the battery load tested if not replaced in order to preempt a failure. Those two thin wires are probably for some after market accessory, a stereo, horn or fog/headlamp wiring loom. You will need to check with your family. Please install a fuse on the red wire within 1 foot of the clamp to save your car from short circuits or an overload that can cause fires.

The battery in my Polo lasted exactly for 3 years and 11 months. I was planning to get it replaced during my annual servicing in June, but I'm guessing the 10 day intervals between starting during the lockdown speedened it's demise. Got it replaced today.

The battery in my Verna 1.5 VGT, lasted 5 years, bought at 104K km in Feb 2015, since I remember my car's first owner telling me he had replaced the battery recently at that time when I bought it. I replaced the battery in Jan 2020 at 145K km odo. That battery was of Exide brand.

In this duration, once when I had gone on deputation planned for a week (so I did not disconnect the battery) and it lasted for three weeks (yes, it happens with us people), the battery had got discharged and had to be bench charged after I reached back. After that I always disconnect the battery before I start for a deputation and so didn't give any trouble till the replacement.

I was pleasantly surprised that it lasted 5 years, since in my earlier cars, i only remember the duration(s) as less than 4 years.

This time, I have a new record of how long a battery can last...

Any tips on how to maintain the battery of the car (i10) that runs 6-7kms only on the weekend (not due to COVID)

Also how to understand the pricing of the new Amazon battery? How much discount is normal on the MRP excluding the price of the old battery?

That is astonishing! Coincidently, I recently set a record as well; though didn’t break yours. ;)
My Zen’s battery gave up last week. It was fitted way back in January 2014! So, 6.5 years and that is the max I’ve got of any battery. It was an Exide Matrix. Replaced it with Exide Mileage.

You can buy a smart charger and keep it connected to your battery to keep it topped up by trickle charge. It is the most hassle free way to ensure the battery remains in healthy state. There will be no need to take the battery out of the car.

Coming to your second query, pricing is something that varies too much. And I’m unable to find any specific percentage wise pattern. For example, I got Exide Matrix in 2014 for Rs. 5200 and got Rs. 500 off against the old battery. I don’t remember the MRP. But I got the replacement last week. The printed MRP was 4400/- and they price quoted was Rs. 4000/-; that’s 10%. I got RS. 700 off on my old battery this time. Again last year, I got a replacement battery for my another car, Civic, whose MRP was 8.5K, but I remember paying 5600 bucks by trading the old battery. Still, even for a budget battery which costs around 4K, expect at least 10-12% knock off on the MRP.

Regards.

Check for Bosch c7 or C3 chargers.

Check this out on Tbhp:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...y-charger.html

Seems like a good option for expensive batteries but for others, it is almost priced the same as a new battery.

How much idling is required to keep the battery fully charged?

Then go for C3. Price is under 4K.