KuroNekko wrote:Yes, the battery charge is probably weak from sitting on the dealership lot for a while. It's actually very common among used cars.
Once you start driving it often, the alternator will charge up the battery and the battery will have more cranking (starting) power.
I help a lot of people buy used cars and it's very common for them to have weak batteries in the first few days after purchasing the car. It happens to ALL brands simply because the battery is discharging during the long times between engine starts until someone buys the car and uses it regularly.
It should get better as you drive it more often.
thanks KuroNekko,
by the way, do i need to replace a new one?
one of my friends told me that normal battery last for 2 years ,
mine is 20 months old already.
does battery life depends on weather and place we stay, i am from malaysia, a tropical weather country
Any lead acid battery will suffer permanent damage if left partially discharged for any length of time- so your battery would not have been anywhere close to 100% when you bought it. Even if you recharge it fully, the battery will have a lower capacity.
My Kizashi had a similar history (sitting at dealership long term before I purchased it.) I know my battery never cranked the engine over very quickly. I recently replaced the battery (it was ~15mths old) and there is a big difference in cranking speed. I replaced it mainly due to the dealer over filling the acid causing overflowing, but also because I never felt it was working anywhere near 100% capacity.
PS: Turning off the A/C and fan before stopping the engine will help at next the start- it will reduce the initial load on the battery.
PPS: The warmer weather won't help with the battery's life, but the past vehicle history has probably done the most damage.
KuroNekko wrote:Yes, the battery charge is probably weak from sitting on the dealership lot for a while. It's actually very common among used cars.
Once you start driving it often, the alternator will charge up the battery and the battery will have more cranking (starting) power.
I help a lot of people buy used cars and it's very common for them to have weak batteries in the first few days after purchasing the car. It happens to ALL brands simply because the battery is discharging during the long times between engine starts until someone buys the car and uses it regularly.
It should get better as you drive it more often.
thanks KuroNekko,
by the way, do i need to replace a new one?
one of my friends told me that normal battery last for 2 years ,
mine is 20 months old already.
does battery life depends on weather and place we stay, i am from malaysia, a tropical weather country
They're interesting figures. I compared the example of the state of Florida's climate with where I live (Adelaide, Australia) using Wikipedia. The averages through the year are similar, but with Florida having a higher summer average by a couple of degrees. However, the highest recorded temperature of Florida is 43 C- whereas Adelaide's record is 46.1 C. (If I compared the whole state where I live, rather than just the city, the max recorded is 50.7 C!)
Anyway..... Those battery life figures seem fairly dismal given the climate similarities. I've just replaced the battery in our XL-7 after nearly 6 years of ownership. We bought it secondhand and that battery was already in it! We'd normally get at least 4-5yrs battery life. I've actually got the the "old" Kizashi battery in it and it's currently doing better than it was in the Kizashi (even though it's now cranking over a 2.7l V6 engine!) The only vehicles I've had problems with have both been new vehicles that were left sitting unsold in a car yard for extended periods. One was a Mazda 6 that had complete battery failure just under 2yrs from when we purchased it. We got it cheap because it was "last years model".
Sulfation is definitely no joke. I went through two $300 Porsche batteries in just five years because of sulfation. Now, I keep all my batteries on battery tenders, although you have to be careful with these as well as they can boil out the electrolyte of a battery also rendering it useless.
Bottom line with any battery designed for starter use (besides an Optima yellow top), drive it often.
KuroNekko wrote:Yes, the battery charge is probably weak from sitting on the dealership lot for a while. It's actually very common among used cars.
Once you start driving it often, the alternator will charge up the battery and the battery will have more cranking (starting) power.
I help a lot of people buy used cars and it's very common for them to have weak batteries in the first few days after purchasing the car. It happens to ALL brands simply because the battery is discharging during the long times between engine starts until someone buys the car and uses it regularly.
It should get better as you drive it more often.
thanks KuroNekko,
by the way, do i need to replace a new one?
one of my friends told me that normal battery last for 2 years ,
mine is 20 months old already.
does battery life depends on weather and place we stay, i am from malaysia, a tropical weather country
any suggestion?
Don't replace it yet. Drive around and if it still has a hard time starting your car after several days, then it may be time for a new battery.
Every two years for a battery is premature. My Interstate battery in my old Impreza lasted over 10 years and 120,000 miles.
The battery faced the desert heat of Southern California in the summer and the ice and snow of the mountains 6000 feet up in the winter. Despite this, it lasted that long.
Get yourself a quality battery and you will see a huge difference in longevity. This is also why more expensive, higher quality batteries come with longer warranties. The battery is supposed to last longer.
You can get batteries tested at most auto electrical places - even when they're installed. There's no payment for it at my local battery shop. That will give you a very good idea of it's current state.
Taking it out and putting it on a decent smart charger will also show up faults (but that will leave you without a car for a day or so....) It may not enter float charging mode if the battery is in a poor state. If it does charge okay, then disconnect it for 24hrs and recheck the voltage on the terminals- it shouldn't have dropped below 12.6v.
(Or, just buy a new battery if you don't want to risk being stuck somewhere! Locally there are cheap Indonesian made batteries that are sold with 3yr replacement warranties. That's about as good a warranty as you can get here and they're around 1/2 the price of the well known brands.)
Hmmmm ctek..... I've got two dead ones sitting in my garage - not mine, from friends. Personally, I've never really seen the value in them!
Do a search on "equalization charging" and you'll find some info on reversing sulfation too. Basically you can pump up the charge voltage (on non sealed wet cell batteries) and it can help reverse early stages of sulfation.
Be very careful when playing with batteries.... it's not something you want to do unless you know the risks and dangers.
Locally there are cheap Indonesian made batteries that are sold with 3yr replacement warranties. That's about as good a warranty as you can get here and they're around 1/2 the price of the well known brands.)