battery questions

[WmWatt]

Cold today, 0 deg F (-20 C). Starter turned over a few times then just a slow grind. Battery too low or maybe too cold or both.

1. I plugged in the 6 amp battery charger. It has an ammeter. The charging current jumped to 2 amp. After 15 min the current had fallen to 1 amp. After 1/2 hr the current had dropped to nothing as near as I could tell from the needle. The car started. I know I need to get the battery tested. I don't need the car and can wait until the weather warms up in a couple of days.
Does the charging current indicate this battery will not take a full charge any more?
Would it be advisable to leave the charger on over night?

2. This was my backup battery which I put in the car last spring when the old one died. While this battery sat in the garage I would put the charger on it once a month. The charging current would start at 2amp but within minutes fall below 1amp. I assmed that meant it was fully charged.
Was I wrong in assuming it was fully charged when the charging amps dropped below 1?
What is the normal reading on charging amps?

I've looked at my car owner books and searched the Internet without finding enlightenment on the above current questions. Thanks.

[r34king]

Optima yellow top. Go for high cca number and make sure its the same size and the posts are on the same side as the battery you take out

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

[Movin]

Maxtiva has some real good battery answers and
may be able to help you, there are batteries
available north that we do not have here. Great
guy, but he speaks only french and the communication
interpretation can be pretty funny...

[Bert]

I'm just down the road from you and thanks to the mountain of slush and snow from yesterday, and then low temperatures overnight, had to climb in through the hatch this morning because both doors were thoroughly frozen shut. There's nothing like starting a manual from the back seat using an window brush/ice scraper to hold down the clutch pedal.
I personally don't trust batteries anymore once they're 5 years old. Whether they've seen heavy use or not. Most if not all garages have instruments to test and confirm the condition of your battery in short order. Every once in awhile one or more of the battery cells will be found to be low on electrolyte and topping it up with water really makes a difference.

[WmWatt]

^^^ I took in a bucket of snow last night to have distilled water in the morning. The battery has both filler plugs which have been taped over, and a filler line on the outside of the translucent case. I couldn't see the fluid level through the case so made a little plastic dip stick. Removing the filler plugs showed the fluid level was low but covered the plates. It took about a cup of water. Unfortunately it did not accept any more charge.

I bought the battery for $20 at a garage sale and took it in to be tested which was good. Kept it topped up in the garage. It's a mystery to me how I used it up in less than a year on the car when the previous one, also bought used, lasted 13 years. My driving habits haven't changed.

[Movin]

Maybe the first owner did not use distilled water.
Shoot, the way things are nowadays maybe the
battery electrolyte makers are making a special
recipe that will not let the battery last longer than
the warranty?

[js_og]

^^ +1 to that. I know household appliances last just about the warranty (6 years). I was told its a science of his own in engineering to make a product that will last exactly the warranty period.

[georgeb]

Driving habits don't have anything to do with battery life.

[Movin]

Driving habits don't have anything to do with battery life.

It does to quite a few that come into the body shops !

I know what you mean, but installing chargers for gps and phone,
changing delay headlights all can be changes contributed to the driver.

Outside of what is put into a battery its life will depend on temperature
and how many watts are removed and put back how many times.

By the time 10 years goes by so we know who is making good
batteries the original employees are on obama care and the new
owner is in a foreign country and has a whole new idea about
how its made to make money...