3 week old battery dead????

[ezbtr]

the old one was 4 yrs old, sure enough died at 4 yrs, this one from O'reilly , I had to fast charge it last pm, to start! Alt checked out fine at store (140 amp) on 99 Yukon, wth??? I've actually had new batteries(a few) be bad from the start......

 

[Boomyal]

The last one I had to replace was 11 years old and that only because I left the headlights on one dark, rainy day. If I had known that I would have tried to recharge it. As it was, as I was installing the new battery and felt heat on my hip. I looked down and the headlights were on. I had already dumped the old battery.

That battery was sold by Costco and made by Johnson Controls.

Did you check your system for parasitic draw? You shouldn't have any more the a few tenths of an amp draw.

 

[robert graham]

Battery life is impossible to predict....I've had them last for years or go dead in a few months....sorta like light bulbs!....

 

[ezbtr]

I had a really expensive offroad battery like 20 yrs ago, a 2 part one w/ emergency start portion, died w/in 2 weeks :facepalm:

 

[bruceb58]

Have a meter? Measure the voltage that the battery is charging at when the engine is running.

I would also measure the current when your car is off. Could be a glove compartment light that is on when you don't realize it draining it.

 

[MTboatguy]

Not unheard of, I have purchased batteries that last years and have purchased batteries that last days, that is why they have warranties.

 

[bruceb58]

I get suspicious when one battery dies and then the replacement dies 3 weeks later.

 

[64osby]

Had a GM product with a relay in the passenger seat that ended up with a small draw. Took a few days to figure it out.

At first I thought the battery was bad. Battery is still working 3 years later.

 

[bassman284]

Yeah, 3 weeks is pretty fast. Possible that it was just a dud battery but I would suspect some kind of draw. In modern times, I've only had one battery die on me and it turned out to be about 5 years older than I thought it was (really long story I might tell later). I have killed 3 or 4 batteries on my boat by leaving the depth finder turned on. Anyway, I'd be looking for a draw.

 

[gm280]

I had a few Wal-Mart batteries die instantly and when I took them back, the salesperson actually told me that they had a number of their batteries fail in less then a week and a few that were dead on the shelf too. Seems they got a batch of bad batteries. I would have gone elsewhere if it wasn't for the free replacement... Not so sure I will for anther direct purchase though.

 

[WIMUSKY]

I had a few Wal-Mart batteries die instantly and when I took them back, the salesperson actually told me that they had a number of their batteries fail in less then a week and a few that were dead on the shelf too. Seems they got a batch of bad batteries. I would have gone elsewhere if it wasn't for the free replacement... Not so sure I will for anther direct purchase though.

I've used Wally Worlds batteries too. Never again. They didn't seem to last long. Even tried their more expensive Maxx, worthless.....

One of our vehicles is an '06 Charger, it still has the original battery.....

 

[kenmyfam]

Original battery still on our 2005 Grand Prix. Just replace a 2 year old one on the Trailblazer after the air pump relay fried and ran the pump full time. Impressed with the Grand prix battery after 10 years here in the frozen north

 

[MTboatguy]

In truth, you guys do know there are very few battery manufactures, on lead acid batteries, the majority of the market is controlled by Delphi, Johnson Controls and Exide here in the states, so there is a good chance, if you buy a lead acid automotive battery, no matter what name is on it, it has been built by one of these companies.

 

[Limited-Time]

In truth, you guys do know there are very few battery manufactures, on lead acid batteries, the majority of the market is controlled by Delphi, Johnson Controls and Exide here in the states, so there is a good chance, if you buy a lead acid automotive battery, no matter what name is on it, it has been built by one of these companies.

That is correct. However for private label manufacturng different customers have the battries built to their own specifications.

 

[MTboatguy]

That is correct. However for private label manufacturng different customers have the battries built to their own specifications.

That is different information that what I was told by my buddy who is a VP at Exide when we had lunch yesterday.

 

[ezbtr]

Had a GM product with a relay in the passenger seat that ended up with a small draw. Took a few days to figure it out.

At first I thought the battery was bad. Battery is still working 3 years later.

how did you track that???

 

[Scott Danforth]

here is the 2015 list of battery brands and who manufactures them

http://jgdarden.com/batteryfaq/batbrand.htm

 

[MTboatguy]

how did you track that???

It is really not hard to track draws in an electrical system, you just know to know how to use a meter and start isolating circuits by pulling fuses, then when you find the circuit, track down what is on that particular circuit and isolate it.

 

[MTboatguy]

here is the 2015 list of battery brands and who manufactures them

http://jgdarden.com/batteryfaq/batbrand.htm

Scott, that is a world wide list, the majority of those brands are not available in the US. Also a lot of those companies listed are subsidiaries of other companies, other countries have different standards and regulations than we have here in the US, which is why they set companies up in other countries.

 

[glenn property of pam]

No really surprise that you got a dud battery. It could be as simple as the battery was discharged over a long period of time sitting on the shelf then when it was installed the alternator charged it so fast one of the plates warped and shorted. It would be interesting to know the voltage reading of the bad battery before it was removed. Ive had a bad battery that started the truck and acted fine before. The only reason I found out there was a problem was when all the dash warning lights came on and when I pulled the codes they all reported low voltage at start up. The battery cranked the truck fine but only read just over 10v which indicated that it had a dropped cell.