Battery Question

[aknaten]

After the early electric automobiles faded from the scene with the rise of the ICE, the automotive battery was still needed for a new safety device -- the starter motor.

"Before the invention of the electric starter in 1911, automobiles had to be started using a hand crank. This device was usually located on the front of the car and required enormous amounts of efforts to turn. The device was also dangerous. Henry Leland, head of the Cadillac Motor Car Company, found this out the hard way. In 1910, a friend of Leland's stopped to help a lady whose car had become stalled on Detroit's Belle Isle Bridge. While trying to turn the crank, it kicked back, breaking the man's jaw. He later died from the injury. Shocked from hearing the news, Leland told Kettering that if he could produce a self-starter, then he would use it in next year's Cadillacs." http://web.bryant.edu/~ehu/h364proj/sprg_97/dirksen/electric.html

 

[Johnapool]

More important than the ampere hours a battery will produce is the cold crank amps. You really aren't running on the battery, just using it to start your engine. And, with today's battery technology, plain old maintenance-free batteries last a long time under most conditions. My little Scion Xb came with an ordinary battery, delivered on 6-30-2004, and I replaced the battery in September, 2013. Half the time was in Washington state, half in Missouri, and the car had over 130,000 mile on it when I changed the battery.
Like tires, the longevity of a battery can vary greatly depending mostly upon how well it was designed and manufactured. For ten years, I was the caretaker for very remote mountain cabins that ran on propane-powered generators, batteries and inverters. We tried every kind of battery available, and discovered the best bang for the buck was regular old golf cart batteries. They way outlasted AGM (absorbed glass mat) batteries. BUT- we were "cycling" the batteries, and the only time you discharge a car battery is when you leave the lights on and run it down. A batterys life depends a lot on keeping it charged,

 

[Keith Stone]

It will nice to get beyond the 1 year mark which is what I get in my Grand Prix regardless of the battery I purchase from autozone.
[\QUOTE]
Well they should warranty it, but always a pain installing a new one.

 

[Neal]

Seriously, smart car batteries are smaller than a car battery, but bigger than a motorcycle battery. It would make sense if the Elio also used a mid-sized battery. The engine size would be comparable to smarts. The smart battery is located under the passenger side floor board, so with $10 of copper wire, the battery could be placed almost anywhere.

Hate it when company place the batteries in odd places. I hliterally had to remove the front passenger tire in my Tuarus to get to the battery. Was such a pain.

 

[Truett Collins]

Hate it when company place the batteries in odd places. I hliterally had to remove the front passenger tire in my Tuarus to get to the battery. Was such a pain.

Same with the Dodge Stratus.....

 

[Johnapool]

It will nice to get beyond the 1 year mark which is what I get in my Grand Prix regardless of the battery I purchase from autozone.

Josh, I was just re-reading this thread, and came across your post, again. If you are only getting a year of battery life, your Grand Prix is probably seriously over-charging the battery. Bad voltage regulator will do that, modern ones are usually built into the alternator. Another thought is that some modern cars there are gadgets still powered up when the car is parked and not running, slowly discharging the battery.
Only discharging and charging cycles tend to shorten a battery's life. Sitting in very cold weather while discharged is bad for them, but in cars, a battery is usually used for starting, then kept charged while the engine is running, and parked while fully charged.
Anyway, just a shot in the dark about the Grand Prix.

 

[Joshua Caldwell]

Yup, but the good thing about battery warranties is that the problems doesn't cost me extra and in a year's time it will be someone else's problem. If someone had posted this a few years back I would have had that fixed. However in the decade I've owned it 4 mechanics weren't able to find the source of the problem.

 

[trock59]

Joshua, I agree with johnapool about overcharging or a draw on the battery and I'd check for that but also if the battery cables have been replaced you could be missing a ground wire to the chassis. If the original cable had a 2nd small ground wire and the new one does not it can cause battery failure too. A voltmeter will check the first two.

 

[RMClubfitter]

Joshua, I agree with johnapool about overcharging or a draw on the battery and I'd check for that but also if the battery cables have been replaced you could be missing a ground wire to the chassis. If the original cable had a 2nd small ground wire and the new one does not it can cause battery failure too. A voltmeter will check the first two.

I have a Dodge truck, Cummins Diesel. I keep radar detectors in Cigarette lighters that cut off when ignition is turned off. The connector end of the radar detector became compromised and was shorting out while the truck was not being used. Hence dead batteries over time. Took to an auto electric place who discovered the problem. I was embarassed that I did not find the problem myself.

 

[Jaybird]

If you would buy a Battery Tender Jr. and hook it up every night or leave it plugged in when the Elio is not in use, the battery will last a long time. Look them up. I've used on motorcycle's and the last motorcycle was 5 years old a cranked everytime I used it. Left it plugged in all the time. They will not overcharge the battery. Worth the money.