On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:32:28 -0800 (PST), ransley
wrote:

I have a 2002 Volvo with a big battery , its original and probably
just worn out , but I check it at night after driving its 100% @13.3v
and in the morning its 75% 12.5v or so. But strangely it only takes 5
minutes at 15 A. to get to 100% or 13.3v . Most likely battery is just
old and bad, ideas. How do I check a draw of amps on a battery to see
if I have a short. Or do I just get a new battery and worry later or
not at all.

Just take it in to most any reliable place that sells betteries and
ask them to do a load test on it. Or you can buy a cheap load tester
for around $20 at some place like Harbor Fright or a good one for
twice that amount at a parts store. Personally, I'd just take it in
and let them test it, and be sure I saw the meter in use so they were
not just trying to make a sale. Most auto parts stores will do this
test for free.

I have a 2002 Volvo with a big battery , its original and probably
just worn out , but I check it at night after driving its 100% @13.3v
and in the morning its 75% 12.5v or so. But strangely it only takes 5
minutes at 15 A. to get to 100% or 13.3v . Most likely battery is just
old and bad, ideas. How do I check a draw of amps on a battery to see
if I have a short. Or do I just get a new battery and worry later or
not at all.

On Jan 20, 4:32 pm, ransley wrote:
I have a 2002 Volvo with a big battery , its original and probably
just worn out , but I check it at night after driving its 100% @13.3v
and in the morning its 75% 12.5v or so. But strangely it only takes 5
minutes at 15 A. to get to 100% or 13.3v . Most likely battery is just
old and bad, ideas. How do I check a draw of amps on a battery to see
if I have a short. Or do I just get a new battery and worry later or
not at all.


100% for a car battery is 14.7 volts.
Bad battery.

wws

On Jan 20, 4:50*pm, wws wrote:
On Jan 20, 4:32 pm, ransley wrote:

I have a 2002 Volvo with a big battery *, its original and probably
just worn out , but I check it at night after driving its 100% @13.3v
and in the morning its 75% 12.5v or so. But strangely it only takes 5
minutes at 15 A. to get to 100% or 13.3v . Most likely battery is just
old and bad, ideas. How do I check a draw of amps on a battery to see
if I have a short. Or do I just get a new battery and worry later or
not at all.

100% for a car battery is 14.7 volts.
Bad battery.

wws

I thought it was 13.3 volts , 14.7 is alternator output, go check your
battery voltage, I bet its 13.3 not 14.7 or nearer to 13. Let us know.
Check it after 4 hrs at least rest. 50 Bucks says you are wrong. Hmmm.

"ransley" wrote in message
...
On Jan 20, 4:50 pm, wws wrote:
On Jan 20, 4:32 pm, ransley wrote:

I have a 2002 Volvo with a big battery , its original and probably
just worn out , but I check it at night after driving its 100% @13.3v
and in the morning its 75% 12.5v or so. But strangely it only takes 5
minutes at 15 A. to get to 100% or 13.3v . Most likely battery is just
old and bad, ideas. How do I check a draw of amps on a battery to see
if I have a short. Or do I just get a new battery and worry later or
not at all.

100% for a car battery is 14.7 volts.
Bad battery.

wws

I thought it was 13.3 volts , 14.7 is alternator output, go check your
battery voltage, I bet its 13.3 not 14.7 or nearer to 13. Let us know.
Check it after 4 hrs at least rest. 50 Bucks says you are wrong. Hmmm.

14.7 with eng running, 13.2 / 13.3 batt only.

The OEM battery is over a year old. It's on borrowed time. Consider
yourself lucky and buy a new one before it leaves you and your VOLVO
stranded at some shopping mall.

s


"ransley" wrote in message
...
I have a 2002 Volvo with a big battery , its original and probably
just worn out , but I check it at night after driving its 100% @13.3v
and in the morning its 75% 12.5v or so. But strangely it only takes 5
minutes at 15 A. to get to 100% or 13.3v . Most likely battery is just
old and bad, ideas. How do I check a draw of amps on a battery to see
if I have a short. Or do I just get a new battery and worry later or
not at all.

At that age, you are on borrowed time. Replace it. I had a battery on
my Jeep that was OEM, and 6 years old. I simply pre-empted the
situation and got a new one. A new battery is MUCH less than a road
service call/tow.

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:32:28 -0800 (PST), ransley
wrote:

I have a 2002 Volvo with a big battery , its original and probably
just worn out , but I check it at night after driving its 100% @13.3v
and in the morning its 75% 12.5v or so. But strangely it only takes 5
minutes at 15 A. to get to 100% or 13.3v .

I wouldn't depend on those percentages. What are you using to give you
percentages. As to the voltages, are all of them with the car off?

(I didn't think you could get 13.3 with the car off, but one of my
meters has a low battery now, and it's showing 2.3 volts for a good
flashlight battery. (Maybe that's because it's a cheap digital meter,
but still.)

Most likely battery is just
old and bad, ideas. How do I check a draw of amps on a battery to see
if I have a short.

I agree that you should check this out. For one thing, you'll learn
things so the next time this happens, you'll know a lot more.

Just take off one of the battery cables and put an ammeter inbetween
it and the battery post. Start with the high range, like up to 2
amps if you have a jack or scale like that, 200 milliamps if you
don't, and if you don't get a reading, change to the next lower scale.

Or do I just get a new battery and worry later or
not at all.

Pat Goss, who used to have a car show on 980AM in DC and gave the best
advice I've ever heard, especially for the shade-tree mechanic, said
one could judge the drain from a battery when the car was off by
using, and hears the problem, I don't remember the number exactly, a
#52, 53 or 57 lightbulb**. This is one of the small spherical ones
with only one contact at the bottom. Only room for one contact because
it's small. They used to be used as dashboard lights. If it lights,
there is too much drain. I checked once how much current it took to
light the bulb, but now I can't remember. **I could go to the store
and see which of this is a cute, little, very round bulb, but I keep
forgetting. If anyone knows which one I mean, please let us know.

I have a bulb like that, in a socket with wires already, somewhere in
this house and I may need it myself as soon as the weather is warmer,
because since New Years, my battery goes dead every night. Thank
goodness for Battery Buddy, not cheap but worth every penny of it.
When the voltage from the battery gets too low, it disconnects the
battery, while still leaving just enough for me to start the car
(after I open the hood and press a button on the thing.) It's worked
for me 50 or 80 times counting 10 times this year and 40 or more about
6 years ago (when I was getting a new car and didn't want to buy a
battery for a car I was going to scrap. I was right too because the
new, used car came with an almost new battery.)

wrote:
On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:32:28 -0800 (PST), ransley
wrote:

I have a 2002 Volvo with a big battery , its original and probably
just worn out , but I check it at night after driving its 100% @13.3v
and in the morning its 75% 12.5v or so. But strangely it only takes 5
minutes at 15 A. to get to 100% or 13.3v . Most likely battery is just
old and bad, ideas. How do I check a draw of amps on a battery to see
if I have a short. Or do I just get a new battery and worry later or
not at all.

Just take it in to most any reliable place that sells betteries and
ask them to do a load test on it. Or you can buy a cheap load tester
for around $20 at some place like Harbor Fright or a good one for
twice that amount at a parts store. Personally, I'd just take it in
and let them test it, and be sure I saw the meter in use so they were
not just trying to make a sale. Most auto parts stores will do this
test for free.

A five year old battery that still works is almost mythical!

I wouldn't even both having it tested. Just buy a new one.

--
Floyd L. Davidson http://www.apaflo.com/floyd_davidson
Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska)

ransley writes:

But strangely it only takes 5
minutes at 15 A. to get to 100% or 13.3v

Which is exactly what happens when the plates have mostly disintegrated.
You have some battery left, but most of it is loose on the bottom of the
cells.

"ransley" wrote in message
...
I have a 2002 Volvo with a big battery , its original and probably
just worn out , but I check it at night after driving its 100% @13.3v
and in the morning its 75% 12.5v or so. But strangely it only takes 5
minutes at 15 A. to get to 100% or 13.3v . Most likely battery is just
old and bad, ideas. How do I check a draw of amps on a battery to see
if I have a short. Or do I just get a new battery and worry later or
not at all.

Sounds like it is going but a battery shop can put a load test on it. It may
be smarter to put that money towards a new one though. If you live in a
cold climate, it is a good time to just replace it and feel confident that
your car will start in the AM. Most OEM batteries last about 72 months so
you are close. Consider the problems of having it die on a cold morning or
late at night at the mall, or some other inconvenient time.

My Buick has a Series 100 battery that is supposed to last 84 months. Last
week I replaced it at 82.5 months. With single digit temperatures, I was
not taking chances.

In article , (Floyd L. Davidson)
wrote:

A five year old battery that still works is almost mythical!

Don't be ridiculous. Batteries with 7-year warranties are common, and they
*routinely* last the full seven years or more.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

professorpaul wrote:
At that age, you are on borrowed time. Replace it. I had a battery on
my Jeep that was OEM, and 6 years old. I simply pre-empted the
situation and got a new one. A new battery is MUCH less than a road
service call/tow.

Also the "maintenance free" batteries seem to fail much differently than
their predecessors. The old batteries used to give a good indication
with slow cranking. The maintenance free versions seem to just quit.
After having 2 fail like that on different vehicles and hearing numerous
friends say the same I now preemptively change batteries. It simply
isn't worth getting stuck trying to get a little more time out of an old
battery.

In article , George wrote:
professorpaul wrote:
At that age, you are on borrowed time. Replace it. I had a battery on
my Jeep that was OEM, and 6 years old. I simply pre-empted the
situation and got a new one. A new battery is MUCH less than a road
service call/tow.

Also the "maintenance free" batteries seem to fail much differently than
their predecessors. The old batteries used to give a good indication
with slow cranking. The maintenance free versions seem to just quit.

Yeah, well, there's no such thing as a "maintenance-free" battery. A better
term would be maintenance-PROOF. They need to have water added, just like the
old-style batteries -- much less often, I grant you, but they still need it.
Difference is, you can't.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Floyd L. Davidson wrote:
wrote:
On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:32:28 -0800 (PST), ransley
wrote:

I have a 2002 Volvo with a big battery , its original and probably
just worn out , but I check it at night after driving its 100% @13.3v
and in the morning its 75% 12.5v or so. But strangely it only takes 5
minutes at 15 A. to get to 100% or 13.3v . Most likely battery is just
old and bad, ideas. How do I check a draw of amps on a battery to see
if I have a short. Or do I just get a new battery and worry later or
not at all.
Just take it in to most any reliable place that sells betteries and
ask them to do a load test on it. Or you can buy a cheap load tester
for around $20 at some place like Harbor Fright or a good one for
twice that amount at a parts store. Personally, I'd just take it in
and let them test it, and be sure I saw the meter in use so they were
not just trying to make a sale. Most auto parts stores will do this
test for free.

A five year old battery that still works is almost mythical!

I wouldn't even both having it tested. Just buy a new one.

I had a battery that lasted 8 years. I thought it was just about a
miracle. When it started cranking slow I went out and bought a new
one. I just hope some day to have another one last that long.

Bill Gill

On Mon, 21 Jan 2008 08:20:01 -0500, George
wrote:

professorpaul wrote:
At that age, you are on borrowed time. Replace it. I had a battery on
my Jeep that was OEM, and 6 years old. I simply pre-empted the
situation and got a new one. A new battery is MUCH less than a road
service call/tow.

Also the "maintenance free" batteries seem to fail much differently than
their predecessors. The old batteries used to give a good indication
with slow cranking. The maintenance free versions seem to just quit.
After having 2 fail like that on different vehicles and hearing numerous
friends say the same I now preemptively change batteries. It simply
isn't worth getting stuck trying to get a little more time out of an old
battery.

My battery was 5.5 years old before I replaced it a couple of months
ago. It was getting where it wouldn't hold enough charge to start the
car for more than about 16 hours. I have a battery charger at home for
use when necessary, but the chance of it not starting when I was away
from home was getting serious. Also, I was planning a trip to a colder
area.
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"All your western theologies, the whole mythology of them,
are based on the concept of God as a senile delinquent."
-- Tennessee Williams

A five year old battery that still works is almost mythical!

I wouldn't even both having it tested. �Just buy a new one.

I had a battery that lasted 8 years. �I thought it was just about a
miracle. �When it started cranking slow I went out and bought a new
one. �I just hope some day to have another one last that long.

Bill Gill- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I repace my diehard gold batteries about every 4 years, and have found
I buy way fewer alternators, old batteries hammer alternators
unnnecessarily.

plus when its really cold the chance of being stuck is way less.

replacing battery on routuine basis is $$$ money well spent, if only
for the pace of mind

On Jan 21, 8:40*am, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
Six years old, what's the odds of a bad battery? He should take it back to
the dealership and demand a pro rated exchange.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
*www.lds.org
.

"wws" wrote in message

...

100% for a car battery is 14.7 volts.
Bad battery.

wws

a 100% battery is close to 12.6 volts (after sitting for a while).

Car and Deep Cycle Battery Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) 7.1

http://www.batteryfaq.org

Section 4..4.2

"Stormin Mormon" wrote:
Six years old, what's the odds of a bad battery? He should take it back to
the dealership and demand a pro rated exchange.

That's where you pay them 20% of the replacement cost to
take the old battery back, and you pay them the full 100%
cost for the new battery too.

--
Floyd L. Davidson http://www.apaflo.com/floyd_davidson
Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska)

On Mon, 21 Jan 2008 10:39:26 -0500, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

A six year old auto battery that doesn't hold a charge? Are you daft, man!
This ought to be obvious, even for you.

BTW, your newsreader is putting the sig separator ("-- ") and sig in
the wrong place.

In article ,
"Stormin Mormon" wrote:

Oh, sorry about that.

might as well fix that pesky top-posting mistake while you're about it...

On Tue, 22 Jan 2008 08:24:40 -0800, Smitty Two
wrote:

In article ,
"Stormin Mormon" wrote:

Oh, sorry about that.

might as well fix that pesky top-posting mistake while you're about it...

That would probably fix it. However the problem itself is in the
location of the sig separator, not the reply.

My program (Forte Agent) does automatically put the sig at the end,
rather than at the cursor position when you press "send".
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"All your western theologies, the whole mythology of them,
are based on the concept of God as a senile delinquent."
-- Tennessee Williams

"ransley" wrote in message
...
I have a 2002 Volvo with a big battery , its original and probably
just worn out , but I check it at night after driving its 100% @13.3v
and in the morning its 75% 12.5v or so. But strangely it only takes 5
minutes at 15 A. to get to 100% or 13.3v . Most likely battery is just
old and bad, ideas. How do I check a draw of amps on a battery to see
if I have a short. Or do I just get a new battery and worry later or
not at all.

Get it tested at any auto parts store, or just throw a pair of jumper cables in
the trunk in case it ever gives you trouble. Replacing a battery before it gives
you a problem or tests bad is just wasteful in my book.

Battery voltage does drop some over time after you remove the charge current.
That's normal.

If you have a problem, hook up the jumper cables, and stick your thumb out like
a hitchhiker with the end of the cables in your other hand. Someone will get the
idea quickly and offer to help.