How's your 12v battery health?

[mwalsh]

In light of a couple of posts about dead 12v batteries over the holidays, and the greater consequences of a dead one for us over the driver of an ICE vehicle, I decided to check mine today, since I had the hood and hatch open anyway and my voltmeter was sitting there goading me.

After 2 years of use my battery shows 11.7v, which seems a bit low. Or at least I'd be concerned about it if it had to start an ICE. How is yours doiing?

Well, I had to finally replace my 12v today, after almost 9 years.

I began to have starting issues yesterday morning (including one ominous message about needing to visit the dealer!), though I could eventually get the car to start after about a half-dozen tries. I suspect each time I had the car in standby mode it was upping the voltage on the 12v from the main pack until it reached the threshold for starting.

I didn't see any other issues. Although I think back to a couple of weeks ago when I was in 100 degree heat all day (Riverside) and was "feeling" some minor brake fade that I had put down to the heat. It is entirely possible that it may have been 12v related instead. Or it could have been the byproduct of an overheated imagination. Who knows.

Anyway, even though the car was OK when I reached work yesterday morning (I turned it off and immediately back on again to check) it was the same situation when I got ready to leave 8 hours later. Checking with my voltmeter gave about 9.5v then and 11.5v immediately after getting home. This morning, after leaving the car sit overnight without charging it, I was at about 10.5v.

So I decided that the 12v had to be the problem.

I've replaced the OEM battery with a Bosch Platinum AGM, which Pep Boys had on sale for $148 with a $49 instant discount from $195. I really wanted to go Optima Yellow Top, but wasn't ready to spend almost $100 more. I guess we'll see if the Bosch was a wise choice or not. I did do a bit of research before-hand, so I'm pretty certain of what I got for my money. I've got it sitting on a 2A trickle right now and will install it in the car tomorrow morning.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Looking at the voltage in the next to last post, it's lucky for you that you live in Ca. An accessory battery reading 11.7 volts wouldn't start the car in most climates...

 

[mwalsh]

Though you might like to know what settings I lost due to a lack of 12v battery for around 24 hours:

Eyebrow clock reset to 0:00
Desired cabin temperature reset to 75 degrees (default?)
Charge timers were erased.

Unless I find something more, all else seems as it was.

Edit: Charge percentage also defaulted to 100%.

Car feels "perkier" with the new 12v, but that could also be down to my overactive imagination.