PSA: Heat kills batteries

I used to detail for a dealership until I quit and moved on with my life. Let me out this way: the dealerships leave cars sitting
For months at a time sometimes so batteries can bad pretty easily.

 

Correction: Heat causes batteries to wear faster. Otherwise those of us in Arizona whose trucks see 90F+ almost all year long would be changing batteries every couple months.

What really did yours in was probably the dealership letting the battery run down before they jumped it to keep it going. Not to mention it was already getting close to the rated life of a standard wet cell car battery at around 3 years.

Damage/wear to the cell has already been done by the time the battery needs to be "recharged". Standard wet car batteries are not made to be drained and recharged, they're designed to have the maximum amount of cold cranking amps and stay topped up all the time. If you're eating through batteries like this, you need a deep cycle like the Optima Yellow top, which is designed to be drained and then recharged.

 

Thanks all.

Just for reference - if the alternator was to start going out would that trip the battery icon on the dash?

 

No.

 

You shouldn't be having alternator issues unless it was waterlogged or somehow damaged.

 

stock batteries in our trucks you can top off with distilled water. This will save a battery from prematurely failing.

 

My stock battery from my 2011 only lasted 3 years. Good thing I was still under my 3yr/36K warranty when it went out.

 

Optima went down hill so much I wouldn't suggest their batteries.

Here in Az, 2-4 summers and your battery is toast. If you park outside all the time it goes a lot faster. Sealed batteries can last a year or 2 longer if you are lucky.

 

I recommend the interstate battery as well.

 

Interstate Deep cycle has done me right for many years.

 

I replaced a shitty AAA battery in my car with a Mega Tron 2 Interstate battery and it's great.

 

That's literally the point of the battery light...

 

I've had 2 different alternators fail and not once until the battery itself was dead did the light come on..

 

Yes. Happened to me last night. Voltage gauge showed a spike in power and my battery light came on. Then the alternator died.

 

Things can fail in various ways. It's not a GUARANTEE that the light will come on any more than it's guaranteed that the oil pressure light will come on before a gaping hole in your oil pan causes your motor to seize, but the entire point of the light is to monitor the voltage and current of the charging system and light up when it goes out of spec.

 

exactly it is not directly a warning for the alternator as it is for the battery, if you have a bad alternator and it kills the battery then the light comes on and you swap batteries... the light is not on until the battery drains again.

Its just there for you to know the battery is too weak and should be checked.

 

A lot of places sell remaned alternators and can bench test them.. the pain is you have to pull it out each time.

 

Oh, is that why the light is connected to the alternator's voltage regulator?

 

Must be.. wacky science stuff there...

 

I am talking from my own personal experience with different vehicles.

The light only came on when the battery was toast.