Battery quit with little warning?

(Skip to the last 2 paragraphs for the question)

So I do know a bit about lead acid batteries and understand how they work and why they go bad. Let's just say that my original battery has been maintained meticulously. I keep it watered, cleaned, and charged. Basically the worst environment for a lead acid battery is in the hot engine bay of a vehicle but there is no other option in the automotive industry so batteries will continue to die an early death.

After 5 years old I've noticed that my charged voltage on my battery was running around 12.3 which means it's wearing out. It still started fine. Last week I started it and went to work. I left for lunch and started it again. After lunch I started it again and went to a meeting across town. No hint of problems or extra ordinary slow cranking.

After my meeting I turned the key to start and nothing - black - no power at all. I could see the ABS light barely flickering a little. No power to radio. No key buzzer. Nothing!

I flagged down my other manager friend who was leaving the same meeting. We jumped my truck and it started right up. I drove home for 35 minutes. With the truck still running I put my meter on it and it was putting out 13.8 volts so the charging system was running. I turned it off and immediately checked the voltage. 10.9 volts. That is not a dead battery. That's a murdered battery that didn't even try to come back to life. It's interesting that it quit without warning.

I bought a new Duralast (made by Johnson Controls that also makes the OEM version). I cleaned the post and terminals, put dielectric grease on the post and terminals, and the put it all back together. (I live on the side of the fence of putting dielectric grease ON the post before assembly. It is the correct thing to do and we could start another discussion on why). I put it on the charger and brought it up to 12.7 volts after a 3 hour rest which is 100% charged.

The next morning with a fully charged battery I started it up. It cranked hard and started just fine for about 2 seconds and then the truck just turned off. I started it again and it fired right back up. I've started it maybe 50 more times since with zero problems. Since the truck had no power for maybe 2 hours while replacing the battery, I'm sure the ECU was reset.

Do you think resetting the ECU could have caused the truck to quit right after starting the first time after a replaced battery? This is the ONLY problem I've had with this truck in 72,000 miles.

 

Yup, every time you disconnect the battery. The first start up will just die. Then you might even experience low rpm idles while driving it. That won't take long to recover. All 2nd gens dp thsi

 

Very typical of modern batteries years ago they just got weaker not any more they just die. Many time it will have great standing voltage until you put any load on it and then they crash.

 

Thats perfectly normal. My Tundra does it too. Scared the crap out of me.

I had the dash apart installing some aftermarket switches, had the battery disconnected for safety sake. Finished up the job and reconnected the battery. Started up, then just died. Pucker factor at its worse. Found out later it was normal.

 

I would say the past 10 years I have had no warning at all. It just stops. Which is inconvenient but I guess that's how it works these days. I wish it would crank slow so I would know that it's about to go. That's what they used to do many years ago.

 

" Basically the worst environment for a lead acid battery is in the hot engine bay of a vehicle but there is no other option in the automotive industry so batteries will continue to die an early death."

You could buy a GM sedan with the battery under the back seat.......

 

A battery made today is not the same battery of 20 to 30 years ago. Many factors have forced batteries to change, just as the whole automotive world has. A modern battery has to have more power, but it has to fit in a stock location and it has to be weigh less than a similar sized battery of the past. The demands of the electrical load combined with a need to increase gas mileage has forced battery makers to make batteries with more plates inside the battery to make more amperage along with a need to make the battery as light as possible. So the internal components are thinner and are more fragile to accepting abuse from owners. A 3 year lifespan is the industry's average, some last longer and some go sooner. You need to annually load test your whole system and if the battery is starting to fall below normal battery load averages, you need to be proactive and get a new battery. You will protect your whole truck from damage, not just your electrical system. Many components of your truck require a Battery voltage to be able to function, and a failing battery will force the Alternator to compensate for a lack of constant battery voltage by increasing the output of the alternator. This increased output can damage expensive controls for the truck that need a constant voltage, like your ECM.
So, do not take your battery or any of your electrical components for granted, Modern trucks need to be cared for, or you will have to suffer the consequences of your negligence.

 

Not to argue anything you posted, but isn't the purpose of capacitors on the circuit boards to regulate voltage? I get what you're saying about the alternator compensating, but caps should regulate the voltage.

From Wikipedia:

 

Nope caps don't regulate but an alternator would really have to go off the deep end to damage electronics. The alt field relies on battery voltage to work with low voltage it can not make max current The ECM is voltage regulated and can sink a lot of voltage.

 

IMHO, electrolytic capacitors and lead-acid batteries do not regulate the voltage. They smooth out the AC ripple to stabilize the voltage. 2X Rudy's statement. Starting batteries and charging systems are co-pendent on each other to produce the vehicle's electrical power. As such, if one fails, it can cause a problem with the other, so test both when one fails.

 

my buddy's 2011 did the same thing at lunch lol. dead cell in the battery ( the plastic housing of the battery was bulging out on one side) and she didn't give any warning what so ever...

 

If the battery had filler caps, do you recall if the plates were covered with electrolyte in the bulging cell and was the battery top dirty? Normally case bulges are cased by excessive gas buildup due to a plug vent hole or faulty vent valve. In some cases, it could have incurred as result from a minor cell internal explosion probably from "treeing" due to lost water.

 

sounds like mine in my 11 last Saturday no problem all day go out sunday morning stone dead, doors all closed, no lights on, just stone dead, wouldn't recharge either .3 years old and only 27.000 miles. never had one fail that fast,

 

My Camry just lost a battery, good one day, thought I had a bad starter the next day. I told my wife that something was going on, the starter didn't sound right yet everything worked normally. I went to NAPA to get a new starter and they were out of them. Out of curiosity I jumped my boat battery to it and it sounded normal. I put in a new battery and life is good again.

Todays batteries are unpredictable, yet IMO last longer than the old ones. I have had many batteries in the recent past last 5-7 years. I remember back in the 70's and 80's if you got 3 you were lucky. I can't tell you when the last time was that I actually had to use a prorated calculation when getting a new battery.

 

my factory taco battery lasted 5 solid years, and then it ruptured. my poor paint.

 

Just ran into this last winter with the wife's Rav4. Was perfectly fine that morning and at 3pm wouldn't even click. I jumped it and checked the volts with my Ultragauge and it was fine, so I bought a battery as I knew the old one was 6 yrs old best case.

Got a surprise that night, turns out it was the original battery..9yrs old, 120K, and the cold weather here in MA. Owed us not a thing.

 

something odd about battery's in the 11's for sure, the wife's 11 rav 4 limited was the same way fine one start dead the next, right in front of the auto parts store, they stuck in a new one for her but oddly after the change the anti theft systems kicked in and locked, no matter what was done crank and stall, wound up being towed to the dealer for a reset of some kind.

as to the taco's I noticed when installing the new one. the old group 27 had humps or bends in the upper inside edge going down the side from the clamp. when trying to install the clamp on the new one the welded in place inside rod was short by about 1/2 a inch and had to be forced down hard to start the nut close to the radiator support .

could stress like that over time cause a crack on a plate cross over inside over time??

 

Charlie, tightening the hold down clamps can damage a battery case, cause the a cell jar to leak, or a cell connector to break a weld. Batteries need to be snug so that do not vibrate which causes the active material in the pasted plates to flake off faster and prematurely kill the battery.