Electrical: Sudden battery death: potential causes?

[Lothar]

The 6 volt battery on my Champion died suddenly a couple weeks ago. It is about a year and a half old. I drove the car all summer with no problems. Drove the car to my storage garage, where it sat for about ten days. I went to get it out of storage and the battery was dead. Not only that, it won't take a charge at all. Its stone cold dead. I have a battery cutoff switch that I use to isolate the battery when I store the car. It was switched to "off" so there shouldn't have been any load to drain the battery, like lights left on, etc. I also checked the water level in the cells and none were low. It isn't a brand name battery, I bought it at the local farm store, but it still wasn't cheap. I've had batteries that won't hold a charge, and I've had batteries freeze and die, but I don't have a clue why this one went bad so suddenly. Does anyone have any recommendations for things that I should check? I realize that batteries die, I just hope the car isn't killing them. Thanks for any ideas.

[41 Frank]

Take it back John,it should have some warranty left on it. If it won't take a charge they about have to give you a new one and prorate the cost as to time used versus warranty implied. Once in a while batteries go bad prematurely.

[rusty nut garage]

Invest in a small trickle charger. I like the battery tender brand. They will increase the life of seldom used batteries. Keep the trickle charger on the battery at all times (unless driving of course).
Russ

Take it back John,it should have some warranty left on it. If it won't take a charge they about have to give you a new one and prorate the cost as to time used versus warranty implied. Once in a while batteries go bad prematurely.

[Tom Bredehoft]

After replacing 6 volt batteries every couple of years I went to an Optima, it's going on 5 years now, no trickle charger, starts the car every time. Six volt batteries are not built to last any more than about 2 years. This from a FLAPS worker.

[Bob Andrews]

Six volt batteries are not built to last any more than about 2 years. This from a FLAPS worker.

Agree completely. Just part of the fun

[Lothar]

Thanks, guys. I do appreciate the advice. I will take it back to the store where I bought it and hope to get some credit. Since I will use the car very little over the winter, do I need to keep a charger on it all the time? A battery won't freeze if it has a charge, will it? Would I be better off to keep the battery, unused, at home where it will be warm, until next spring?

[41 Frank]

John, if you don't have a battery maintainer then you should charge it a little from time to time. You could take it home or leave it in the car. I am a CASO so have battery maintainers on all my cars all winter, hate spending money on new batteries. I think keeping the charge maintained prolongs the life of a battery. A charged battery won't freeze.

Thanks, guys. I do appreciate the advice. I will take it back to the store where I bought it and hope to get some credit. Since I will use the car very little over the winter, do I need to keep a charger on it all the time? A battery won't freeze if it has a charge, will it? Would I be better off to keep the battery, unused, at home where it will be warm, until next spring?

[Mike Van Veghten]

I agree...for the most part with Bob also...BUT...

The 6 volt Optima that came in my 54 wagon wouldn't hold a charge for nuthin. If I put a charge into it a maximum of every other week, but when I missed a week...it would take three days of charging to get any power back.
Granted, this was the battery in the car when I bought it, and have no clue as to its history. When I bought the car, it came from about 40 miles away and the charging system was/is fine, so from the beginning, it had a good charge...

I then bought a standard 6 volt from some corner parts store...it wasn't much better, but this one was monthly if I didn't drive the car much. It never really had much power though. It would start the engine, but in a grunting fashion..!

NOW...I have a third battery...another (different from the first) corner parts store type.. It's a beast. It can sit for two months, I get in and it almost sounds like a 12 volt system. I don't know, it IS a 6 volt (not 8) battery, but it seems to have more power than either the Optima or the second one I tried. I try to either drive the car or keep it charged every 6 or 8 weeks (I have two cars and three motor cycles to choose from!). Don't want this one going bad on me for as much as I can do to prevent it going "south.."..!

Just the luck of the draw I guess.

Mike

[len]

I have had good luck with Interstate 6 volt batteries.

[Blue 15G]

The standard Group 1 batteries don't seem to last too many years, I agree. I solved the problem on my '54 Starliner by buying a heavier-duty one. Just go to a good parts store or battery supplier and tell them you want a 6 volt battery that's Group 1 size but with more cranking amps. I don't have the data on mine right at hand, but it's got a very high cold cranking amp rating, and it's really for industiral equipment, like a bulldozer. It weighs a ton. I thought I'd have to put a heavier duty front spring on one side of the front of the car to make up for it (ha). The last one I bought lasted over 6 years and I really don't run the car as often as I should or put a bettery tender on it. Hope this helps.

Dave Bonn
'54 Champion Starliner

[N8N]

I just had a battery fail completely, as in stone cold dead, as in I had to use jumper cables as well as a battery charger on "start" setting to get my pickup truck started. It was less than a year old. At least two coworkers have had the same thing happen with near-new company cars. I think that the battery mfgrs. are likely trying to make the plates too delicate in an attempt to increase surface area per unit weight and have gone too far, and stuff is breaking. I don't know about the other two, but mine was an Interstate brand battery bought new this spring which makes it even more disappointing as I thought that they were a good name brand.

[sasquatch]

I bought a new 6V battery from NAPA when I first got my truck (2007). I keep a Battery Tender on it and it still starts like it was brand new. I used to go through batteries every year or two in my BMW motorcycle until I started using a Battery Tender on it. When I sold the bike the battery was six years old and still strong.