Is this considered a weak battery or is it just me?

[steppinthrax]

I have a 99 Toyota Camry. The battery inside is a die hard. I had the vehicle for 4 years so far. I bought the vehicle used, so I can say the battery is probably 4+ years old (maybe 5 or 6). Anyway the battery starts up real well all the time (even if the vehicle hasn’t been started for a week or so).

But, if I leave the windshield wipers or blower motor on for 30 mins or so, it drains enough battery where the car can't start anymore. Is this a sign of a weak battery or too many expectations?

 

[jlee]

You're leaving the wipers or blower motor on when the car is off?

 

[yottabit]

30 min is a pretty long time to leave a used car on run with the blower on. Why would you leave the windshield wipers on while the car is off? I don't think that's really a sign of a bad battery, as long as it can do that for 10 min just fine. When you turn the car to run (which you have to to get that shit to work) it powers all kinds of stuff- the fuel pump, etc, everything the car needs to *run*. Usually you'd leave it in ACC which would let you use the radio and other simple electronics and in that case it should last for hours...

 

[Demo24]

I can't imagine why you would need/want to do that, although I could understand the blower and it alone probably isn't too bad. However that's about right for a 5 yr old battery, and since it seems to recharge and be fine afterwards even more impressive.

 

[z1ggy]

You test the voltage?

 

[MixMasterTang]

You're leaving the wipers or blower motor on when the car is off?

This is what I want to know! Is the car on or off? Either way seems dumb and bad on the car, but generally your alternator should put out enough output to run your cars electric system without using the battery, the battery is mainly only used for starting the car.

Not sure what the output of an alternator is when a car is at idle, but it should be enough to power a blower and windshield wipers.

 

[ShawnD1]

You test the voltage?

If years of using cell phones and rechargable AA batteries has shown us anything, it's that the voltage by itself is a horrible indication of battery quality. A 2 year old cell phone battery will show as having full charge (good voltage). As soon as I try making a phone call, the voltage drops so bad that the phone shuts off.
The way to properly test a car battery is with a battery tester. What it does is put maybe a 100A load on the battery and test the voltage for a few seconds. If the voltage maintains, the battery is good. If the voltage drops too much or it can't do 100A for a few seconds, the battery is garbage.

Not sure what the output of an alternator is when a car is at idle, but it should be enough to power a blower and windshield wipers.

Alternator output at idle is excellent in most cars, and you can check if it's charging or discharging by looking at voltage. When my car is off, the voltage at the battery is 12.6v. When the car is idling, I can run 2 heated seats and the heated mirrors and heated back windows and the blower at full blast and the radio and the air conditioner all at the same time and the voltage never drops below 13.3v. If your battery is draining while the car is idling, your alternator is fucked and you need to replace it before it ruins things.

 

[LTC8K6]

Is the RC (Reserve Capacity) marked on the battery? It's how long in minutes the battery should be able to run a 25A load.

Better batteries will have a longer RC.

You can basically think of it as about how long your car will run if the alternator quits while you are driving.

For a 4 year old battery, 30 minutes with the wipers and blower on doesn't sound bad.

 

[bbs lm-r]

If years of using cell phones and rechargable AA batteries has shown us anything, it's that the voltage by itself is a horrible indication of battery quality. A 2 year old cell phone battery will show as having full charge (good voltage). As soon as I try making a phone call, the voltage drops so bad that the phone shuts off.
The way to properly test a car battery is with a battery tester. What it does is put maybe a 100A load on the battery and test the voltage for a few seconds. If the voltage maintains, the battery is good. If the voltage drops too much or it can't do 100A for a few seconds, the battery is garbage.

Are cell phone and household batteries really comparable to car batteries?

I always thought the proper way to test a car battery was to load test it at half its rated CCA. If you have a 750CCA bat, 100A doesn't seem like much a load on it.

 

[LTC8K6]

If the battery is bad, a 100A load should certainly be enough to tell. Most load testers are 100A and 300A iirc.

 

[bobdole369]

For example, I had an 89 firebird and I was able to sit in it with the blower on for 2+ hours and it would still start the car (weakly, and once it didn't). I used to sit in it and drink in the driveway for some reason. (oh yeah I lived with my parents and they didn't want me drinking) and it was hot out and I wanted it to not be as hot.

 

[ShawnD1]

For example, I had an 89 firebird and I was able to sit in it with the blower on for 2+ hours and it would still start the car (weakly, and once it didn't). I used to sit in it and drink in the driveway for some reason. (oh yeah I lived with my parents and they didn't want me drinking) and it was hot out and I wanted it to not be as hot.

Risk fucking up $100 car battery to save $0.20 worth of fuel? Seems reasonable.

 

[bobdole369]

Meh - Walmart batteries are $50, and I was 21 - chalk it up to being a stupid fucking kid.

 

[ShawnD1]

Meh - Walmart batteries are $50, and I was 21 - chalk it up to being a stupid fucking kid.

I wonder if this is why cars have locked hoods. Stealing batteries seems so easy and so worth it

 

[futuristicmonkey]

Have you checked the battery's cells with a hydrometer?

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

I wonder if this is why cars have locked hoods. Stealing batteries seems so easy and so worth it

Don't even think about stealing. It isnt worth prision and maybe a stray richochet. If your lucky it wont be a richochet.

 

[Ronstang]

All major auto parts stores will test your battery in the car for free. Just go find out what condition your battery is in and remove all doubt.

 

[wirednuts]

probably a weak battery. its common especially with cheap lead acid batteries- of all brands.

it can have to do with the starter too. they can draw more amps to do the same work when they are worn as well.

parasitic draw is the worst killer of batteries imo. if you have a stock battery it is not going to be big or beefy enough to hold up to constant draws. they work OK for stock cars, as those are designed to have very low parasitic draw, but once you start adding all the electronics we love it can play hell on starting batteries.

if you want to run your stuff, pretty much whatever it is, for more then 30min, look into the diehard platinum batts (they are agm batteries made by some military manufacturer). those are amazing. i went from about 45min runtime on my carpc to over 6hrs (left it on overnight accidentally, and the truck still started and the computer didnt even shut off on the voltage drop during starting. i was pretty much blown away). i never did find my maximum runtime, for the year ive had this battery so far i have not drained it to the point where the truck doesnt start, and that was a weekly occurrence before.

 

[steppinthrax]

Well it looks like the battery is actually bad. I did a quick test of starting the car let it run for 10 - 15 mins. Then I cut the engine off and left the radio on for 10 mins. I went to restart. It actually weakened the battery enought that it was sluggish to start. I redid the test again, but leaving nothing on. The car started right up. I did the test again, but left the radio on for 30 mins. The car barely started up....

 

[LTC8K6]

Well it looks like the battery is actually bad. I did a quick test of starting the car let it run for 10 - 15 mins. Then I cut the engine off and left the radio on for 10 mins. I went to restart. It actually weakened the battery enought that it was sluggish to start. I redid the test again, but leaving nothing on. The car started right up. I did the test again, but left the radio on for 30 mins. The car barely started up....

That's not really a valid test. It takes the alternator longer than 10 minutes of idling to recharge your battery.

 

[ShawnD1]

You might be able to fix that battery by charging it with a "smart" charger or a battery conditioner.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-battery-conditioner.htm

I have a cheap one and it's surprising how well it works. If you don't already own a battery charger, definitely check it out.

 

[WackyDan]

You might be able to fix that battery by charging it with a "smart" charger or a battery conditioner.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-battery-conditioner.htm

I have a cheap one and it's surprising how well it works. If you don't already own a battery charger, definitely check it out.

If he has already jumped the battery a few times it is too late. Get a new battery. Constantly jump starting a battery tends to warp the plates, and really impacts capacity.

Now... if he was using a charger when his battery was low, that is better. Given he doesn't know the history of the battery... and hasn't tested to see if his alternator is functioning properly...I would just buy a new battery and check the alternator. Case closed.

 

[BUTCH1]

You're leaving the wipers or blower motor on when the car is off?

I went to use my car one day to find the blower running full blast, figured I had a problem with the BCM so I took it to the Chevy dealer, turns out it's a normal feature called "afterblow", it's designed to dry out the evap coil to avoid that musty smell that can happen with frequent AC usage. Yet another battery draw that cannot be turned off..