Does Windchill affect cars?

[NYcarbineer]

An old battery is an old battery. Blow a hundred bucks on a new one.

 

[waltky]

Alystyr wrote: Old batteries behave oddly. One day it'll be fine, and the next, you need a jump start. Day after that - it's fine again.

They also do that...

... when the terminal posts need cleanin'.

Apply a thin coat of battery grease after ya clean it...

... and use those felt O-rings before ya tighten the terminal clamps again.

 

[koshergrl]

I've driven cars with temperamental batteries, I always carried my own charger and plugged it in wherever I stopped until I could get a new battery. Batteries last about two years.

 

[Iceweasel]

Batteries last about two years.

Som tin wong! My batteries last 8 plus years on two trucks and two motorcycles. Short trips kill batteries, they need charging. Sounds like you need a float charger.

 

[Alystyr]

Batteries last about two years.

Som tin wong! My batteries last 8 plus years on two trucks and two motorcycles. Short trips kill batteries, they need charging. Sounds like you need a float charger.

That's been my experience. I've never had a battery last less than 6-7 years, and those were the cheap ones.

 

[waltky]

Koshergrl wrote: Batteries last about two years.

Somebody's been sellin' ya a rebuilt battery...

... get ya a Sears Diehard or Interstate battery.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Please only answer if you're sure; I've wondered about this a long time.
My battery is getting tired. One day a couple weeks ago when it had been sitting out in a parking lot all day, the air temp was 18 but the windchill had been below zero all day. That afternoon is the worst it's sounded yet, getting it turned over. It was 12 in my garage this morning and the car started with much less complaint than that afternoon. Does windchill affect cars?

Yes and no. It will make a car engine get cold FASTER...but it will not get any colder.

Sounds like you should go to Auto Zone and have them load test your battery.

 

[Jarlaxle]

I've driven cars with temperamental batteries, I always carried my own charger and plugged it in wherever I stopped until I could get a new battery. Batteries last about two years.

Bullshit. I will probably replace the 8-year-old battery in my Caddy (an Everstart-MAXX from Walmart) next year...and that car is very hard on them, cranking a gigantic engine through long, hot cables in a very-crowded, hot engine compartment. The battery in my wife's Grand National (Auto Zone Duralast) still has >95% its rated capacity after 3 years. The batteries in her Blazer (Walmart Everstart) hold full capacity after 4. If you only get 2 years from a battery, you have something serious wrong with your car.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Koshergrl wrote: Batteries last about two years.

Somebody's been sellin' ya a rebuilt battery...

... get ya a Sears Diehard or Interstate battery.

Hell, I got 5+ years out of a rejected (used) transit bus battery!

(Note a rebuilt battery is actually fine: it's the guts of a new battery in a used case.)

 

[QuickHitCurepon]

An old battery is an old battery. Blow a hundred bucks on a new one.

They used to be 50 bucks.

 

[QuickHitCurepon]

I've driven cars with temperamental batteries, I always carried my own charger and plugged it in wherever I stopped until I could get a new battery. Batteries last about two years.

New batteries are cheap, and if you notice a little problem with yours a replacement is in order. Easy as pie.

 

[QuickHitCurepon]

Koshergrl wrote: Batteries last about two years.

Somebody's been sellin' ya a rebuilt battery...

... get ya a Sears Diehard or Interstate battery.

Hell, I got 5+ years out of a rejected (used) transit bus battery!

(Note a rebuilt battery is actually fine: it's the guts of a new battery in a used case.)

I used to have batteries where you had to pop the top and add the water. That was hard enough for me.

 

[NYcarbineer]

An old battery is an old battery. Blow a hundred bucks on a new one.

They used to be 50 bucks.

So did cars.

 

[OldLady]

Thank you all for your advice. I went to the mechanic and the battery was at 44%. It was probably original to the car, which I bought used, so the battery was about 5 years old. I got a new battery and it has been starting up without any moaning, down to 12 degrees so far and nary a complaint. Mechanic said batteries now last about 4 years. It's still not a bad investment. If I lived down south I probably could have gotten another year out of it.
Anyway, thanks for all your help.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Once the car is at the ambient air temp, no wind has no effect a warm car will cool down faster due to the increased convective cooling effect of wind but that's all

 

[Iceweasel]

Thank you all for your advice. I went to the mechanic and the battery was at 44%. It was probably original to the car, which I bought used, so the battery was about 5 years old. I got a new battery and it has been starting up without any moaning, down to 12 degrees so far and nary a complaint. Mechanic said batteries now last about 4 years. It's still not a bad investment. If I lived down south I probably could have gotten another year out of it.
Anyway, thanks for all your help.

Your mechanic is full of it. Maybe he's putting Chinese batteries in you car but they should get double that life. What the brand installed? You might need a float charger as mentioned if you don't top it off on the road.

 

[Tom Horn]

There was a time that was true (the maintenance-free batteries), but it seems that it's going back to the add-water types. My last two had provision for adding water. In my opinion, they last longer when you can keep them topped up.
Still, one doesn't have to add water nearly as much today as one used to.

Use distilled water.....tap water is more corrosive.