yaris battery charging question..???

[marcus]

seem like i need to recharge my battery so its either i get a new one or just recharge mine, canadiantire seem to sell auto battery charger starting at $40 dont know which way to go with, get it recharge or get a charger instead.. anyone thanks

[CTScott]

If you are finding that you frequently need to charge it, then it is on its way out and will eventually leave you stranded someplace where you can't plug the charger in. A new battery would be the wiser choice.

A battery charger is a good thing to own though.

[marcus]

once in a while itll take 2 cranks to start, also when i didnt use it for 3-4 days it will take a while to start, but its cranking.. i did left the dome light on for a week and drained the battery but after jumping it it still worked but that was 3 years ago.

[esse10]

Most batteries only last 3-4 years on average anyhow, if you got 4-5 than you're doing good man. It's time for a new one before it leaves you stranded somewhere.

[marcus]

its almost 7 years i heard battery can easily last 10 years..

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by marcus

easily last 10 years..

Maybe in Canada . NOT in the extreme heat of SE Texas (esse10 lives on another side of the same metropolitan area I live within). Mad Max lives in San Antonio (about 200 miles from Houston, downtown to downtown).....see his recent thread re what the extreme Texas heat did to his tires .

[nemelek]

Let my car sit for 6 weeks in the Phoenix area this summer. The Battery was dead as a doornail. Charged it but it was never the same. Let it sit another week and it was dead again. Finally got a new battery.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by nemelek

Phoenix

The one general area that I have found (in the U.S.) to be even worse than Houston, San Antonio, etc. (southern portion of the Texas Urban Triangle) when it comes to heat 'punishing' vehicles.....and DFW (+ some parts of Oklahoma) and Las Vegas = not far behind those three.

[dj92]

I've heard rumors about reconditioning a worn out battery (whose plates are almost entirely covered by PbS crystals iirc) by adding aluminium sulfate to the acid.
I'd like to try it, but my OEM battery still works like a charm (4 years old now).

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by dj92

I've heard rumors about reconditioning a worn out battery (whose plates are almost entirely covered by PbS crystals iirc) by adding aluminium sulfate to the acid.
I'd like to try it, but my OEM battery still works like a charm (4 years old now).

Aluminum Sulfate is used as a replacement electrolyte for desulfating a battery. There are also chargers that electrically desulfate batteries by intermittently hitting the battery with a reverse current pulse.

[DonM]

Although I have a charger - I decided to buy a new battery yesterday - for $105 from a Toyota dealer. A mechanic I know stated that it is not a good idea to drive around with a dying battery because it forces the alternator to work overtime so to speak which then leads to an early death of the alternator (a lot more expensive than a battery).

Besides if it is giving you some warning signs now - guaranteed that it will cause you a lot of grief once winter arrives.

[IllusionX]

my battery is 7 years old now. still cranks beautifully. :)
i thought i'd have to change it after 4-5, but that wasn't the case. LOL

[marcus]

Update on this I decided to get a new one , my old one has leak on it when I took it off....:( $100 for Toyota battery...

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by DonM

Although I have a charger - I decided to buy a new battery yesterday - for $105 from a Toyota dealer. A mechanic I know stated that it is not a good idea to drive around with a dying battery because it forces the alternator to work overtime so to speak which then leads to an early death of the alternator (a lot more expensive than a battery).

Besides if it is giving you some warning signs now - guaranteed that it will cause you a lot of grief once winter arrives.

^^^^^ These thoughts were in my head in September of 2012 and I therefore replaced that battery (it was the second battery in my Yaris and in there for exactly 3 years....replaced the OEM at 138k miles and removed somewhere between 224k-227k).

[esse10]

Originally Posted by marcus

Update on this I decided to get a new one , my old one has leak on it when I took it off....:( $100 for Toyota battery...

There Ya go .......it's better to spend the 100 dollars now then to get stranded later on down the road Or perhaps ruined your alternator in the process and then you'd have to buy both, a new battery and an alternator...
You're way ahead now dude...