How do you know when it's time to replace your car's battery?

Question

I just installed a new car MP3 / CD Player and I don't drive very far or very often, sometimes the car can be unused for a week. Normally it will start right away, but after taking out my old Car Music System and replacing it with a new one the battery seems to die quickly.

I did however remove the car battery and hook it up to an electronic charger with 4 LED lights that show the 4 stages of charging. Left it on for 15 hours so far and it's still on stage 2 - it works backwards and starts on stage 4, then 3 until you get to 1 and then you know it's fully charged, but it's still on 2 after 15 hours and you can hear a lot of bubbling sounds from the battery. The battery is 6 years old so I figure it's time to replace it anyway but I was wondering what might be the problem with the battery. I have turned off the charging now as it didn't quite sound right and wanted to make sure there wasn't an explosition or anything like that.

Answer 1

Usually when the car or lights dont work is an ideal time.

Answer 2

Typical battery life is 3-5 years. I don't think the MP3 player had anything to do with yours running down. Just a coincidence. You can buy batteries with a supposed life span of 10 years but I never have any luck with those and they cost an arm and a leg. Those charger things are OK if the core is still good but in a battery that old it's not going to hold a charge.

Answer 3

if your new sound system has active displays and your old one did not this put a trickle load on the battery. If the battery is weak and 4-5 years of normal use is average, it will weaken the battery even more. You do not put a "normal" amount of use on your battery as it is. You would be listed as "light" user for the car. Therefore the charging system does not get to fully re-charge the battery.

Answer 4

Average battery life is 3 years as batteries are using less acid since they are using more lead plates to increase cranking amps. Replace the battery and check your system. It could have been a coincidence that the battery is going bad but then again, a wire on the new stereo system may have not stayed connected correctly( i.e. pinched/loose wire) which will show up as a parasitic drain.

Answer 5

When you charge a battery to fast it makes a bubbling noise. Batteries are filled with acid, and when you charge them it is putting electrons in with the acid, and it makes a bubbling. It is almost like the acid is boiling. You can take your car to wal-mart and they will test the battery, in order for you to tell if its good or not, it needs to be tested, or you can check to see if it has a dry cell. There should be some caps on the top of the battery, carefully pry them off with a screwdriver. There should be 6 cells. Check to see if one is empty. But I would reccommend replacing it.

Answer 6

i own a repair shop,,and its time for a new one,,anytime you charge one and it bubbles ,,its not a good sign,,its getting charged at too high of a rate and this can ruin a cell in a battery,,a slow charge is the Best thing for any battery,,but if its that old id replace it anyway,,its going to be going out soon from age,,good luck,i hope this help,s

Answer 7

If the battery is 5 or more years old, replace it no matter how good or bad it is performing.

Answer 8

have you battery checked - you may have a dead cell -
and that is an excellent time to get a new battery

Answer 9

it must not be strong enough.try a battery with higher amps.

Answer 10

check the voltage capacity