Forum Home
PC World Chat
Thread ID: 139590	2015-05-28 06:58:00	car battery capacity	bk T (215)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1401515	2015-05-28 06:58:00	My car battery died. Got it started by AA. Went to a near by battery shop, the guy told me that my dead battery was undersized for my car, and he convinced me to get a higher capacity battery which of course, more expensive, too. Anyway, I bought the higher capacity battery and am quite happy with it. Question: Does it affect the performance the car if an undersized battery is used? I have used the 'undersized' battery for about three years without any real issues.	bk T (215)
1401516	2015-05-28 07:16:00	Not really it just has less in reserve and does not last as long as it discharges down further than a larger one after starting. The rule of thumb is always stick the biggest one you can in the battery case.	prefect (6291)
1401517	2015-05-28 07:17:00	Does it affect the performance the car if an undersized battery is used? I have used the 'undersized' battery for about three years without any real issues. Well son has had an "undersized" battery for about the last 150,000km.	pctek (84)
1401518	2015-05-28 07:18:00	New cars often have the option of a standard size battery or a larger one. If most of your driving is done in daylight, in good conditions a standard battery will do the job. Alternatively if you often drive at night, early morning or evening, use the air conditioner a lot, tow a trailer, radio etc you should go for the larger battery. It will give you more starter power and in the event of the alternator failing you would probably have enough capacity to get home.	mzee (3324)
1401519	2015-05-28 07:55:00	in most vehicles these days the battery is really just a starting battery. generally they will run everything just of the alternator. years ago they had big batteries as alternators produced small charge at low rpm, then the trend went to bigger alternators and smaller battery. the current trend is really small high speed starter motors. i'm not sure that has changed battery size at all. the other thing is bigger battery takes a bit longer to fully charge up. no problem if doing long trips.	tweak'e (69)
1401520	2015-05-28 07:55:00	I accidentally put a smaller capacity battery than recommended in my camry about 3 years ago and so far no issues. I made the mistake of replacing it based on what was there before rather than looking up what was meant to be there. I caught on while changing it when I noticed the brackets where too big for the battery and the old one was sitting on a piece of wood used as a packer and looked it up. Anyway the principle difference is cranking capacity and if it's too small it might struggle to start the car especially on cold mornings, otherwise not too big of a deal. I once drove a crappy old sunbird around for a week after some repairs before discovering the alternator hadn't been connected back up properly and it wasn't charging :) That battery was definitely not undersized. A battery with more capacity will keep working for longer when it starts to lose capacity due to age as well, which is inevitable.	dugimodo (138)
1401521	2015-05-29 11:39:00	Just changed the battery on Mrs T's import 2002 Mazda Demio (121). It was the original OEM Japanese battery, and had lasted 13 years. It was by no means a problem, but on cooler mornings it was cranking a little slow for the first second or two. I decided not to tempt fate and treated it to a new locally made battery, which will probably last 4-5 years if we keep the car that long. Gotta be close to a record! Cheers Billy 8-{)	Billy T (70)
1401522	2015-05-29 23:28:00	WOW! Batteries lasted for 13 years!	bk T (215)
1401523	2015-05-30 00:12:00	WOW! Batteries lasted for 13 years! If the car was fresh from Japan, it may be sitting around , or minimally used, because I think Japanese people are discouraged to keep their cars for a few years. Otherwise charged high ownership cost. The battery in my Honda Odyssey car is small - about the size of a NZ toilet roll, but easily turns over a 2.3 L engine. However, I have caused it to go flat after inadvertently leaving the interior lights/ and low wattage custom added LED's on for about a 1/2 an hour. Honda's have a eld (www.gonzostoolbox.com) (load detector) that monitors voltage use to the ECU then relayed to the alternator to regulate charging. So load is important to determine if a battery stays charged, and that accessories are wired in via honda's empty provided slots for fuses - e.g. the slot for an amplyfier.	kahawai chaser (3545)
1401524	2015-05-30 01:44:00	My car battery died. Got it started by AA. Went to a near by battery shop, the guy told me that my dead battery was undersized for my car, and he convinced me to get a higher capacity battery which of course, more expensive, too. Anyway, I bought the higher capacity battery and am quite happy with it. Question: Does it affect the performance the car if an undersized battery is used? I have used the 'undersized' battery for about three years without any real issues. We can conclude ,you have done the wise thing.	Cicero (40)
1 2