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Old 08-30-2009, 11:32 AM
brandlj brandlj is offline
1986 300sdl 1985 380se
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: West Monroe LA
Posts: 484
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingdoc1 View Post
How did you determine the age of the battery? What did the date code on the side say? A battery with a date code ending in 3 is much more likely to be 2003 than 1993. Normal battery life is 3-4 years, 16 years is unlikely.

OOPS..... I stand corrected. I pulled my receipts and the battery was installed new in May 1996. That means it is 13 years old. I agree that normal battery life is 3-4 years though on newer cars. Our 2003 Honda Odyssey battery lasted 4 years, my daughter's 2000 Camry lasted 5 years.
Now, the battery in my 1967 VW Beetle that is driven about 1000 miles per year has been in there since I replaced it in 1997. Remember, old cars have like nothing that will draw the battery down while it sits. I do not even have an electric clock in the Beetle. It is garage kept and I charge it about twice a year with a trickle charger.
As I said earlier, the battery in my 07 BMW has to be on a trickle charger when it sits for a week at a time. Even though BMW claims it has a SLEEP mode, this car will continually drain the battery. Too much electronic stuff in it.
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John
1986 300sdl
1985 380se
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