quote:

Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
Paul, NAVAIR says SLABs shall be replaced every 24 months.

You scared .

Well, to be fair, an electrical failure at 30,000 feet is somewhat more urgent than one in a parking lot...

 
I took my 2010 Tacoma in 2 weeks ago for a front end going over, all suspension parts, brakes, etc. At 95k miles, the tech's verdict was "immaculate". I still have good thickness on the factory original brakes. A manual transmission really helps with the brakes, if you use your gears.

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:
 
the tech's verdict was "immaculate".

Can you conceive of that?

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:

an electrical failure at 30,000 feet is somewhat more urgent than one in a parking lot.

Not much fun at 6,000' either. Happened to me, inbound to Chicago Midway. Suddenly became NORDO (No Radio) while cranking the landing gear down manually, watching for a light gun (red or green) from the tower. It gets a little busy doing this single-pilot, hand flying the airplane with no functional autopilot (they don't work to well without electrons flowing through the circuits).

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Why are there no dash gauges to warn of a low battery?

It is quite difficult to determine the status of a lead acid battery while the vehicle is running. Some vehicles have a voltage gauge, which shows how the alternator is working -- normal is around 14.4 volts.

Testing a battery is best done after the vehicle has not been running/charging for a few minutes; a few hours is even better. At this point the alternator isn't affecting the battery voltage, and the "surface charge" that occurs during the charging process has settled down. At this point a tester can accurately determine a battery's voltage, state of charge, and cranking amp potential.
*****

Today's lead-acid car batteries are head and shoulders above those our parents and grandparents used. Many older batteries would really struggle to keep up with the demands of modern vehicles:

Hot, cramped engine bays. The bays are further challenged by limited incoming ambient cooling air. Demands for increasing fuel efficiency means front grills get smaller. Batteries are often placed to the sides of the engine bays, and they receive limited air flow.

Increasing electrical demands. Computer & electrical controls continue to increase. Fancy dashboards, nav systems, heated seats & steering wheel, cameras, monitors seemingly everywhere, increasing number of lights, theft systems, audio systems, an increasing number of power drains even when the key is off. When I left JCI, our top battery brass was constantly working with car engineers to address electrical needs. JCI stated that if the current path continues, cars will need some combination of:
(1) Larger batteries, resulting in more weight that reduces gas efficiency, and increasing cost.
(2) Dual batteries -- one to start the car and one to run the "house" functions. Like the big rig trucks. Also more weight and more cost.
(3) Transition to 24 volt systems. Again, larger batteries, weighing more & costing more. Redesigning much of the electrical components.
(4) Increase the efficiency of the electrical components.

Transitioning to LED lights has helped substantially with item #4. Battery manufacturers have done a little with item #1 -- a little more lead and acid in the batteries.

*****
By the way, there are a number of ways for batteries to fail. Manufacturing lead-acid batteries is a messy and imperfect process. Depending on battery type and plant, scrap levels can be quite high.

I just popped a new battery in my daughters 2017 VW. (VW has some odd program the car for a new battery nonsense). My daughter loves her VW. I would have trouble keeping a VW if you gave it to me for free. What a pain in the ass car. More “issues” than any car I have ever owned other than Jeep and a first model year Ford Focus which was a massive shitbox car.
So 7 years isn’t bad.

thanks fritz

I just took this Westco battery out of my 1993 R100R earlier this week and I'm only replacing it because it's 12 years old.