[The Jester of Wibbly]

Hey, just asking if any of you are van battery experts.

Just ran a test on mine ( van battery only, I don't use it at all for the equipment).   After resting for almost 2 days the reading is just over 12.2v.  when engine running goes up to 14.6 so I know that's okay.      After turning off van the resting charge was 12.6 then dipping to 12.4 after 10 mins. 

Is it time to change battery?   

[Ched]

Does sound like battery on last legs but you could have a parasitic load pulling power out of the battery.
If you can repeat the test but disconnect the -ve terminal after you stop the engine then check 10 mins later.
If it's down to 12.2 after 2 days rest, as long as that's not connected to anything then as winter is coming I would replace it.

S0ds law that it will fail on your busiest day and you will lose a good few hrs while you get a new one.

[The Jester of Wibbly]

Yea tested again about 2 hours later without starting up again and the reading is now 12.34v.  so probably slowly dropping down to a resting 12.2v overnight.   

It's 10 years old now so going to get it replaced to prevent a winter issue.

[dd]

It has done well to last 10 years.

[Jay Le Huray]

If it's 10 yrs old I would definitely consider replacing it especially  with winter on the way

[Scottish Cleaning Service]

10 years old then I would buy the same battery again but they will not make money selling batteries that last over 10 years. What make is the van battery?

[The Jester of Wibbly]

10 years old then I would buy the same battery again but they will not make money selling batteries that last over 10 years. What make is the van battery?

I will check tomorrow.  It's the original from new  on my Trafic.

[dazmond]

If it's starting the van why would you replace it?

I replace mine if it keeps letting me down and I have to jump start it.

[Simon Trapani]

If it's starting the van why would you replace it?

I replace mine if it keeps letting me down and I have to jump start it.

Because prevention’s better than cure. If it’s looking a bit suspect better to change it now when it suits him rather than on an inconvenient day.

[The Jester of Wibbly]

Yea better to be safe before the winter starts, and leaves me stranded at the start of working day.    Cranking is a little slower which made me check.  Frosted mornings automatically will slow down the cranking starts and cause bad batteries to fail.

[Spruce]

Yea better to be safe before the winter starts, and leaves me stranded at the start of working day.    Cranking is a little slower which made me check.  Frosted mornings automatically will slow down the cranking starts and cause bad batteries to fail.

First, I would put a charger onto it. Then do your voltage checks again.

I have to put my charger onto my starter battery every now and again as the charge slowly gets lower. We don't do enough mileage to fully recharge it.

But at 10 years old, it will be easy past it's sell by date as mine was when i replaced it last year.

Your local scrap yard buys them.

[dazmond]

Yea better to be safe before the winter starts, and leaves me stranded at the start of working day.    Cranking is a little slower which made me check.  Frosted mornings automatically will slow down the cranking starts and cause bad batteries to fail.

You never mentioned your battery was cranking slower in your original post...in that case you might as well replace it.

I had mine changed at halfords last year. Normally I would change myself but ford have wedged the battery underneath the passenger side bonnet and it's a real pain to change. You have to remove the air filter to get to it. In the end this guy fitted a smaller battery because it was so damn tight! Bad design by ford!

[The Jester of Wibbly]

New battery fitted yesterday and I feel the difference.  Even seems to drive better too, which I did not expect.  Now back to a 12.6v standing reading and a cold start in less than second of cranking.

So before winter sets, if your concerned about your battery, get it replaced.

[Simon Trapani]

Aint gonna drive no better - that’s in your head.

Glad you got it sorted. Personally I’d still have a separate leisure battery.

[Spruce]

If the starter battery was very low on charge then the alternator could be having to work harder. More energy is being used by the engine to drive the alternator.

A near fully charged battery will take very little power from the engine. So it could be that the op notices a difference in engine performance.

A non charging smart alternator on some vans improves the emissions as the alternator isn't doing any work.