Duracell 12v "Prius" battery

Maintenance free to me means I don't have to add water. Even when I was driving 35 miles twice a day, 5 days per week the BatteryMinder would still charge & desulfate the battery.

Do you need a charger? No. Do you want to extend the useful life of the battery?

 

Maintenance free does NOT imply that it might not need a little external charge once in a while under some circumstances.

But 5 years is pretty good and if his usage patterns have not changed, you are probably right about not really needing an external boost.

And I am sure you are quite wrong........in general.
Maybe you should read up on his investment strategies before commenting.
There is nothing in there even remotely similar to "pump and dump".

 

I know Warren Buffet's "track record." I DON'T know yours.

 

You mean his PR?

 

No, his honesty, ethics and lifestyle.

Also, Duracell was originally owned by Mallory. They pioneered the alkaline battery in the early 1970's.

They have always had the reputation of being one of the best battery makers.

 

That's good PR.

 

Duracell automotive batteries are made by Johnson Controls. You are buying a name not the actual product. Nothing wrong with Johnson Controls just know what other brand names Johnson Controls batteries are sold under to make sure you are getting the best value.

They even sell Duracell generators.


Even an energy drink

*actually a knock off of their brand name.

 

I don't think it takes much skill to make a good, reliable battery. Pure lead and a good design should last for many years. The real engineering skill involves shortening its life-span. Some of the first light-bulbs made before 1900 are still working. The first fluorescent tube lights lasted for many years. It took a long time to figure out ways to shorten their life-spans.

If this sounds like tinfoil hat stuff, I'm old enough to remember when these things lasted much longer than they do now.

 

It's not uncommon to read about users changing out their original 12v batteries at 7 or 8 years old. AGM batteries last much longer than one would think. It's just the enthusiasts that recommend replacing them at 5 years old so you won't get stranded....which is a reasonable timeframe.

 

I meant to say that the Prius recharges its 12v very slowly like a trickle. Here is one of the articles I read that suggests short trips aren't good for the 12v battery in a Prius:

There are a few others, but u were probably just hung up on my improper use of the "trickle" reference? my apologies

 

I don't even follow you with "trickle-like" charging. The DC-DC converter, which serves where an alternator does in a regular vehicle, has a 100-amp capacity. I can't imagine any situation where short-trips or otherwise, might run down the battery. Under normal operation, the power required to start the system uses very little power, and once it's running, the battery voltage should be easily maintained and it should never drop by very much.

 

I would go to the dealer and have it done right. Call around/surf and ask for coupons / service deals. If you decide to buy a battery someplace else make sure it is an exact replacement for you old one and not a jerry rig with the cables. 5 years max is about right the 6th year you are in for a tow. Been there/done that.

 

Something to think about; is that the people recommending repair or replacement are often those who are in a conflict of interest, because they stand to gain financially from the outcome of that advice. An honest mechanic won't tell you to replace components when there's nothing wrong with them.

I used to love the old hidden-camera exposées, where a roadside gas station owner was preying on people by saying he "heard a noise" while they were driving up, and he offered to check it out for them. The camera showed him taking off a cover-plate, pulling soot and metal-shavings out of his pocket and putting it in the pan and showing it to the owner. He then offered to "help them out" by doing costly repairs.

We have a consumer-watchdog program on TV here, called "Marketplace." They went across the country with vehicles which were certified to be in excellent mechanical condition, and visited several large automotive repair chains. The results were shocking; nearly every time, the shops recommended repairs, sometimes quite costly. The need for honest and impartial mechanical advice is sadly lacking.

When I lived in the US, I remember a large chain being cited by the US justice department for massive fraud in their auto-centers. Almost immediately, they launched a massive advertising campaign, as though nothing were wrong. I fear we are becoming sheep who expect to be sheared.

 

YOu keep saying that and it indicates that you are stuck in the "don't confuse me with facts, my mind is already made up" mode again.
Almost daily people come here who use their cars infrequently and report premature battery death.
While that failure is NOT caused by one single factor but usually a combination of things, a relatively slow re-charging rate is one factor.
The converter has such a high capacity to power stuff, mostly accessories, not to slam a high charge rate into the battery.

 

Fair enough, it's a small battery, so it makes sense to limit the charge. But here's a fact that's hard to ignore; there is no cranking drain. The drain on the aux battery consists of turning on the system, which immediately begins to charge the battery. It barely has a purpose.

You've made a lot of claims to the effect that the 12V battery has all sorts of negative effects on the car's operation, but you've yet to provide any rationale for how that's possible.

 

Yes I have.
You have not been listening......or purposely ignoring things that don't fit nicely into your pre-determined little boxes.

When the battery gets weak the voltage goes down AND fluctuates more because of minor changes in the load.
Several things happen at initial "key on" that puts a significant load on the battery, like fuel pump and brake booster just for instance.

Computer boards do not like fluctuating input voltage. Errors in the data inside a board or in the communications between the various computers can cause random and strange indications of things that really are not wrong but the indication of many faults will prevent the engine car from going into "run" mode.

A weak battery can cause the computer data to be corrupted.

Do I need to try and figure out a 3rd or 4th different way to say it ??

 

It's a pretty sad job of automotive electronic circuit design that has to rely on a battery to protect it from spikes and surges. Aside from the filtering required in the electronics themselves, the power supplied by the converter would have to be well-filtered as well. Basically, the battery is a very minor concern in the operation of the system.

 

No it is not.
Just stop it please.

You keep spouting crap that has no basis in fact.

You asked for an explanation and then refuse to accept it.
This is just wasting everybody's time.

 

Still trying to "refute" with simple denial?