Batteries

[Springate’s]

Batteries are reading 12.35 on the multimeter and I’m wondering if they’re on their way out as we approach winter.
I believe the advice is to replace both.
I’m struggling to find the correct ‘pair’ since the position of the terminals are reversed from driver’s to passenger’s side.
Can anyone point me in the tight direction, please?

 

[Ben Stratford]

Got my last pair from Toyota. Surprisingly reasonable cost and were available 24hrs after ordering on the phone

 

[Towpack]

Are you sure the batteries are fully charged? If not, fully charge them then let them stand for a couple of hours to get the "rest" voltage which ideally should be a bit higher. A load or drop test is a much better method of establishing the state of a battery.
Any decent battery supplier should be able to get you two matching batteries, just like the 80 series which also has two "handed" batteries.

 

[Shayne]

As general maintenance i stick an overnight trickle charge on my truck now and then because in a perfect world they take a clout at start up and are quickly recharged by the alternator before the next clout is needed .

Apparently the world isn't quite perfect yet .

 

[Shayne]

Incidentally over the past few months lots of people have come to borrow my charger for batteries their own charger failed .

Amazon.co.uk

Don't know why but its brought several dead and unchargeables back to life .

 

[Springate’s]

Are you sure the batteries are fully charged? If not, fully charge them then let them stand for a couple of hours to get the "rest" voltage which ideally should be a bit higher. A load or drop test is a much better method of establishing the state of a battery.
Any decent battery supplier should be able to get you two matching batteries, just like the 80 series which also has two "handed" batteries.

Tbh I’m not very familiar with batteries and their workings. I measured the voltage after the car had been sat over night, 12.35. When started the reading was 14.04.

 

[Springate’s]

Incidentally over the past few months lots of people have come to borrow my charger for batteries their own charger failed .

http://[URL]https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hilka-RAC-HP026-12A-Battery-Charger/dp/B00IV3GBVK

[/URL]

Don't know why but its brought several dead and unchargeables back to life .

Not used a charger before. I use mine as a daily driver and my commute is approx 12 miles but can take up to 45 minutes depending on traffic-will this be enough to charge it or will an occasional trickle charge be beneficial?

 

[Shayne]

45 minutes should be plenty , my reasoning is how many times a year do we start the engine then stop it because we forgot something or changed plans . It won't matter much to a good battery but nothing else ages it .

Fast charge , what the alternator does , boosts a battery . Trickle charge repairs it . I'd lay odds more than half discarded car batteries would be fine for another year or more after a 48 hour trickle charge .

 

[AdventureWagon]

For a normal start it's surprisingly little energy and most batteries will be recharged within a few miles. I use my 150 for everything including a few short school runs (less than 2km) during the week with no issues.

 

[AdventureWagon]

How old is the current battery? And if you have the same battery sizes we do then the last letter is L or R which determines which way round the terminals are. Eg 55D23L and 55D23R are identical save for the +/- side.

 

[Springate’s]

How old is the current battery? And if you have the same battery sizes we do then the last letter is L or R which determines which way round the terminals are. Eg 55D23L and 55D23R are identical save for the +/- side.

Don’t know. I’ve only had it since March. Its a 2010 and the current Yuasa batteries have Japanese writing. Surely, they couldn’t be original?
I have no mention of batteries in service record/paper work.

 

[AdventureWagon]

Longest one I've had last is 7yrs but this is in Queensland where a cold start is 10degC.

 

[Juddian]

Don’t know. I’ve only had it since March. Its a 2010 and the current Yuasa batteries have Japanese writing. Surely, they couldn’t be original?
I have no mention of batteries in service record/paper work

There's usually a code number on Yuasa batteries (finding replacements easier), if there's no easily read battery code on the sticker(s) then they might well be OE, in which case 14 years is very good.

If ever i've had to charge batteries on any of my LCs i'm usually buying new batteries within weeks or months.

 

[GeekOKent]

My original battery pair in the 120 did 10 years. So they may well be the pair the car was born with.