Should I replace Battery pre-emptively?

[davecoon13]

Does anyone know how long the standard factory OEM battery should last? This past summer my original battery tested fine, but now I have had the car 5 and a half years and it sounded weak the other day during the cold weather. I am thinking of replacing it as a preemptive measure. Does anyone know if the factory battery was 60 months or 72 months or what? I just went ahead and replaced it with a 75 month Interstate Megatron Battery. Was this a bad idea?

[bajabob]

No, I think you were on the right track - Sube battery's aren't know for their longevity. I know I replaced mine in my 03 about a year ago for the same reason.

Bob

[davecoon13]

Would a new battery cause the headlights to burn brighter? An oncoming police cruiser just stopped next to me flashing his blue lights at me when I was in a turn lane trying to turn left and asked me to roll down the window. He asked me if my High beams were on (which they weren't) and commented that my headlights were very bright and blinded him. When I explained that the high beams were not on (even putting them on to show him), he moved away.

[Hawk296]

Higher system voltage will cause the headlights to be brighter. With the engine on and alternator turning, test the voltage at the battery, they increase engine speed and see what the voltage is. It should not be excessively high.

I don't replace mine "just because" but the standard Panasonic batteries are not that great. If I start to have trouble, then I typically fully charge the battery and do a load test, if it fails I replace it.

[aberg12012]

He asked me if my High beams were on (which they weren't) and commented that my headlights were very bright and blinded him.

Some people, yes this includes poilce officers, simply need to get a life. lol

However I regularly get "flashed" as folks think I have my brights on. This is simply due to headlight alignment. I have mine set a little higher than the average car's low beams, because I rarely am able to use the high beams.

Bottom line - If people would stop LOOKING directly into on-comming headlights, they wouldn't have a problem.

As for the battery... Always replace your battery early. Most people wait till the battery is so weak that it can't start the car. They get a new battery, and then the new battery goes dead. They take the car in to find now they have a bad alternator and think "oh, so my old battery wasn't the problem, it was the alternator." No... your old battery WAS bad, which overworked the alternator, which then took out the alternator, which was unable to keep the new battery charged. So they end up buying TWO new batteries, AND a new (or rebuilt) alternator.

[YBajaSteve]

yay old topics

[mbaksic]

Just a quick note, my 03 Baja is still on the original battery, at 140,000 miles. I test it at work several times a year and every time I test it i passes just fine. It even survived below 0 temps this winter again. So I expect it will crap out at any time, being 7 years old now.

Mike

[DRPSNERTLE]

Panasonic battery in my wifes MY02 Forester tested "good" yesterday. My Autozone battery in my MY04 Baja was "marginal" and with the southern heat getting ready to be a factor here, I think I will be looking for another replacement.