Went to the rescue of a retired neighbour with a 1996 N plate Volvo 440 auto 1.8 petrol. Battery voltage 3.6V nothing left on so put it on charge in situ and made sure all the interior lights and things where off as they were and looked at the date on the batter 02 96 Yep Feb 1996 11 years old. The owner told me afterwards that it had been useing distilled water quite a bit in a couple of cells. New battery time £37.73 later and a nice new heavy duty ( Auto ) 4 year warrantee battery. I bet that does not last 11 years. Always nice to help someone.
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Do you know what make the original was out of interest?
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Yes a 'Volvo Battery' Peter
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Secondary batteries are strange things. I've had a Yuasa japanese motorcycle battery last 8 years and yet others fail after just 18 months. Automotive batteries have improved over the years but their life still appear to be a like a throw of the dice.
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Ten years actually, 96 - 06, but still quite a long time.
It's not unknown - I've had batteries last that long. We used to have a boat with a Perkins diesel, and the heavy duty Crompton Parkinson batteries would still hold their charge over winter and start the engine next spring, even when 15 years old. They were eventually relegated to secondary lighting use only, but still going strong at 20 years.
The secret of long battery life is maintenance - keeping the cells topped up clear of the plates. The real killer is prolonged overcharging. In that respect perhaps the life style of a battery getting senior citizen useage is better than that of mega-mileage on the motorways.
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The Volvo has done 27,700 miles. Oh yes your right Cliff 10 years, How did I get to 1. DoooH Regards Peter
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I see Halfords' batteries are now made by YUASA.
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