Bosch (or other "good brand") battery no good!

[lagonda 41]

When I bought my CTi in 2003, the battery was on its last legs, and I fitted the no-name cheapo battery that was in my Lancia Y10 when I bought that car, in 1997. That cheapo battery gave great service, only expiring at the end of 2010 when I tried to start the long-unstarted tractor here with it. So it gave 14 years service. I replaced it with a Bosch "Silver" S3 005 battery, convinced by the quality of Bosch products and particularly their claims of enhanced longevity. All has been fine until last week, when I somehow parked the car with the radio on. OK, mea culpa, but no worries, it is supposed to be good for the health of a battery to flatten it and then charge it. Went to start it 3 days later; dead. Jump started it, took it for a 10 mile run, which should have revived it....no. Charged it for a couple of days, and it started, just. Longer drive yesterday, with several stops....but after a couple of hours, that was it, no start. So that's it. Cheapo battery: 14 years, Bosch expensive battery: 7.5 years.

 

That's not all. I have 2 ride on mowers here, one of which had no battery and although I've got it running, might never use it. The John Deere had a cheapo Chinese "SX" 12N24-4 battery fitted, dated 2002, which was fine in 2010 but gradually died until I replaced it in 2016. Note 14 year life span. Following my faith in quality products, this time I opted for Exide, and bought two Exide "Bike" U1-9 batteries. Unbelievably, one has failed totally already. No worries, I still had the other one, in its unopened box. Got it out, filled with the acid supplied, charged it, and....nothing. Dead. The instructions refer to a warranty, without specifying details, so living in France, I messaged Exide.fr. despite which I got a reply from Exide UK who didn't recognise the U1-9 designation (indeed I can't find it sold in the UK, yet the box is all English text!). Anyway, the warranty, if any, would be ONE year. This for a battery that cost more than a standard car battery, where 3 year warranty is normal! To cap it all, Exide's strapline is "We stand by our products". What the hell is the point of making such a statement, when very clearly, they DON'T stand by their products?

 

Rant over, so, have I been unlucky (3 times unlucky!), or are quality batteries an expensive con, and cheap no-name batteries the best choice, today?

[jackherer 543]

My understanding is that if you discharge them too much and/or don't immediately recharge them the plates are permanently damaged.

 

https://www.lifewire.com/car-batteries-are-made-to-die-534765

[lagonda 41]

Hi,

 Thanks for the link, which neatly appears to explain the sudden death of my Bosch battery. That said, I wonder if this is perhaps a modern battery "thing", or they are more susceptible due to manufacturing economies.

 

  I bought a 1947 Riley from a scrapyard owner in 1976, and insisted a battery be included in the deal. Incidentally, I paid £46 for that car, including (the scrapyard's) low loader delivery....even then, probably worth most of my £46. Anyay, the owner nodded to his son, and I gathered the manner meant I would get the worst battery he could find. So wasn't surprised when presented with an obviously old, dirty and battered Exide battery. Amazingly, it charged up, and was good for several years. Doubtless it would have lasted longer if I had a car on the road to use it. Indeed, that was why I bought these Exide batteries for the mowers.

 

  What I didn't add is that I topped up, charged and fitted that 2002 SX battery to the John Deere. As expected, it won't start it....but it does make a better go at starting it than either of the recent Exide batteries. Hence my pondering whether modern batteries are more susceptible. There must have been several times in my motoring career where batteries have gone flat, but this is the first time I've experienced one totally die so readily.

[SootySport 23]

In your experience cheap is good but it's not always that way.     If you use a car moreorless everyday, the battery will last longer, whatever brand you buy.

For me I would still buy a branded battery with the longest guarantee.

 

My friends 2000 Toyota Avensis is still on it's original battery, 18years is good going but he uses it everyday.    I do agree with you though,   battery life is always a lottery.

[lagonda 41]

Been searching on the forum for battery experience, and I quote this from Anthony in 2013:

 

" I hope that Bosch have improved in the last few years, as the previous generation Bosch Silver batteries were - in my experience at least - utterly hopeless. I think I had three fail in the space of a few months, all brand new, and in the end I gave up and just bought a newish looking battery from a scrappy for a fiver that gave a few years service without so much as a grumble.

 

Same story a few years ago on my 306 that came with a Bosch Silver battery - worked fine until I flattened the battery one day, after which it never worked properly again. Thinking about it another one that came with some car or other that I left in the garage for a few months and - surprise, surprise - had dropped a cell (or two) by the time I came to use it again. Another battery that had been sat there longer worked perfectly still...

 

Maybe I'm just unlucky, but every other battery I've had over the last few years has worked perfectly, even those left sitting for months or that had been flattened (or worse, left flat for an extended period), which suggests to me that there's something fundementally odd in the way those Bosch batteries are made. Hell, the battery that came on my Jalopy which had been sat outside flat as a pancake for well over two years still charged up and worked, and indeed I think is still giving loyal service on a friends car."

 

  Needless to say, my Bosch battery is a Bosch Silver type. Pretty annoyed because I paid extra for a 56Ah quality make boasting extra longevity; I note Haynes state 25Ah - 33Ah. Well, I won't buy Bosch again, or Exide.

 

 That leaves Varta; would be interested to hear regarding any other decent brands, or for that matter, rubbish brands that actually prove to make good durable batteries?  No point suggesting Halfrauds, ECP, GSF etc as I live in France. Don't laugh, just seen a Varta battery a few euros cheaper than others on line over here; it's in Italy, and the delivery charge is.....€420!

[Anthony 1,000]

Ha, I was about to reply with my experience of Bosch Silver batteries but I see that you've discovered one of my previous grumbles on the subject  

 

I'm sure they're probably fine in something that's in regular use so that the battery is constantly kept charged, but in my experience they're a bad choice on a 2nd / occasionally used car or any other situation where the battery can discharge.

[Thijs_Rallye 86 4 Cars]

Silver Calcium batteries need a higher charging voltage than a "regular" lead acid type.

[ALEX 98 1 Cars]

My Bosch Silver in My CTI has gone dead and paid around £100 from Halfords thinking it would last.

The car has only done 1000 miles since fitting it but I do keep running it to temp every other month or so. Every time id disconnect the battery only having to charge it up every time.. Only just realised it wont hold a charge longer than a few hours.

So what is the best battery to buy for cars that spend time in storage? I was going to buy an even more expensive one, but looking at this I think I'd be better off with a cheapo one.

 

Edited June 14, 2018 by ALEX

[tartanbloke 35 1 Cars]

Did you disconnect the battery when it was sitting around doing nothing as I have a Bosch Silver that I fitted to mine and have had no issue for 3 years so far but I do take the negative off when I put her in the garage and re-attach when I need to start her up. 

[205Rallee 59]

I use an Odyssey PC 680 or 980, cant remember the number but it's small, light, ten years old and I can leave the car 6 months and the engine turns over super fast. No idea why people spend the same or more on old fashioned lead batteries.

[Mikey S 29 1 Cars]

I use a Ctek on mine. If the car is in the garage it’s permanently connected to it. 

I work in the trade and replace lots of battery’s and out of all the brands I’ve fitted and seen, the longest lasting batteries seem to be calcium/calcium Ford battery’s. I’ve seen many of these do well past 10 years old before dying. 

 

[lagonda 41]

Interesting  replies. The Oddysey 680 sounds great, perhaps you got a bargain, but over here in France, they are 3 times more expensive than a normal car battery. I'm now looking att buying a Varta C30; more powerful than necessary, but only another €9.

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

The longest battery I ever had was a Fiamm one, Think that did around 18 years without daily use

[Anthony 1,000]

9 hours ago, Miles said:

The longest battery I ever had was a Fiamm one, Think that did around 18 years without daily use

 

Not far off that here - only replaced the original Motorcraft battery in my parents Fiesta last year, the battery having a 2001 date stamp on it.  Not bad for a car that sits for days at a time and only gets used for short journeys I reckoned!