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Is my battery going bad or something else?

Jim Bronson

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2017 GT. Before I start the car, the battery voltage on the car's gauge reads less than 11V. It is a bit sluggish to start, but it does start. After starting, the gauge reads around 14V. Could my battery be going dead after only three years? It seems like a short battery life. Thanks.
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Arknsawchuck

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My first thought is yes. 11 is getting low. And since it reads 14 when running that means your charging system is working. Go by auto zone or any auto parts store and have them test it. Its free. They can put a load on it with their tester and see whats going on.
 

XeninWorX

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I would say so too. Replaced the battery on my wife’s 2016 Accord in 2019. It has a remote starter which means the battery is getting more use. Make sure to get the right battery too. My wife’s Accord is a 4 cylinder Touring but uses the battery from the V6 which is a bigger battery.
 
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Jim Bronson

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The AAA tech told me the battery is OK. He suggested driving more on freeways to keep it well charged. Thank you COVID. I connected it to my charger, and I'll leave it overnight.

Thanks for the replies.
 

coz0502

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Your battery may be slowing dying. My 16 had slow started on me and I thought that's odd wonder if my battery is dying. It started fine for another week or so, then was just dead one morning. Push started it, drove to Auto Zone had battery tested, it was bad, replaced and no issue since. I'm in Florida, with the heat and humidity 3 years is about average for me. Not sure if the climate is similar in San Diego.
 

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Jim Bronson

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I connected it to my battery charger and it began to charge at 2 amps. Two hours later it is charging at 1 amp. I'll leave it on overnight and check it in the morning. I'm not sure what the float rate should be.

BTW the winter climate here is cool (40s overnight and 70s in the daytime).
 
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Jim Bronson

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When I got up this morning the charger showed a charge rate of almost zero. So I removed the charger. However the voltage on the car's gauge showed only 11.7V with the charger removed. I think it should be replaced. That's too low for a freshly-charged battery.
 

Elp_jc

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It's almost a miracle that the super marginal battery on our cars last 3 years, so I'd just replace it. Heck, I replaced mine right after I bought the car, since it sat several months at the dealer, and it was toast. Didn't want another crappy one, nor having to take my car to a dealership for a free (but crappy) battery, so just bit the 'bullitt' and bought an OEM replacement (DieHard 96R AGM) from Advanced Auto. But still have to leave car connected to a smart charger all the time. Our cars just have too much parasitic loss, and with the small battery, it becomes discharged very quickly. Never had to do that with any other car, only charging them once a week instead, but this car discharges the battery too much in a week, so I just leave it connected all the time it sits in the garage.
 
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Jim Bronson

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I replaced it because it wouldn't hold a charge. After a long drive it read 12.4, but it decreased to 11.3 the next day. Even though it always started fine, it wasn't worth taking a chance on it. Since it is my only car, I don't want the hassle of using a tender all the time. Thanks for the reply.
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