OEM Battery life

[Kleiss1]

I just topped off the water on my ‘18 with distilled.

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[5.2 VooDoo]

Not really. When they created “maintenance free” batteries more than several decades ago, they simply had figured out to slow the evaporation rate, meaning the battery lasted to what the buying public considered an acceptable life. Modern cars use far more power, and constantly, which has been somewhat mitigated by sleep modes and so on. The Mustang’s battery can be serviced, the tops can easily be pried off. I checked mine at just over 2.5 months and it took a considerable amount of water to top up. It also was just below the “good” range on my hydrometer, in all cells. If you never touch it, then yes, you are likely not going to get much over three years out of it.

I must be in big trouble with my original battery being an untouched (I do however use a NOCO Genius tender) early 2016 OE battery.

 

[Johnnybee]

I must be in big trouble with my original battery being an untouched (I do however use a NOCO Genius tender) early 2016 OE battery.

There are, as mentioned, many variables and many outcomes. Perhaps you should be purchasing Powerball tickets.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Some dashcams can run the battery down while parked. I suppose just about any that motion record if parked where there is much movement around the car and doesn't have its own battery backup.

But my Thinkware 770 will sometimes "forget" to turn off if I press start for some reason without actually starting the car. So, it just records the dark garage interior continuously and drains the battery at a good clip (~ 3 days).

 

[ice445]

To clarify, a simple 'trickle charger' is cheap, and there's a reason for it. There are two types of power supplies in electronics: constant voltage and constant current, which behave just like their names imply: a constant voltage supply will modulate current to maintain the selected voltage across varying resistance, and a constant current supply will apply voltage as required to keep current at the specified level. Cheap 'trickle' chargers are constant current--e.g. 2 amps--and will keep increasing voltage to produce 2 amps of charge; you can easily overcharge a battery with a trickle charger (I know, I destroyed a battery by leaving it on a trickle charger for too long). If you use one of these, keep a close eye on the battery voltage lest you overcharge (a bad voltage regulator can cause overcharging as well).

What you want is a 'smart charger;' these will supply current to bring a battery up to a desired voltage--about 12.6+V for a 12V battery (each cell produces 2.1V)--then will shut off temporarily, then apply a 'float charge' to keep the battery in optimum condition. Some claim they can desulfate lead-acid batteries by applying a voltage spike pulse periodically. My experience is they can revive a dead battery if it's not too far gone. My preferred brand is BatteryMinder, but there are others.

My '08 Bullitt would go through batteries like clockwork every 3 years; its batteries were nominally Motorcraft, but were made by Interstate. Interstate, and most other brands, are now made in Mexico (possibly due to lax environmental laws and cheaper labor). My preferred battery is Deka, made in Pennsylvania by a family-owned business (NFI). They are the best quality I've found, and aren't any more expensive than Mexican batteries. Some parts houses carry them.

I restored a dead battery with a water top off (distilled of course) and 3 days of smart charging. It was a 4/16 build interstate lead acid that had sat in a non working car for most of its entire life (I fixed it late last year, so over 4 years of mostly sitting). Was definitely severely sulfated. After the treatment, it was fine for an entire winter, fine sitting for weeks at a time, just fine in general. Still going to this day. I even let the car sit for an entire hot month and it still started the car.

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