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| Saturday, October 28, 2006 |
| Lesson Learned: Car batteries don't last forever |
My car would not start this morning. It was a very strange experience. Worked fine last night. Drove home, parked, turned off the ignition - everything was normal. But this morning put the key in the ignition and "click, click, click" - nothing. I had not left the headlights on. I have a battery indicator light on my dashboard but it had not been on. Very weird. So after a few frantic phone calls I received a visit from my very handy brother-in-law and his volt meter. He confirmed that my car battery was dead. Then he asked, "how old is this battery"? I replied "Well, I purchased my car in 2000 - so 6 years old?"
He then informed me that car batteries should be replaced every four years. Oops, who knew? Obviously not me. So $66.00 and a trip to AutoZone later I had a new battery which he very nicely installed for me. Did I happen to mention it is raining and Boston is experiencing gale force winds today? Poor guy was drenched!
While keeping him company in the rain I learned a few things about car batteries. The most interesting piece of information was about how these batteries are recycled. He mentioned that the US car battery recycle program is one of the most successful. He thought every part of the acid/lead battery is recycled and reused. A quick check online confirmed his assertion: Lead-Acid Automobile Batteries
Nearly 90 percent of all lead-acid batteries are recycled. Almost any retailer that sells lead-acid batteries collects used batteries for recycling, as required by most state laws. Reclaimers crush batteries into nickel-sized pieces and separate the plastic components. They send the plastic to a reprocessor for manufacture into new plastic products and deliver purified lead to battery manufacturers and other industries. A typical lead-acid battery contains 60 to 80 percent recycled lead and plastic. So if your car battery is on the older side you might want to think about investing in a new one and avoid the dead battery experience! |
| posted by Boston Gal @ 3:36 PM *
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| 5 Comments: |
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I'm a single woman, 43, who is frugal. I happily pay for Emergency Road Service (from AAA) every year ($60) - peace of mind sooooo worth the money for me. Where I live (CA), they will bring a new battery to you as part of ERS with no extra fee. Everybody's different - I personally do not want to call friends or family if I have car trouble, just personal preference.
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Correction - my Emergency Road Service is $49/year, not $60. Includes 4 service calls per year. Some years I use 4, some years I use zero - equally worth it for peace of mind no matter how many I use. Again, just personal preference. Found you through the NYT - very cool blog! :)
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Hi Anonymous,
I agree - AAA is the best. I do purchase yearly memberships. If this had happened away from home or on a weekday AAA would have been my first call. However, since the car would not start on a Saturday morning and it was parked in my driveway I ended up calling one of my sisters first. I was not sure it was the battery - I thought it was the starter and my local mechanic is closed for the weekends.
I was very lucky and grateful my brother-in-law offered to drive over and take a look. One of the perks of having helpful family members who live close-by.
I should get better at solving things like this myself rather than picking up the phone. As my car ages I am going to have to get better at solving these problems myself!
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I had the same problem a couple of years back - the Napa guy thought that one of the lead plates had broken, because it had 11 amps, and was labeled "525 cold cranking
amps".
I didn't realize they were on a regular maintenance schedule like tires and oil, but I guess it makes sense - that battery was in a 1996 car, and the battery died in 2003. Note to self: Replace battery at the 5 year mark.
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sorry to tell you there toots, this will not be the last of your dead battery problem. i am having the same troubles right now with my car with a brand new battery. seems to drain right dead in the rain. ive spent almost 600$ on two different mechanics trying to locate the problem, and they just cant. im taking it upon myself to do the research now, hence stumbling accross this page. i hope for your sake it was the batt, but even at 6 years old, more than likely it still worked like brand new.
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I'm a single woman, 43, who is frugal. I happily pay for Emergency Road Service (from AAA) every year ($60) - peace of mind sooooo worth the money for me. Where I live (CA), they will bring a new battery to you as part of ERS with no extra fee. Everybody's different - I personally do not want to call friends or family if I have car trouble, just personal preference.