When to replace original battery?

My 2015 is on the original battery, I was under the hood last night and noticed it looks a little rough. 4 years on a battery sounds about right, and I am not having any issues with it, but I do not want it to leave me stranded somewhere. I would rather proactively replace it, but if I can expect another 3 years from it I hate to waste the cash. Can battery "health" be tested?

 

Looks dont mean much.
Health can be tested with a cheap multimeter. Maybe pull those caps and check water level. Only top off with distilled if low.

 

It is very difficult to test battery health. If only 1 of the 6 cells is working the battery can test perfectly fine but its on its way out the door any second.

I think since you have clear corrosion you may want to replace it as thats indicative of gas leaking out of the battery.

As the cold cranking amps start to fall the battery life is going down. But theres no perfect way to judge battery life.

I just replaced my 2013 original battery after it died.

 

Yes it can be tested, I still have the original battery in my 2013.

 

I have a Fluke, what am I looking for? I don't think simply checking voltage will do me much good?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COJr7OB23Hw

NOt a science though. There are battery that test fine but could die.

2015.. why replace so soon?

 

Thanks for this, good video. Not sure how accurate it it, but per the video only 30% of batterys make it to 4 years?

 

You need to load test it. Stop by any national auto parts store and they will test it for free.

 

Yes you can test battery health but the testers that do that are far more expensive and advanced than the old multimeter testing (which I think isn't very good). The "health" testers can tell if you have a dead or dying cell.
A good shop should have a tester like this and can test them for you. Hell Advance or Autozone may have a tester that's comparable. The days of toaster oven and multimeter testing is going away. Since there are better and smarter testers out there.
something like this one, OTC also makes one as well, like I said not cheap.
https://www.zoro.com/dsr-proseries-battery-tester-wprinter-pst-900x/i/G3997585/

With your current battery I would just clean the terminals really well, pull the caps off the batt and check water level, clean the top and let her ride. I am surprised you are still chugging along on that battery. If you want to replace out of preventative it won't hurt anything, I would suggest upgrading to an AGM and just stick with the stock 27 series.

 

I replaced my group 27 battery on my 2013 last month. It tested on the weak side with a load tester and I found one cell low on water. It gave no indication of weakness but they often drop dead with no warning. In my experience any time past the "X" month life rating on the battery is borrowed time. Sears batteries ( I don't know about Diehard) were like this. A 48 month battery was 48 months +/- a few, 36 month , the same way.

 

A multimeter can test a battery as far a go or no go voltage, but the best way to test general health of a battery is to use a load meter/load tester to see how it actually performs when under a load. It actually draws a load on the battery much like your starter and lets you measure how much that drains against the battery charge. This identifies a sort of total cca capacity. There is no reason to get a good one, there is nothing fancy or precise about them, cheap Chinese is fine for this tool and it should cost about $20.

I think some local auto parts stores will test them too but then you're at the mercy of potential mouth breathers.

I actually test batteries with it when they are brand new and write the results on the back of mine. That way when I test them years later I know how far off from the new/good state they actually are. But you can also check vs. The battery spec so that's not needed (e.g. A 500 cca battery should read at such level when connected to the tester for x seconds).

 

My brand new 15s battery went out in 2017 , never abused/left lights on.

 

There is a Northstar GB going on right now which is why I am thinking about this at all. 27F AGM seems the way to go to be safe.

 

Got ya well go for it then. I don't see any harm in doing it. Plus they won't be getting your "core" and you can take batteries to Advance that are used and they'll give you a few bucks for them.

 

I have the original battery in my '11 which went into service 9/10. I will replace it when it does not start the truck anymore, not before

 

Here's an example of a load tester, and it's actually the tester I use. It works fine: It's a handy tool to have though not something you'll use often.

 

The toaster oven testers are not the best way to test anymore these days. I have seen them test good on a battery with a dead cell which is why I talked about the intelligent testers.

 

Batteries are too easy to get to toss out a working battery on a whim. My 2011 battery lasted until early 2017. One morning it barely started....New battery an hour later. I buy either Duralast Gold (Auto Zone) or NAPA "Optima knock-offs". In this case, Duralast Gold. I've found them dependable for 6 to 8 years typically.

 

Let the truck sit turned off for 2 hours and tell us what the voltage is. If you are sitting at 12.2 or less you need to start thinking about a new one. That's like 60% capacity. A fully charged battery will be about 12.65 or higher. This is a rough estimate for your needs. Also is your electrolyte above the plates? If not you'll sulfated your battery and it is about the give out. Make sure it has distilled water above the plates.

 

the battery on my 2013 lasted until august 2017. Id say you still have some life left in it..