Batteries.

angela137, May 10, 12:51am
Just had a dodgy AA experince - I had left my lights on all day - duh.called AA, they came ,very prompt, checked battery said it had no power and gizmo he used said REPLACE BATTERY NOW, I questioned it,and after a breif pleasent chat theAA guy left (he had a whole van full of batteries ready to sell to me).I went to my battery supplier on the way home asked them to check it- and it was fine, on his gizmo, he put the resistance up high to test the battery andit was taking a full load and good to go, no need for replacement.I had a sneaky suspicion the AA battery guys were on a sales drive with their batteries.I so love the AA but sad they have to try and sell on stuff that you dont need.I would always advise people, if they have the option, dont buy AA battery if they try to sell you one as you may, I say may, not need one.
unbeatabull, May 10, 1:02am
AA are very quick to deem batteries faulty. The amount of cars we get in along the lines of "Replace Battery - AA Found Faulty" or something to that extent. 95% of the time its not the battery.
beast9, May 10, 1:05am
the best way is to load test the battery after charging and also refit the battery and hook up a multimeter to it check voltage before you start the car check while starting the car and once the car is started and see if the alternator is doing its job effectively
unbeatabull, May 10, 1:24am
^ This. To many people test batteries without giving it a load test first to wipe any surface/floating charge off it
gammelvind, May 10, 2:54am
Get yourself a battery load tester, every self respecting DIY home mechanic/fiddler should have one, they only cost about $50. Had a truck at work which was hard to start, the garage they use said the batteries (24v) were ok cause their multimeter indicated the voltage was ok. Put my load tester on, voltage ok on both, but one crapped out pretty quickly with a load. What it really comes down to is knowing how to use the tools and using the right tool.
bigfatmat1, May 10, 3:16am
This is to meet kpi The old man who has worked for the aa for 40 years as a roadside officer now hasa performance manager with him every monday simply because he does not sell enough windscreen repairs and batteries.
fordkiwi27, May 10, 3:24am
god thread dredge
groovebox, Aug 1, 12:13am
OK - had some issues with my battery the other day. AA came out and said the battery "failed" on their meter but perhaps a starter motor issue. OK - sweet - take it to Firestone - tell them what happened - he got a rather simple looking Volt Metre thing out and said it was "borderline" but 90% sure it was the battery as the CCA was lower then it should be and he also said the battery was a bit old.

4 weeks ago the car was serviced and I told my reqular mechanic to check the battery as a cold snap was coming - he said it was fine. The battery was 3yrs and 9mths old - and I know that generally they have a 4 yr life cycle. Thus another reason why I did not want a roadside failure.

So local Firestone replaced battery and off I go. That nite jump in the car - click-click - ring mechanic tell him - he said it was prob the starter motor - bring it in. Dropped it in - yes it's the starter motor. And was not the battery after all as he had checked it as part of my request.

So the question is - whose meters are accurate. The AA guy had a flash looking gizmo and local Firestone had a rather old basic looking volt meter. My mechanic's meter beat them all in size and complexity.

I am not worried that I brought a new battery and also needed a starter motor. (well a bit cheesed off)

Just curious as to the accuracy of the various meters.
mugenb20b, Aug 1, 12:19am
^^^^^"Tyres, it's what we do best" ^^^^^
fleming.a.j.s, Aug 1, 12:19am
Beats me why you would go to the "AA", a Tyre Dealer and a Mechanic, when the issue was one for an Auto Sparky all along
aragorn2003, Aug 1, 12:19am
Well by your own story it was the Mechanics meter that was right . I WIN!
mugenb20b, Aug 1, 12:21am
Our garage has a good battery tester, it even prints out a report, very accurate. It tells you the health, charge, and CCA rating. Batteries should last between 5 and 7 years, depending on how they are treated.
gadgit3, Aug 1, 12:26am
Depends on who knows how to use the gear and what state of charge your battery was in when tested. First thing in the morning starter goes click click and state of charge is low. AA throws a load tester on and yip fail. Jump start car and drive into the mechanic switch off and have mechanic load test battery only minis after you shut down. State of charge high battery passes. To load test a battery right you need to fully charge then let the battery sit for an hour or so then load test.
groovebox, Aug 1, 12:30am
As for Firestone/Tyres - agree - but they also sell batteries so would assume some expertise.

The frustrating thing was the time-line - first failure was Thurs nite - no choice but to take to local Firestone as my mechanic is 40km's away and it SEEMED the experts were agreed on battery.

2nd failure was Fri nite but this time mechanic only 15km away - so got the AA to jump it and dropped it to mechanic Fri nite as he was closing.

I do know from past experience that a battery can sometimes mask a start motor issue - happened in my Bluebird years ago.
bigfatmat1, Aug 1, 2:51am
digital testers are only good if in the right hands I have a AA batt tester it is crap fails nearly every battery. My Dad has one as well he says the aa update the software every few months and it fails even more batteries. He also has to take a guy round in his aa truck once a week to teach him how to sell batteries because he does not meet sales targets. He has been a roadside tech for 35 years lolMy tester of choice is carbon pile and hydrometer.
panicky, Aug 1, 3:05am
The only true way is to fully charge the battery (most batteries now require a calcium charger), let it sit for a few hours and then carbon pile load test it.
intrade, Aug 1, 4:37am
yup true test are only load tester. as abattery can have idle the correct voltage and as soon as a load is added of hight draw it goes plonk down to 5 volt from 12.65 volt idle. professionals use load tester only at home you cvan test with multimeter. If you ever buy a new battery and somone comes with a multimeter and tells you they can 100% test it then they dont know enough and you should go elsewhere.
intrade, Aug 1, 4:41am
its like do you go to the dentist to have your hair cut! firestone maybe selling batteries but they do tyre and wheel alignment they got no knolage about a charging system of a car and they will be interested to sell you a battery in any case as they dont have batterys there to display them .
groovebox, Aug 1, 8:42pm
Aha but firestone HAVE batteries on display and in stock.
footplate1, Aug 1, 10:56pm
My Beamer battery has been going flat and TM has tried all options.Latest one is to remove the replacement AA battery(the first replacement from AA failed) and to test for a couple of weeks.
Another garage says it refuses to touch the AA-supplied batteries.
bigfatmat1, Feb 3, 10:07am
dont blame them If there is a car with a flat batt and ya cant find a cause you could bet money it has an aa batt in it they are crap

made by atlas bx there would be a reason exide stoppedbuying batteries from them.