Car batteries: High Cost, Low Lifespan

[Dr. Shiva]

6 hours ago, Jack Peterson said:

Modern up to date Alternators recharging is very Quick

Would agree but can you be sure that there are up to date alternators being installed in the cars being sold on the Philippines?

[JJReyes]

For less than $100, you can purchase an emergency car battery starter for 4/6 cylinder vehicles made with Lithium. They are small, about the size of a large cellular phone, but the cables make them a bit bulky. I believe you can also charge electronic devices so they can prove handy during blackouts and brownouts. 

[Jack Peterson]

11 hours ago, Dr. Shiva said:

Would agree but can you be sure that there are up to date alternators being installed in the cars being sold on the Philippines?

 I can only go from my own car that has an E4 engine and I am 100 % sure that the Alternator is as up to date it can be. BTW the date of Car build is on it

[KurtVD]

17 hours ago, JJReyes said:

For less than $100, you can purchase an emergency car battery starter for 4/6 cylinder vehicles made with Lithium. They are small, about the size of a large cellular phone, but the cables make them a bit bulky. I believe you can also charge electronic devices so they can prove handy during blackouts and brownouts. 

Yes, these things are amazing. And the latest, even more amazing, are starter packs made of super capacitors: They don't even have be charged all the time! It can be charged in a few minutes by your dead car battery (unless, of course, it's completely dead, at 0 Volts, which is quite rare)

Here's a link to the product, and a link to a video showing how it works :

https://www.amazon.com/autowit-Battery-less-Ultra-Safe-Supercapacitor-Technology/dp/B079HL6MMM/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1527576934&sr=1-1&keywords=autowit+12v+batteryless

 

Edited May 29, 2018 by KurtVD

[Queenie O.]

Hi OMW,

We are also fans of Motolite batteries.  We have one in our multicab, and the one in our old Pajero  continues to work great even though the vehicle no longer gets much use.

[KurtVD]

I have never owned a car in such a hot region, but 2 years seems not a lot for a battery. I just changed mine (in Switzerland), it was 5 years old and it would still start the car, but it cranked slowly. And I always thought that the cold winters here are bad for the batteries, but maybe heat is worse? Stupid question, but are they maintenance free? Not so long ago, I had a Hyundai, it still had a battery which needed topping up with water regularly (but since I did that, it worked fine for many years).  

[Queenie O.]

1 hour ago, KurtVD said:

I have never owned a car in such a hot region, but 2 years seems not a lot for a battery. I just changed mine (in Switzerland), it was 5 years old and it would still start the car, but it cranked slowly. And I always thought that the cold winters here are bad for the batteries, but maybe heat is worse? Stupid question, but are they maintenance free? Not so long ago, I had a Hyundai, it still had a battery which needed topping up with water regularly (but since I did that, it worked fine for many years).  

As far as I know Kurt, all vehicle batteries are maintenance free. In our experience the Motolite batteries last about five years on average.

[KurtVD]

41 minutes ago, Queenie O. said:

As far as I know Kurt, all vehicle batteries are maintenance free. In our experience the Motolite batteries last about five years on average.

But the OP has had to change his after only 2, that’s why I asked the question (an old-style battery would last just about 2 years if you never topped it up)

[OnMyWay]

8 minutes ago, KurtVD said:

But the OP has had to change his after only 2, that’s why I asked the question (an old-style battery would last just about 2 years if you never topped it up)

These Motolites I bought are maintenence free.

[Happyhorn52]

Battery's that require maintenance went out of style about 20 years ago in the US. I routinely get 5-7 years from my Delco's, Sears Diehards, but the best is my Optima. As for climate, I don't see much difference between Houston Tx and the Philippines. Houston is hot most of the year with only a brief three month winter. I think Motolite is just a crappy local battery meant to fit in a Filipino's budget but not meant to last a long time.