Am I too eager with my battery conditioner?

[Nobbles]

My battery conditioner is showing that the battery is weak. It is a Varta battery that I put on about three years ago so I am surprised to have this appear so soon. The car has done 15000 miles, typically longer journeys - sunny days and holidays. When it goes back in the garage and I know it will be a week or so I will connect the conditioner(accumate) normally it should extend the life of the battery? Am I doing it wrong?

[smudger911]

agree 3 years doesn't seem like a long time for new battery to last if you are doing long runs.
The conditioner will help keep the battery topped up >12v's, makes me wonder if your alternator is giving the battery enough charge when you are driving? Might be worth getting that checked too?

[harleywilma]

It will take a good few miles to charge the battery normally ,It is quite normal that the optimate will show weak when reconnected.I wouldn't worry unless a notable loss in cranking power...

[Rockster]

Doesn't read like you are doing anything wrong.

While one would like a battery to last a long time, a battery can go downhill at any time. I had a new battery fail after just 7 months of regular use.

It is important for good battery life to after an engine start to run the engine long enough to recharge/top up the battery to replace what was lost from the start.

It is not easy to know how long one needs to drive, but I estimate around 15 miles or so based on observing the voltage meter reading in my car showing the voltage level down a bit after approx. 15 miles of driving. This suggests the battery has been topped up and the electrical demand has been reduced as a result.

Colder weather, driving at night, or during the day with the A/C on could require more miles of driving.

[Nobbles]

So it is a Varta F18 battery, with 3 years guarantee and guess what? 3 years and 2 months later it goes on the blink. I have unhooked it from the conditioner and will reconnect tomorrow to see what it does. In the meantime I will get pricing around.

[Trev450]

I'm sure they are programmed somehow to do this!! My Lucas battery also failed about 6-8 weeks out of warranty.

[Nobbles]

So euromaster here in France have an offer for the Bosch S5 that is cheaper than I paid for the Varta 3 years ago, so maybe a change.

[doneitnow]

Strange old things these batteries, I have had my Audi A4 for nearly 12 years now, it is not used regularly (80k miles in 12 years) still on the original battery, never charged and never lets me down, (will probably be dead in the morning) I have Merc vans which are always needing charging, batteries replacing etc, my Cayman which was 31/2 years old when I got it had to have a new battery, GT3 battery still okay at the moment, but has to be charged regularly or will be found dead! Who knows what goes on with the ruddy things.

[Nobbles]

So I left the conditioner off for a day and then reconnected. The lights came on for charging then one hour later all green. This morning all green....mmm. Could it be me?

[BertBert]

What does the conditioner say that means the battery is weak?