Batteries | O'Reilly Auto Parts (2023)

FAQs

Why am I going through so many car batteries? ›

Some of the most common reasons for a car battery to die repeatedly include loose or corroded battery connections, persistent electrical drains, charging problems, constantly demanding more power than the alternator can provide, and even extreme weather.

With good driving habits, the average battery can last three or even four years. We recommend DieHard Gold or Platinum AGM batteries, which are top performers with generous three-year warranties. Ask your Advance Auto Parts associate for help finding the right battery for your vehicle.

Most batteries last 3-4 years on average, although some do last longer. If you're having a problem, use the articles below to help identify the issue, select a replacement, and install your new battery.

What may drain a car battery when it's off are things such as interior lights, door lights, or even bad relays. While your engine runs, the alternator recharges the battery — which is why you typically don't have to worry about the battery dying while you're blasting the radio on your drive to work!

Factors that can shorten its life include an extended period of partial or full discharge, vibration from not being properly secured, under- or overcharging, extreme temperatures, water loss, electrolyte contamination and corrosion on terminals.

Walmart is hands down the cheapest place to buy a car battery. They carry EverStart batteries, their in-store brand manufactured by Clarios, which also makes Optima batteries. In addition to EverStart, some Walmart stores carry other brands such as Bosch and Optima.

What Does Group Size 24F Mean? The group size 24F designation refers to the Battery Council International (BCI) group number of the battery, which indicates the dimensions of automotive batteries. The dimensions of a BCI group size 24F car battery are 10.3 inches long by 6.8 inches wide and 8.9 inches high.

Next the letter represents the terminal size: D = standard terminal, B = small terminal, E is for long batteries like an N100, F & G is for terminals down one end like N120, N150 and N200.

What does 096 mean on car battery? ›

The standard flooded 096 car batteries are for older vehicles without start stop, EFB car batteries are commonly fitted to vehicles with Stop-Start, or as an upgrade to a standard flooded car battery.

But experts say that the batteries you can buy at dollar stores are lower quality, Kiplinger reports. The carbon-zinc batteries that dollar stores typically sell don't last as long as the alkaline name brands.

Or, if you don't want to learn about battery recycling and you just want to get rid of the dang thing, drop by your local AutoZone and – get this – we will actually pay you for that old battery!

If the battery is found defective during the free replacement period on your receipt, bring the battery to any AutoZone store and you will receive a free replacement.

Defective charging system - A car battery drains quickly if something called the alternator on your charging system fails to push out enough voltage, ideally between 13.5 - 14.5 volts.

Your car battery has a corroded alternator diode

In this case, a corroded or defective alternator diode can often continuously charge your car's circuit even when you car is turned off. This will drain your car's battery and cause the car not to start in the morning!

Short-Term Driving: Driving your car often on short trips can contribute to a short battery life and a battery failing to keep a charge. This is because the most taxing use of the battery in your vehicle is the initial engine start and you never give it enough time to get fully charged.

A typical car battery costs between €90 and €180, while premium car batteries cost €120 to €250. Costs depend on your car make, model and engine size. Get a quick and easy quote from us.

Some cars will get up to five or six years out of their battery, while others will need a new one after only two years. In general, your car will usually need a new battery after three to four years. Replacing your car battery is another part of routine maintenance.

Can a car battery last 20 years? ›

Generally, electric vehicle batteries last 10-20 years, but some factors may reduce their lifespan.

In late 2021, QuantumScape illustrated that its forever battery performed in 4-layer formats up to 800 charging cycles. A quarter later, the company scaled successful results to 10-layer batteries up to 800 cycles.

How Long Does It Take To Charge A Car Battery? If you have jump-started your car, it is recommended to let your vehicle run for at least 30 minutes because it would typically require at least half an hour to charge a dead battery entirely or at least sufficiently.

To keep your battery charged, you must drive the vehicle once a week for at least 30 minutes at a time at highway speeds to ensure the battery gets the boost it needs.

If your car battery is having trouble, AutoZone store associates can test or charge your battery for free.

Walmart. The cheapest place to buy a car battery is unquestionably Walmart. They sell batteries under the EverStart brand, which is produced by Clarios, the same company that makes Optima batteries. Some Walmart locations also carry additional manufacturers like Bosch and Optima in addition to EverStart.

Walmart's car battery prices are somewhat cheaper than what you might find at other retailers, especially if you're in the market for a premium EverStart model. The basic car batteries available at Walmart are about the same price as what you'll find elsewhere.

The battery compartment and holders in your vehicle are designed for a specific battery size, nothing more, nothing less. Attempting to use a larger battery and either forcing it into place or using alternative means to hold it in place can potentially cause structural damage to the battery or the car.

Group 24 batteries generally function as deep cycle batteries rather than starting applications where they start an engine. A standard model measures 10.5” L x 6.1875” W by 8.875” high. They come in several subcategories as well, each with slightly different dimensions. These are known as 24F, 24H, 24R, and 24T.

How many CCA do I need? ›

If you're wondering how many CCAs you will need, a good rule of thumb is that an engine will need about one amp per cubic inch of engine displacement. For the majority of vehicles, this means between 250 and 600 CCA, depending on the size of your engine, though buses or larger RVs could require as much as 1,000 CCA.

Reserve capacity (RC) - helps to power your vehicle's electrical system if the alternator fails. It identifies how many minutes the battery can supply ample power without falling below the minimum voltage needed to run your vehicle.

“VRLA” stands for Valve Regulated Lead Acid, “AGM” stands for Absorbed Glass Mat, “SLA” stands for Sealed Lead Acid and “MF” stands for Maintenance-Free. All 4 of these terms basically refer to the same type of lead-acid battery.

The battery C Rating is the measurement of current in which a battery is charged and discharged at. The capacity of a battery is generally rated and labelled at the 1C Rate (1C current), this means a fully charged battery with a capacity of 10Ah should be able to provide 10 Amps for one hour.

For example, 054 means batteries with a performance of CCA 540 Amps cold start at -18 degrees Celsius, while 120 means batteries with a performance of CCA 1200 Amps cold start at -18 degrees Celsius.

The date code label is on a label located on either the top of the battery or the back side of the battery. The code on the top is 12 digits with the last 4 representing the month and year.

Well, that's still very important, because cold, cranking amps tells you the ability of the battery to do work right now. And the higher the cold cranking amp rating of the battery, the better it is for your car.

The brightest screen settings tend to drain your battery quickly, which forces you to go through charge cycles quickly and lose battery health. Check your background activity in Settings > General > Background Refresh. Too many apps running in the background will drain your battery.

An effective method to determine whether it's your battery or alternator that's gone bad is to connect jumper cables from a running vehicle's battery to yours. After a few moments, try starting your vehicle. Once it's started, remove the jumper cables — if your engine stalls, your alternator has probably gone bad.

What are the symptoms of an alternator going bad? ›

Charging overnight is not a danger to your battery in and of itself. However, temperature is a real concern. One of the most damaging things your battery can experience is extreme heat or extreme cold. Apple has publicly stated that temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius can cause permanent damage to battery life.

Drive your car once a week for 30 minutes

Your car's electrical systems drain the battery slowly, which adds up, eventually making the battery lack enough juice to crank up and start your vehicle. Preferably, you can drive your car for thirty minutes weekly, which will keep your battery charged.

Plug-in battery chargers estimate 10-24 hours to fully charge a car battery. Let's assume your car battery is 50 percent charged. (Which is probably why your car wouldn't start.) It can take about eight hours of highway driving to charge a car battery to almost full.

“If the [battery's] voltage is low, replace with a new battery or charge the battery to the recommended 14.2 to 14.7 volts,” he says. “Then try to run the vehicle and see if the voltage after is outside of that range. If it is, that's a sign of a bad alternator.”

Issues such as faulty wiring, bad fuses or interior lights that fail to shut off will continue to drain your battery while it's idle.

The ignition relay is essentially an electrical device that works as a switch for the power to the ignition system. Its job is to make sure electricity flows from the battery to the different components that need power. A bad relay will drain your battery and make it difficult to start the ignition.

A corroded or defective alternator diode will faultily continue charging the circuit even when the car off. This, in turn, will drain your car battery and cause the car not to start.

What is the most common alternator failure? ›

One of the most common problems you're likely to experience with an alternator is a failure in the bearings. There are needle bearings in the alternator that allow the rotor to freely spin inside the housing, and those bearings can break down over time as a result of exposure to heat and dirt.