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12V battery life

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by David Beale, May 31, 2013.

  1. Prius DIY nut

    Prius DIY nut Member

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    I did go ahead and installed a new Motomaster Eliminator brand battery S46B24R made in US by East Penn. Recharged the new battery before install. Ordered a battery tester online to compare the new battery with the original one.
     
  2. Prius DIY nut

    Prius DIY nut Member

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    I now have the old and new batteries test results using my new Motopower tester.

    12 years old battery showed only 300CCA vs. 325CCA rated and 80% SoH life left, while new battery shows significantly higher 449CCA than rated and 100% SoH (State of Health). Of course these CCA numbers are not important for Prius vehicle, but they still contain good information about the battery health.

    Overall, I could continue using this old battery, but I know that the vehicle will be more reliable and may even have its fuel economy slightly improved (unlikely though) with the new battery.

    * - I wish this website files upload feature does not fail to attach this tester printouts, but the website gives me error every time I try to upload.
     
  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    I've yet to purchase a CT battery for our Prius. Am thinking about it for next time, though their prices have skyrocketed. That said, I've purchased 2 or 3 for other family members, and it's worked out well. The cases and posts looked pretty much identical to what was being pulled out.
     
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  4. Prius DIY nut

    Prius DIY nut Member

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    Good to know, thanks Mendel! Since you are looking after and maintaining your 12V battery, you may never need to replace it.
    My old battery was fully discharged by me one time a few years back by leaving the cabin back light on and I do not know if something like that happened before I got this used vehicle.

    My own conclusion is this 12V battery in Pruis can last a very long time, well beyond normal life expectancy in ICE vehicles, if it is properly looked after.
     
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  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    We're doing under 5k kms yearly, normally would be detrimental to battery life, but I keep a CTEK 4.3 smart charger on it, pretty much all the time. The current battery's been in there over 8 years now, still testing like new.
     
  6. bdc101

    bdc101 Member

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    AGM batteries typically last longer than normal lead acid batteries. Deep discharges are what wears out all lead acid batteries, and AGM versions can handle 2-3 times as many, as well as having better performance in extreme temperatures. So this is to be expected.
     
  7. Prius DIY nut

    Prius DIY nut Member

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    Thanks to you, I am keeping my 12V battery on this MotoMaster Eliminator charger and maintainer all the time too.
     
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