ok, i think i got the words record going on here for batteries. Every 3rd gen i've owned has chewed up and spit out it's battery about every 5 years. My k5's can usually go 7-8, (TBI seems to be easier on batteries than TPI) Well, I had my 'beater' car in the shop the other day, and the battery died on it (hey, it's ONLY been in the single digits/below 0 of late!) Gotta admire a car that dies in the shops parking lot instead of your own. Anyway, they went to change the battery, and found out it was the ORIGINAL battery. In an 89 olds with 125k on the odometer! Now battery life is a function of cycles, age and load, so can anyone top an 18 year old battery in an EFI car????
CK5
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Worlds record battery?
- Thread starter 92k1500CO
- Start date
Damn...I've never heard of an 18 year old battery working in ANY car...
I assume you had it on a maintenance charger of some sort, at least part of the time?
I assume you had it on a maintenance charger of some sort, at least part of the time?
It must be an AC Delco.
I have seen them get close to that mileage. In fact, I just changed one with 105,000 miles a few days ago, but that is a 2001. 18 years is really unusual - about 9x the life of a Wal-mart battery.
I have seen them get close to that mileage. In fact, I just changed one with 105,000 miles a few days ago, but that is a 2001. 18 years is really unusual - about 9x the life of a Wal-mart battery.
Tell your shop that they are mistaken on the date code of that battery. There is no battery in automotive use that will last 18 years. I'm going to say that the battery is only 9 years old which is still good for an automotive battery.
dcubb
1/2 ton status
One of my friends has a '98 Explorer which he bought new early '98. It still has the original battery that's just now starting to show it's age.
Randy92782
1 ton status
My '85 Blazer has it's original battery.....
j/k That's unreal
j/k That's unreal
redneckdude
1/2 ton status
thats not terribly unusual for motorcraft batteries...ive heard of a few 10 year MCs...
for the most part, 3-4 years is the typical life expectancy of a battery.
Surrette's will last a life time.. An advantage to a rebuildable battery.. 
But they don't have an "automotive" battery, closest would be diesel or marine batteries..
I've seen a few decade old auto ones, but generally 5 yrs seems to be about average..
But they don't have an "automotive" battery, closest would be diesel or marine batteries..
I've seen a few decade old auto ones, but generally 5 yrs seems to be about average..
World's Record Car Battery?
actually, if this had been a jiffy lube or something I would have suspected they got the date wrong. But it's a performance shop that specializes in chevy, and we checked it twice. Just like all the major manufacturers, GM buys their batteries/tires/belts etc in bulk. And they are not quite the same as the ones we buy off the shelf. So in addition to the date, it's an actual AC Delco from the factory. Now, I'm not the original owner of this car (i would NEVER have let a battery go that long!) so it's possible the original owner A/ had the battery on some type of charger and/or B/ that he worked for a GM dealership and somehow got a 'factory' battery for this car. We've found a fair amount of original stuff on this car including hoses, and a 19 year old car with only 118k on it (when i bought it) was apparently not driven that much. So it was in overall pretty good shape, but an 18 year old functional battery still floors me. Of course, i have an 87 IROC with the ORIGINAL exhaust still on it from the manifold all the way to the tailpipes, while the engine/tranny/rear/suspension and almost anything else you can think of have been rebuit/changed etc. And the exhaust is usually some of the first major parts to rot out. So you just never know!
actually, if this had been a jiffy lube or something I would have suspected they got the date wrong. But it's a performance shop that specializes in chevy, and we checked it twice. Just like all the major manufacturers, GM buys their batteries/tires/belts etc in bulk. And they are not quite the same as the ones we buy off the shelf. So in addition to the date, it's an actual AC Delco from the factory. Now, I'm not the original owner of this car (i would NEVER have let a battery go that long!) so it's possible the original owner A/ had the battery on some type of charger and/or B/ that he worked for a GM dealership and somehow got a 'factory' battery for this car. We've found a fair amount of original stuff on this car including hoses, and a 19 year old car with only 118k on it (when i bought it) was apparently not driven that much. So it was in overall pretty good shape, but an 18 year old functional battery still floors me. Of course, i have an 87 IROC with the ORIGINAL exhaust still on it from the manifold all the way to the tailpipes, while the engine/tranny/rear/suspension and almost anything else you can think of have been rebuit/changed etc. And the exhaust is usually some of the first major parts to rot out. So you just never know!
