How to tell Battery is going bad?

[keg97]

How can you tell the battery is going? I've got a 3 year old battery and it seems to hesitate a split second before turning over? We are gliding into winter in the Mid-Atlantic and I don't want to get caught stranded. The battery is consistently showing high 13's/low 14's on the dashboard.
Thanks!

 

[swathdiver]

How can you tell the battery is going? I've got a 3 year old battery and it seems to hesitate a split second before turning over? We are gliding into winter in the Mid-Atlantic and I don't want to get caught stranded. The battery is consistently showing high 13's/low 14's on the dashboard.
Thanks!

With the engine running, that's alternator output. Check it at the terminals with a voltmeter. If you have a scan tool, it will show start up state of charge and previous state of charge and the temperature of the battery. If the temp gets high, it means that there's more resistance. A battery with a start up state of charge below 64% or so (can't remember exactly) means it is time for replacement.

Having said all that, it's probably time for a new one after three years on the east coast where it gets hot in the summer.

 

[Doubeleive]

$150 is cheap insurance so you don't end up stranded, 3 years is about all we get out them out here in Cali, beyond 3 years I can tell the difference
the best time to check the battery is in the morning before you start it the first time at the battery terminals

 

[OR VietVet]

Like what @swathdiver and @Doubeleive said but always check the cables for cleanliness and tightness and make sure there is no corrosion at the connections and inside the cable insulation just past the cable ends. That will cause a resistance problem as well.

 

[Tonyv__]

How can you tell the battery is going? I've got a 3 year old battery and it seems to hesitate a split second before turning over? We are gliding into winter in the Mid-Atlantic and I don't want to get caught stranded. The battery is consistently showing high 13's/low 14's on the dashboard.
Thanks!

Did it sound like this. Minus the alarm

 

[OR VietVet]

Did it sound like this. Minus the alarm

Great example

 

[keg97]

Not quite that slow but not far off. Looking back, I had to get a new battery just over 3 years into owning it. Now i'm due for another one just over 3 years later. I sense a pattern! I'll get a new one at Costco this week. Thanks all!

 

[Tonyv__]

Not quite that slow but not far off. Looking back, I had to get a new battery just over 3 years into owning it. Now i'm due for another one just over 3 years later. I sense a pattern! I'll get a new one at Costco this week. Thanks all!

I’m asking because mine wasn’t battery related. My starter was dying. I did a battery and cables. I thought it resolved it but it didn’t. The slow crank came back like 2 weeks later. I just bought a starter on a whim and it starts much much faster now

Another member had the same exact issue. I don’t remember who but I posted this video in their thread also and it was similar

 

[keg97]

I haven't seen much on starters on these rigs going. Mine's a '15i with only 118K so I'd be disappointed if a starter went that early.

 

[Tonyv__]

I haven't seen much on starters on these rigs going. Mine's a '15i with only 118K so I'd be disappointed if a starter went that early.

Mines a 15 with 60k miles. I was disappointed….

Hopefully battery fixes your issue but don’t rule out the starter