Car Battery 9-3 2.0t 2006 - dying?

[mikseymono]

Car Battery (9-3 2.0t 2006) No problems with starting but just put my DMM on it, as you do, since my 30 min round trip two days ago and it reads 12.1V at rest. Done the load test as well with my handled jobbie. Think this is a bit on the low side. Starting, its just over 14v so alternator is working good. Battery was put in 27 August 2018 by previous owner but of course doesn't mean it was 100% when put in. I was under the impression that around the 12v  mark this is a sign that the battery is on its way out......guess 3.5 years is not so bad......do a fair amount of mainly short trips, so is my current battery manly enough? Thanks for your thoughts...

M

[sgould]

I have recovered one of my batteries with a modern charger with a reconditioning setting.

I use one like this.  https://www.tayna.co.uk/battery-chargers/ctek/xs-0-8/

[aerojon]

That battery is in need of a good 8-10hrs charge at 3-5amps(disconnected from car)..Then remove the charger,leave for 12hrs for the surface charge to dissipate then read battery again..Short trips will reduce a batteries life,the minimum voltage before damage occurs is on the battery 12.4..After that the plates will start to sulfate and capacity will diminish along with the batteries ability to hold a charge..
A battery isn't a fit and forget unit,it needs looking after like other wearable items on a vehicle..

[TomPaine]

As a possibly unhelpful aside I always replace batteries at five years now, even if they tell me at service time that it tests ok. All my previous ones tended to let go without warning at 5-7 years and you can guarantee that it'll be at the least convenient moment.

[Audax]

As a possibly unhelpful aside I always replace batteries at five years now, even if they tell me at service time that it tests ok.

It's a perfectly valid way to do things. It means you never have to pay full price as a distress purchase either as you can start shopping around before you need it so probably costs the same as replacing when it fails.

We stopped reporting battery status on service cards when I worked in the garage as a few times the testing device would say the battery was "OK" and then the customer would be unhappy when it failed a few weeks later.

[dave08]

I had that exact brand and model fitted in my 1.9tid.
Manufactured in 2015, bought in late 2016 and fitted in early 2017. Served me very well until a few months ago, when I decided to fit a new one. Although the car started fine, some times the ABS light took about 2 seconds to turn off. This started to happen when the weather got colder so I replaced it in November (6 years after manufactured date). Just like Audax wrote, it is better to do some research and buy a new one at a good price with time on your side.
Once I had another one (same model) in which one cell died after 7 years and showed around 10.1V when fully charged...
Hope it helps