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From: Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.tech
Subject: Re: car service question
Date: Mon, 02 Jun 2025 17:11:13 -0700
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On Mon, 2 Jun 2025 13:22:45 -0500, Mark J cleary
<mcleary08@comcast.net> wrote:

>Ok it is not a bike but this is a good group. My 2019 Ford Escape needs 
>new battery it is the original. No trouble but going to replace due to 
>age voltage on meter says 12.4 a but under but ok.
>
>I also need an oil change. I generally use the quick lube place down the 
>street but one stop seems to be the easiest.
>
>I made an appointment at the Walmart I go to for groceries. I am a bit 
>dubious of Walmart for auto stuff but frankly they could be just as good 
>was anything else. There batteries are way cheaper than AutoZOne and 
>Orielly.
>
>So did I make as mistake should I have gone to a regular car service 
>center. My Escape runs fine only 30K miles on it.

It's probably to late but this might be useful for others shopping for
car batteries.  With lead-acid car and UPS batteries, what you're
paying for is the lead and lead oxide.  The more lead in a given size
battery, the longer it will last.  Therefore, the idea is to buy the
heaviest (actually the most dense) battery possible.  Since lead
(11.34 g/cm^3) is about 6 times as dense as sulfuric acid (1.83
g/cm^3) any attempt to replace lead with electrolyte is going to be
obvious in the math.  Also, if you look at distributor (and possibly
warehouse) pricing, you'll find that the more expensive batteries
weigh more.

However, you can't trust the battery weights from eBay, Amazon, and
various big box stores.  They all lie about the weight of their
batteries.  Bring your own electronic or spring scale, straps, and a
stiff bar or pipe to suspend the scale.  If you don't want suspend the
battery, find an electronic platform scale and weigh the battery on
the ground.
<https://www.google.com/search?q=platform%20scale&udm=2>

There seem to be a variety of battery types available.  Rather than
list all the possible, I'll leave that exercise to the reader.  Also,
since the weight varies somewhat between Lead-Acid, LiIon and AGM
batteries, I can't provide an estimated battery weight.

Kelly Blue Book comments on your car and battery:
<https://www.kbb.com/ford/escape/2019/battery-replacement/>

When you measured the battery voltage, was the engine running and the
battery charging?  If so, turn off the engine, let the battery cool
down, and then measure the voltage at the battery terminals with the
engine *NOT* running and the headlights, A/C, dashboard, etc turned
*OFF*.
<https://www.google.com/search?q=battery%20voltage%20with%20engine%20off>
"A good car battery should read 12.4-12.9 volts when the car is off.
Anything lower doesn't necessarily mean the battery is bad. Your car's
electrical system may have drained it, or there may be an issue with
your alternator".



-- 
Jeff Liebermann                 jeffl@cruzio.com
PO Box 272      http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann      AE6KS    831-336-2558