Do I need to replace my battery?

[JordanB]

Hi guys,
I woke up this morning and drove about 15min to a battery testing place (first drive of the day). Pulled in and turned off my car, the guy came out with one of those small bluetooth testers.

He said my battery (AGM if I recall) was at 100% battery health, but 67% State of charge which he said is a little low. Im trying to understand what that means, because I would assume my health would be low if my SOC is. Yesterday I drove a bunch (1hr to work, 1hr back), car then sat overnight when I did a 15min medium traffic drive to the battery place, not sure why my SoC would be low?

Edit: I've had my car for 20,000km (its at 112,000km), just checked and the previous owner changed the battery april last year (April 2023). So thats awesome for me. Battery is a Varta AGM 95Ah 850A

 

[Spanky]

Low SOC does not necessarily imply low SOH. There may be a parasitic load on the battery which was enough to drop the SOC to 67% overnight - perhaps remnants of an old tracker install or similar.

Unlikely that a 2023 Varta will be end of life already, possible, but unlikely.

Edit: Typo

 

[JordanB]

Low SOC does not necessarily imply low SOH. There may be a parasitic load on the battery which was enough to drop the SOC to 67% overnight - perhaps remants of an old tracker install or similar.

Unlikely that a 2023 Varta will be end of life already, possible, but unlikely.

Edit: Typo

Ah I see, is there any reason for me not to use a battery charger given how new and high health my battery is? If I cant find the parasitic drain, I could charge the battery every night? Not sure how bad that would be for it and if I need to take any precautions

 

[Spanky]

No risk using a trickle charger often, although I reckon that will get tiresome real quick. Especially nightly.

Perhaps take the car to another battery spot where they can do a complete load test to 100% rule out a battery issue. If the battery is fine, but you have recurring low battery warnings over time, commence the hunt for the source of idle drain.

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

No risk using a trickle charger often, although I reckon that will get tiresome real quick. Especially nightly.
I do this since I work from home and my car is often only used two days a week (160km round trip total). Its the best thing you can do for your battery. I suspect my battery is the one that originally came with the car and so far its not given me any issues.

 

[rodga]

Last Varta I had was replaced after 11 or 13 years, so I doubt it is the battery
Get a smart charger like ctek or optimate, my optimate has been going strong for 15+ years now
Also get a quick connect adapter that sits permanently in the car then charging is not such a mission

 

[JordanB]

Last Varta I had was replaced after 11 or 13 years, so I doubt it is the battery
Get a smart charger like ctek or optimate, my optimate has been going strong for 15+ years now
Also get a quick connect adapter that sits permanently in the car then charging is not such a mission

Something like this okay? https://optimate-battery-charger.co.za/shop/optimate-5-startstop-tm-220/ Im very scared I damage my battery somehow 😅

 

[rodga]

Something like this okay? https://optimate-battery-charger.co.za/shop/optimate-5-startstop-tm-220/ Im very scared I damage my battery somehow

Ya that's perfect
Just check what lithium options are also available as most newer cars are moving that direction