WHAT ARE THE COMMON CAUSES OF PREMATURE BATTERY FAILURES?
Normally, premature battery failures are caused by one or more of the failures listed below with water loss and sulfation the main offenders. Prior to 1980, plate or grid shorts were the most common failure. Since then the manufacturers have significantly improved the life expectancy by using better separators, plate alloys to reduce corrosion, and heat shields. Relocating starting batteries to the passenger compartment (or trunk) also has considerably decreased premature battery failures. Batteries that have been in use for longer periods of time will typically fail from multiple causes. All batteries will fail at some point in time from old age (positive plate shedding of active material or grid corrosion). [Source: Interstate Batteries] 12.1. For wet car batteries, lack of preventive maintenance, high underhood heat, fast recharging (greater than C/4), or overcharging causes a loss of water, which accounts for over 50% of the failures. For wet motive and stationary deep cycle batter
