Joy

[gsh]

Joy is getting up in the morning, checking my pay stub to see what I'll actually be getting now that my yearly it isn't supposed to be a cost of living no matter what everyone calls it pay increase has kicked in to find *drumroll* I'm taking home ten bucks less a pay period than I was last year.

Joy is finding out the car won't start.

Joy is being able to get your wife on the cell phone to bring the jeep home so I can jump the saturn.

Joy is finding the battery on the saturn won't hold a charge, no matter that its a 2003.

Joy is having an Admiral give a walk through sometime in the day.

Comments

[dckermit.livejournal.com]

But there was a tax cut. Didn't you get the memo?

[gsh]

Well, my fed tax did go down $3.14 cents. My health care went up about $74.

[tamarinne.livejournal.com]

*hug*

[make-your-move.livejournal.com]

Sorry babe! *hugs you*

(put on the feet icon to make you smile)

[reedrover]

I'm sorry!

At least you got a not-cost-of-living-raise. Mine won't kick in until next November.

[nminusone.livejournal.com]

Hey, sorry to hear about all that crappy stuff. I could give you a hug or something but, uh, you know... *stands back and tries to look manly*

Instead I'll be literal boy: many car batteries can't tolerate being mostly or totally discharged. They may seem to have some life after that but they're mostly trash, won't hold a charge, die easily in cold etc. Some fare a bit better but in general if it got really far discharged it's trash and consider replacing it soon.

There are special "deep cycle" batteries that can tolerate this, and many marine batteries are deep cycle types, but most car batteries can't take it at all.

[gsh]

I have a firm belief that car batteries should last at least five years. I acknowledge this belief isn't based on any statistical evidence of how long car battries *do* last, but rather it is an expression of how long they *should* last.

[gsh]

Its ok. I know plenty of people are worse off then me. I also forgot to account for the 30 bucks a pay period I'm sending to the Red Cross.

[gsh]

Thanks for the flirty feet icon. :)

[nminusone.livejournal.com]

5 years would be nice but for normal batteries, deep cycling them is too abusive. It's like turning your TV on by throwing bricks at the power button.

I have a Die Hard Gold that has survived 1 deep cycle lots better than other batteries I've had, but even it is very noticably weaker than beforehand. Come to think of it now that it's winter I should probably replace it. If we get a truly cold day I can easily imagine it failing to start.

[gsh]

I don't really belive that I deep cycle my car batteries, starting my car twice a day then driving 18 miles to work SHOULD NOT be deep cycling them. My car starts fine, so I'm not cranking and cranking it to start it.

[nminusone.livejournal.com]

I should have been more clear. If the battery ever gets so discharged that it really needed a jump, that was probably enough of a deep cycle to damage it somewhat. (A full discharge would be worse, of course.) Different batteries will take that treatment better or worse, and it sounds like yours is taking it worse.

5 years would be nice. Now that I think about it, some batteries have warranties. If they die early you can get a pro-rated refund. I did that once and they didn't even ask questions about how it had got dead.

It's not a problem, it's a design feature

[dckermit.livejournal.com]

Most people trade in their cars ever 2-3 years. Thus, any battery that is designed to last longer is over-designed for the application, and there's money to be squeezed out of the design. This is not an attitude I endorse, but it is the prevailing attitude in most companies.

I've had good luck with DieHard batteries. I don't even think twice about trying to milk the factory battery longer than its first failure; I immediately replace it.