Puma battery life

[Marty110]

How long have other puma owners got out of their original batteries? Mine is 3 years old and my original battery if left in the shed for 3-4 days drops down to 12.3 volts - is it needing replacing yet?? Never seems to charge up beyond 12.6 volts. I have had it on my CTEK charger for a few days to make sure its fully charged - no difference, still drops off when left in the shed. Thanks in advance.

[Gerokent]

6 years, still going strong. Used nearly every day. Hope I haven't jinxed myself.

[Iain_B]

OEM battery dead after 2 years. Replaced under warranty.

[chook73]

Mine lasted just over 3 years.....

[Scallops]

6 years and good as gold.

[scarry]

My son's puma battery was replaced just before vehicle was out of warranty,almost 3 yrs old.

Since then he has been having intermittent battery trouble,eventually located the terminals were not tightened correctly when it was changed.

i wouldn't worry about 12.3V after 3 to 4 days.

My D4 battery after 3 to 4 days is often on 11.9V,haven't had any starting issues yet(touch wood)

Geez,some of you guys have had a good run at 6yrs.

[n plus one]

3.5 years before I replaced it with Odysseys - still running my work lights just fine...

[jddisco200tdi]

5 years for original puma battery but it is wired in parallel with another battery.
Car sometimes sits for upto 3 weeks unused and voltage is usually still above 12.6v

I sometimes think about pulling the batteries and and charging them but as yet have not bothered.

HTH

John D - Defender 110 2.4

[Brid]

Close to 6 years and still no indication of it tapering off.

[Sue]

My son's puma battery was replaced just before vehicle was out of warranty,almost 3 yrs old.



How did he get a 3 year warranty on a Puma.. when I tried to get an extended warranty on mine they said they won't do them on Defenders.. :)

And I have to wonder how many of the posters here have just jinxed them selves.. :p

[scarry]

How did he get a 3 year warranty on a Puma.. when I tried to get an extended warranty on mine they said they won't do them on Defenders.. :)

And I have to wonder how many of the posters here have just jinxed them selves.. :p

umm,don't they have 3 yrs warranty from new?

Or am i dreaming....

You are correct,i think there is no extended warranty on them:(

[Sue]

Yep you're dreaming... two years is the norm.. :)

[Yorkshire_Jon]

It all depends on how you use you batteries...

Treat it like you would any other car and it'll last for a long while. Start hanging a fridge on it or other low power drain items and the life is dramatically reduced.

Also the quality of people's aftermarket / DIY wiring often leaves a lot to be desired (even some garages wiring is rubbish) and introduces earth leakage. This also helps to kill a battery.

I have an Odyssey PC1700 FMJ in my Defender (actually its been in 4 of them), bought it in 2002, still going great! I've also had Odyssey PC1700's, they don't last as long as the FMJ's.

Hth
J

Sent using Forum Runner

[chook73]

umm,don't they have 3 yrs warranty from new?

Or am i dreaming....

You are correct,i think there is no extended warranty on them:(


My factory warranty was 3 years

[n plus one]

My factory warranty was 3 years

Same here.

[scarry]

Yep you're dreaming... two years is the norm.. :)

Well i could look in the handbook,but if it is with the vehicle, in the center console,it is currently on the OTT on the Cape.....:p

Back to dreaming:D

[Sue]

You guys are right sorry.. 3 years.. or 100,000 kms.. I was confused as I've almost done that amount of kms which means that my warranty is out after two years.. :)

[scarry]

You guys are right sorry.. 3 years.. or 100,000 kms.. I was confused as I've almost done that amount of kms which means that my warranty is out after two years.. :)

Lots of k's on the M1.....

Actually 2yr/60K warranty was on most if not all LR's until around MY01;)

It then went to the industry standard of 3yrs/100,although with some manufacturers it is creeping to 5yrs.

[Jacko44]

5 years

[Scallops]

Mine is now into it's 7th year and so I had it tested.....still perfectly fine. Mine is linked to a 120 Amp hour deep cycle battery via Drivesafe's Traxide dual battery thingo, and I suspect this, along with how I use the vehicle, is what is keeping my batteries lasting so long.

1. All my drives are at least 25 km.
2. I hook my batteries up to a Battery Fighter charger/maintainer whilst parked.
3. All accessories powered from deep cycle battery
4. Both batteries have discharge/ recharge controlled by SC-40 traxide kit.

[Lionel]

Mine is now into it's 7th year and so I had it tested.....still perfectly fine. Mine is linked to a 120 Amp hour deep cycle battery via Drivesafe's Traxide dual battery thingo, and I suspect this, along with how I use the vehicle, is what is keeping my batteries lasting so long.

1. All my drives are at least 25 km.
2. I hook my batteries up to a Battery Fighter charger/maintainer whilst parked.
3. All accessories powered from deep cycle battery
4. Both batteries have discharge/ recharge controlled by SC-40 traxide kit.

I thnk Defender batteries have much more potential for long life due to the fact that they are not in the engine compartment. Much less ambient heat as a result.

A hot environment is hard on a battery, & my TD5 Defender's OEM battery is still OK after 9 years.

Puma batteries should last above the average also.

Cheers,

Lionel

[miky]

June 2010 defender 110
3 years and 8 months.
Battery just dropped dead.

Auxiliary is an Exide Orbital Blue: ORB34DC-48
CCA = 750/50
RC = 100

So I think I will replace dead one with another one of these.

[spudfan]

2008 Defender still on the origional battery - will be 6 years old this June. Used as the family hack so lots of starts during the day but long journeys too. Never even hinted at a non start during the Winter cold spells.

[roley18]

For the record original main battery 8 years old on a 2008 Puma, no issues. Dual battery setup for 7 of those years. Might just change it as heading way out remote this winter.
But what to replace it with ?

[spudfan]

2008 Defender still on the origional battery - will be 6 years old this June. Used as the family hack so lots of starts during the day but long journeys too. Never even hinted at a non start during the Winter cold spells.
8 years old now and still the original battery. Used daily.

[Toxic_Avenger]

Bugger... Mine was in for 3 years, and I removed it to do my dual battery install. Was planning to use it as a removable 3rd battery for camping, but some bugger flogged the battery while it was in the carport!

May the fleas of 1000 camels infest their scrotum, and may their arms be too short to scratch it.

[PAT303]

I've done three in 5 years. Pat

[austastar]

Hi,
I got 5 years out of the original.

Cheers

[DiscoMick]

The original battery in my 2009 Defender only died earlier this year, so that's a good run.
BTW when you go to replace it, if you want the same as the original, which are supposed to be good batteries, note that there are two sizes which look similar and the Defender needs the larger one, which should last longer than the smaller one.

[austastar]

Hi, The original is 700 Cold Cranking Amps I believe. I was only able to get a 600 CCA as I was stuck with a dead battery in the first town for quite a few days.
My ideal would have been to replace it with a pair of Optima batteries, but that was not possible with out some modification to the battery box, and we were due to catch the ferry home in a few days. That was my main worry, getting stuck in front of a line of vehicles waiting to disembark in Devonport and trying to charge a flat battery from the generator would have been just too much.
Cheers

[davidgate]

I just replaced mine on a 2011 Puma (almost exactly 5 years). I searched around for a like for like replacement and came up with an RACQ 3884. They came out and fitted it for free (if you're a member)

It has a higher CCA at 850A. The guy commented on all the cables in addition to the main earth on the -ve terminal - said I should get rid of them as they were a source of current leakage - anyone know the facts behind this comment?

[DiscoMick]

Mine came from Battery World at Camp Creek in Brisbane. The guy looked it up and he had the identical battery in the storeroom. It is a Varta. I can't remember the specs and I'm not with the vehicle, but he read off the screen that there are two sizes and the Defender needs the larger one. He said Varta batteries are top quality.
Actually, my old one wasn't completely dead and might have lasted a while longer with regular use, but it was getting weak and I didn't want to be stranded on a trip, so I didn't take any chances.

[austastar]

- said I should get rid of them as they were a source of current leakage - anyone know the facts behind this comment?

I fail to see how a cable could be the source of a leakage.
My negative earth connection to the battery is not well designed and failed the other day. It had loosened to the point of no current at all.


Cheers

[roley18]

So I finally replaced the original Varta battery in my 2008 Defender after 8 years. At rest this battery was sitting at 12.1 VDC and I'd noticed the central locking was locking/unlocking slowly and engine cranking was also hesitant on occasion.

I replaced with a Century DIN75LHMF which has a CCA of 910 and reserve capacity of 180amps, more than the standard Varta. The length of this Century is 315mm which is shorter than the Varta which is a bonus for me as I'd installed one of the earlier Piranha dual battery trays which has a tray length for the primary battery at 325mm. The Varta battery had been slightly too long for the tray even after cutting off the mounting feet.

[Gerokent]

just replaced mine, 9 years (2007). Wouldn't hold charge when left for a week.