Know How Now video: How to Tell if Car Battery is Bad: th-cam.com/video/qS3erq6eD40/w-d-xo.html Test Car Battery Voltage With a Multimeter th-cam.com/video/63UwowWtdBU/w-d-xo.html There are hundreds of videos at Know How Now, subscribe so you can always find the channel…. It’s free. I always respect your time and do my best to keep the videos brief, but informative. Check out the channel with this link: www.youtube.com/@Know-How-Now/videos
Just pulled my Subarus battery. 18 years old! and it STILL starts and runs. It's my daily driver! I couldn't believe it. It was starting to crank a little longer than usual so I checked it out and nearly died laughing. It's an original OEM battery on a 2001 Forester. It has super low miles so I figure somebody just never drove for the first 10 years of it's life. How insane is that though! I deserve a prize or something haha
Excellent video! Thank you for posting! Liked! I took screen captures of your two info slides and put them on my phone. Now I can be sure I'm buying the freshest battery. They begin to degrade right from the date of manufacture.
No date codes exist on my battery case. A round sticker that indicates "2/16" is on the side of the battery. Being that this is 2021, I find it hard to believe that a 5 1/2 year-old battery is still functioning well, at least not for much longer.
Early in the video you point to a sticker reading 12/12 and you state that the sticker date is the month/year of the shipping date, warranty start date or charge date. However, if your manufacture date code is 6M ie December 2016, none of the above can be true. No way it can be shipped, warrantied or charged BEFORE it has been manufactured.
Hi Gordon, there are two different batteries in the video. Perhaps you missed that? Sadly, it seems that the battery manufacturers make it difficult to determine information about the date it is made. I suppose it is a way to dodge warranty payouts.
OK Thanks for the reply. I did not notice the batteries were different but using two batteries was confusing. The date codes are so undecipherable I usually write the date on the battery in Sharpie.
You are welcome, if you haven't already done so, please consider supporting the channel and subscribing, it's free and it will help me continue to make more videos.
You didn't say what does the "KB" stand for in the "6MKB". What are the last 2 characters for or even mean? You also say that 6 stands for 2016, but the chart you use says that 6 = 2006. If we use your chart '6M' would be = 2006 - December. Not 2016. Can you please expand?
I have to politely beg to differ with you. I have a receipt for the battery and it is not possible that the date is Dec 2006. If you are still doubting, the car was manufactured in 2010 and this is the 2nd battery in the car.
Absolutely. A vendor or manufacturer will always attempt to push their oldest stock off on you first which means you might end up with a battery that is brand new but nearly expired. You are under no obligation to buy whatever they push across the counter at you. You have every right to peruse their stock and pick the freshest one. If they store them in the back and don't let you go back there for insurance reasons tell them to bring ALL of their stock up front so you can inspect them or go somewhere else. I've been a parts warehouse manager, counter sales manager and and then an ASE master tech for over 30 years and I have a lot of experience in selling, warrantying, diagnosing and replacing batteries and charging system components. Please remember many AGM batteries will not necessarily use the same date codes shown in this video. That is a system primarily used for lead acid batteries. AGM batteries "typically" don't have letters in the date codes. Typical AGM batteries still have a date that is etched into the case of the battery but the date is usually written in the format DDMMYY. If the date code were to be 150919, the battery would be manufactured on September 15th, 2019. NEVER touch a battery case new or used with your bare hands! Always wear nitrile gloves and dispose of them immediately. Always wear old cloths you don't mind getting holes in. I can personally assure you getting the top 6 layers of skin burned off your fingertips with sulfuric acid really sucks.
Hi, just got me a new calcium battery which made me curious as to when it was manufactured. I fear that it might be an old stock. Can you help me figure out the code stamps, mine had 2 letters as first digit.. on the positive terminal it stamped CX9N8 and on the Negative terminsl it stamped EM91... Apprecite your response TIA
If you look at the chart around the 2 minutes into the video you will see that 6 represents the last digit of the year. Batteries only last at best 5-6 years, often less than that. The video was made in 2017, so I can assume that the 6 must be 2016, not 2006 or 2026.
Susan I'm thinking the same thi g. Why not just put the actual date on the battery. Don't ever let me own a battery manufacturing company. There's gonna be some changes made.
So H6 would be August 2006? That can't be right, I just pulled the completely dead battery out of my 1997 Dodge 1500 this morning. It worked just fine yesterday. The guy at O'Reilly's said it was from 2006, how can that possibly be?
Brother may i ask my car battery is 95 AH - 450 A , if i pot 100 AH - and more than 450A is that will damage the car ( passat R36 ) ??? am grateful 💜🙏🏻
The video, is kind of old. Batteries rarely last over 7 years and many not that long. Since it's 2023, it would be 2016. If it were 2027, then it would mean 2026.
There is also a date code showing when the battery was manufactured. This is usually on a sticker attached to the battery or stamped into its case. It is a letter/number code. The standard convention is that the letter is the month of manufacture, alphabetically A through M but omitting I, with A being January and M being December. The number is the last digit in the year of manufacture. So, C6 is March 2006.
That's a head scratcher.....you need a secret squirrel decoder ring. lol. The only thought I have is to try searching for the manufacturer's website. They may have their date code format listed.
here i see a battery with 4 numbers and letter, well 4 in all, and and another battery with 8 numbers , now the battery with 8 numbers and letters, gave me a 5 for 2005, and a c for the month of march, and the lady here is giving the letters of her battery, and she is giving 6, for 2006, the m, for December, something different here, the code with 4 numbers, and the code with 8 numbers, this the code numbers that are stamped in the battery case.
How hard it is for manufacturers to just put a frigging date of when it was manufactured or will expire. Who tf has time for all this stupid secret letters:digits?
If you are cynical then they do it to make it hard to determine if the battery is covered by the warranty or maybe to see that the battery you bought is old.
Hi Bill, I have to politely beg to differ with you. I have a receipt for the battery and it is not possible that the date is Dec 2006. If you are still doubting, the car was manufactured in 2010.
Both the chart and the video are getting a little old. Perhaps I should have made my own chart for the year, I assumed that people understand that a "6" would mean 2006, 2016, 2026. If I would have taken the time to explain that, someone would be howling about me wasting their time. I believe that has already been done on this video's comments (always by someone who has never posted a video, they are the most critical.) That always makes me chuckle, because they have just wasted more time making the comment.
So far in this lifetime I've never had a battery last ten years. I think I had one last 7 years which is exceptional and that was the best battery I could buy. They usually only last 3-4 years.
On Everstart batteries there is a 5 digit code heat stamped just below the "made in Mexico" stamp on the top of the battery, usually in the corner next to the negative battery post.
@@Know-How-Now Thanks. I know Interstate battery charges theirs on a regular basis. Certain places probably do. But stores like Walmart probably dont. And they sell really fast at Walmart, so they dont need to. The (tractor supply) TSC store I bought this at marked all the batteries 12 months old at 50% off. Seems like it will be a good battery.
I agree, I can't imagine Walmart would recharge a battery. During the research for the video, I read that places like Interstate battery put a date sticker on the battery if they recharge it. I have a lot of experience with lead acid batteries, I don't know how much difference between those and car batteries. Lead acids, if they are older and they get drawn down low, they won't recharge. They also only have only so many charge cycles. My experience with car batteries, is that they last about as long as the battery is supposed to last. A three year battery lasts about three years. I've read that if you live in a very hot or cold climate, car batteries have a shorter life span. I'm sure how often you drive your car is also a factor. If winter is approaching and my battery is within 6 months of it's expected life. I get a new one. It sure beats turning the key when it's 20 degrees outside and hearing a click. It saves me from waiting in the cold for AAA.
@@Know-How-Now Thanks. Good advice. yes, some places do date batteries if charged, but they cant date sticker it newer than the actual battery of course. the date code is stamped into the plastic case. as you probably know.
useless info. because if it has 4 digits, then it could be year 2001, 2011, or 2021 if it's just the last digit of the year and the 1st digit of the 4 , is a 1. LOL
why didn't the companies just put the normal years and day and month, on a battery, and cut the bool shit crap, the battery's are bad as is, they have to screw every thing up, it's like a Honda car, star away from this car, that have no service , if you take a Honda in to the garage to fix something that on the warranty you will have to pay full price with tax to install what every it is, my automatic transmission is not working when the car is cold, and at Honda says it's normal, shocks frozen, all 4 of them, making a banging noise under the car, air conditioner gave out, problems with the alignment, some of the battery only last a year our so, some had told me that someone was steeling other people battery at night, and putting there old battery back in the car thy stolid it out of, tell every one to never buy a Honda, i think thy are putting all those crazy numbers and letters on battery's because the battery's are out dated, maybe used batters, and thy didn't wont the public to find out.
@@lmurray3202 Find a WW2 Vet that worked on deciphering German codes. He could PROBABLY help you out! Seriously, I would say the date is Aug 27, 2019....GO with it!
Know How Now video: How to Tell if Car Battery is Bad: th-cam.com/video/qS3erq6eD40/w-d-xo.html
Test Car Battery Voltage With a Multimeter th-cam.com/video/63UwowWtdBU/w-d-xo.html
There are hundreds of videos at Know How Now, subscribe so you can always find the channel…. It’s free. I always respect your time and do my best to keep the videos brief, but informative. Check out the channel with this link:
www.youtube.com/@Know-How-Now/videos
It should be mandatory to easily read the date of manufacture. Outrageous.
For real they don't want you to know what's going on
I just started a new job at a refurbishing center and this was the one thing nobody could explain to me fully. Thank you so much for this
You are welcome, John.
Just pulled my Subarus battery. 18 years old! and it STILL starts and runs. It's my daily driver! I couldn't believe it. It was starting to crank a little longer than usual so I checked it out and nearly died laughing. It's an original OEM battery on a 2001 Forester. It has super low miles so I figure somebody just never drove for the first 10 years of it's life. How insane is that though! I deserve a prize or something haha
A clear and succinct explanation. Thank you!
You are welcome! Thank you for the kind words.
after doing some research i found out that method mentioned in this video is just 1 out of like 4 more possible options for the code to be written
It takes CSI skills to tell how old the battery is
Yeah J that's what I'm thinking.
That sticker 12/12 means that it is due to be recharged @ that date or exchanged for a fresh battery with the company...
What's wrong with mm-dd-yy?
That would be too easy.... 😂😅
Excellent video! Thank you for posting! Liked!
I took screen captures of your two info slides and put them on my phone.
Now I can be sure I'm buying the freshest battery.
They begin to degrade right from the date of manufacture.
You are welcome! Thank you for taking the time to comment.
No date codes exist on my battery case. A round sticker that indicates "2/16" is on the side of the battery. Being that this is 2021, I find it hard to believe that a 5 1/2 year-old battery is still functioning well, at least not for much longer.
The last one I replaced lasted 7 years. It was the best battery I could buy. If you live in a really hot or cold climate, they won't last that long.
My battery is factory battery 2010 currently on year 13.
I just pulled an 18 year old battery out of my subaru. It can happen.
Early in the video you point to a sticker reading 12/12 and you state that the sticker date is the month/year of the shipping date, warranty start date or charge date.
However, if your manufacture date code is 6M ie December 2016, none of the above can be true. No way it can be shipped, warrantied or charged BEFORE it has been manufactured.
Hi Gordon, there are two different batteries in the video. Perhaps you missed that? Sadly, it seems that the battery manufacturers make it difficult to determine information about the date it is made. I suppose it is a way to dodge warranty payouts.
OK Thanks for the reply. I did not notice the batteries were different but using two batteries was confusing. The date codes are so undecipherable I usually write the date on the battery in Sharpie.
Informative video, thanks for taking the time.
You are welcome, if you haven't already done so, please consider supporting the channel and subscribing, it's free and it will help me continue to make more videos.
Can they make it any more complicated to determine the age of a freeken battery!!!!
Ryan they might get angry at us because they all went to college.lol
Please please delete this comment, we don't need to give them a chance to tell us "Okay, challenge accepted". LOL
It baffles me they can just put a normal date….
As some have suggested, it's to avoid warranty claims and maybe being able to get rid of old stock.
You didn't say what does the "KB" stand for in the "6MKB". What are the last 2 characters for or even mean?
You also say that 6 stands for 2016, but the chart you use says that 6 = 2006.
If we use your chart '6M' would be = 2006 - December. Not 2016.
Can you please expand?
i still wondering where she got the 2016 since is not in the guide. mine doesn't even start with a number. is J9FBB.
I'm just as confused as you are. The only code on mine says J8EBU
2006 not 2016... sticker is 12/12...duh???
I have to politely beg to differ with you. I have a receipt for the battery and it is not possible that the date is Dec 2006. If you are still doubting, the car was manufactured in 2010 and this is the 2nd battery in the car.
I was presuming that the viewer would be able to make the jump that 6 would mean 2006, 2016, 2026. I'm sorry you to confuse you.
@@Know-How-Now is hard to know I got confuse too.
Hi, do i need to pay attention to the date when I'm buying an pre filled AGM sealed battery? Thank you.
Absolutely. A vendor or manufacturer will always attempt to push their oldest stock off on you first which means you might end up with a battery that is brand new but nearly expired. You are under no obligation to buy whatever they push across the counter at you. You have every right to peruse their stock and pick the freshest one. If they store them in the back and don't let you go back there for insurance reasons tell them to bring ALL of their stock up front so you can inspect them or go somewhere else. I've been a parts warehouse manager, counter sales manager and and then an ASE master tech for over 30 years and I have a lot of experience in selling, warrantying, diagnosing and replacing batteries and charging system components. Please remember many AGM batteries will not necessarily use the same date codes shown in this video. That is a system primarily used for lead acid batteries. AGM batteries "typically" don't have letters in the date codes. Typical AGM batteries still have a date that is etched into the case of the battery but the date is usually written in
the format DDMMYY. If the date code were to be 150919, the battery would be manufactured on September 15th, 2019. NEVER touch a battery case new or used with your bare hands! Always wear nitrile gloves and dispose of them immediately. Always wear old cloths you don't mind getting holes in. I can personally assure you getting the top 6 layers of skin burned off your fingertips with sulfuric acid really sucks.
@@Rotten66Totten thank you very much. Cheers
Hi, just got me a new calcium battery which made me curious as to when it was manufactured. I fear that it might be an old stock. Can you help me figure out the code stamps, mine had 2 letters as first digit.. on the positive terminal it stamped CX9N8 and on the Negative terminsl it stamped EM91... Apprecite your response TIA
Very helpful
I still can’t figer it out.where did you get the 20 and 16 from
If you look at the chart around the 2 minutes into the video you will see that 6 represents the last digit of the year. Batteries only last at best 5-6 years, often less than that. The video was made in 2017, so I can assume that the 6 must be 2016, not 2006 or 2026.
Correct. I think the maker of this video misspoke as she explained it. She said 2006 and I think intended 2016. @@Know-How-Now
Mine is J-23 ship date. What does that mean?
My guess would be October 2023.
Just get to the frigging answer! How old is it???
Susan I'm thinking the same thi g. Why not just put the actual date on the battery. Don't ever let me own a battery manufacturing company. There's gonna be some changes made.
What does the 2 stand for after the -
So H6 would be August 2006? That can't be right, I just pulled the completely dead battery out of my 1997 Dodge 1500 this morning. It worked just fine yesterday. The guy at O'Reilly's said it was from 2006, how can that possibly be?
💐 thank you
You are welcome. Thanks for subscribing to the channel.
Brother may i ask my car battery is 95 AH - 450 A , if i pot 100 AH - and more than 450A is that will damage the car ( passat R36 ) ??? am grateful 💜🙏🏻
What about factory battery's like chrysler
On your list the 6 said 2006, why is that? Is it 2006 or 16
The video, is kind of old. Batteries rarely last over 7 years and many not that long. Since it's 2023, it would be 2016. If it were 2027, then it would mean 2026.
So is like trying to figure out Q codes. Watch the water, lol
what does A7 mean? August 2017?
There is also a date code showing when the battery was manufactured. This is usually on a sticker attached to the battery or stamped into its case. It is a letter/number code. The standard convention is that the letter is the month of manufacture, alphabetically A through M but omitting I, with A being January and M being December. The number is the last digit in the year of manufacture. So, C6 is March 2006.
I have a problem... I have a heat stamp 70962AEF 1880
Any thoughts???
That's a head scratcher.....you need a secret squirrel decoder ring. lol. The only thought I have is to try searching for the manufacturer's website. They may have their date code format listed.
here i see a battery with 4 numbers and letter, well 4 in all, and and another battery with 8 numbers , now the battery with 8 numbers and letters, gave me a 5 for 2005, and a c for the month of march, and the lady here is giving the letters of her battery, and she is giving 6, for 2006, the m, for December, something different here, the code with 4 numbers, and the code with 8 numbers, this the code numbers that are stamped in the battery case.
If you allow the date of production of this battery
0387A4C
2007 april
@@russbirzescu2579 Thank you for your response, but I purchased the battery on 28/8/2018 and have a six month warranty
So why don't they just put the damn date on it and...put it on the front side of the battery so you don't have to use a mirror to read the damn date.
If you are cynical, it's a way to make a warranty claim difficult.
Stupid manufacturers, I can't find it without removing all the wires.
How hard it is for manufacturers to just put a frigging date of when it was manufactured or will expire. Who tf has time for all this stupid secret letters:digits?
If you are cynical then they do it to make it hard to determine if the battery is covered by the warranty or maybe to see that the battery you bought is old.
That's a 2009-2014 Honda Fit, right?
You are correct.
6MKB is 2006 Dec not 2016 Dec
Hi Bill, I have to politely beg to differ with you. I have a receipt for the battery and it is not possible that the date is Dec 2006. If you are still doubting, the car was manufactured in 2010.
@@Know-How-Now 12MKB seems more appropriate vs 6MKB
Both the chart and the video are getting a little old. Perhaps I should have made my own chart for the year, I assumed that people understand that a "6" would mean 2006, 2016, 2026. If I would have taken the time to explain that, someone would be howling about me wasting their time. I believe that has already been done on this video's comments (always by someone who has never posted a video, they are the most critical.) That always makes me chuckle, because they have just wasted more time making the comment.
@@Know-How-Now yeah but then it could be 10 years old. it's really bad of them to not give us a regular mfr date. like, MMM-00-0000.
So far in this lifetime I've never had a battery last ten years. I think I had one last 7 years which is exceptional and that was the best battery I could buy. They usually only last 3-4 years.
🅰➕ 😎😎 Great informative video ✨✨ Excellent 🌈⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌈Thank You!⭐️
You are welcome and thank you for the compliment.
i think it might mean 2015 but who knows...
thank you
You are welcome.
looks to me like 6M is dec 2006, not dec 2016?????
I guess I needed to explain a little better, could be 2006, 2016, 2026, 2046.
Why the hell don’t they just write the date like normal people?
Some people suspect that it is to avoid paying out for warranties. Also, people might not want to buy a battery with an older manufacturing date.
Crooks always want to be invisible
ty
You are welcome
THANKS
You are welcome.
Is there a reason why these turds make it so difficult to tell the date of purchase?
Some folks think it is so they don't have to honor warranty claims.
Walmart Everstart Maxx with "2/22" sticker, and "3281252763" heat stamped.
How does heat stamp relate to sticker?
On Everstart batteries there is a 5 digit code heat stamped just below the "made in Mexico" stamp on the top of the battery, usually in the corner next to the negative battery post.
Mine is D16HK It's as clear as mud why don't the have a universal process Wtf
Some people speculate that the confusing date code is to discourage warranty claims.
What about a battery that sat in the store for 12 months? It still has a charge of 12.4 volts.
I've read that retailers have to recharge them after a while. I don't know if that is true.
@@Know-How-Now Thanks. I know Interstate battery charges theirs on a regular basis. Certain places probably do. But stores like Walmart probably dont. And they sell really fast at Walmart, so they dont need to. The (tractor supply) TSC store I bought this at marked all the batteries 12 months old at 50% off. Seems like it will be a good battery.
I agree, I can't imagine Walmart would recharge a battery. During the research for the video, I read that places like Interstate battery put a date sticker on the battery if they recharge it.
I have a lot of experience with lead acid batteries, I don't know how much difference between those and car batteries. Lead acids, if they are older and they get drawn down low, they won't recharge. They also only have only so many charge cycles.
My experience with car batteries, is that they last about as long as the battery is supposed to last. A three year battery lasts about three years. I've read that if you live in a very hot or cold climate, car batteries have a shorter life span. I'm sure how often you drive your car is also a factor. If winter is approaching and my battery is within 6 months of it's expected life. I get a new one. It sure beats turning the key when it's 20 degrees outside and hearing a click. It saves me from waiting in the cold for AAA.
@@Know-How-Now Thanks. Good advice. yes, some places do date batteries if charged, but they cant date sticker it newer than the actual battery of course. the date code is stamped into the plastic case. as you probably know.
@@Know-How-Now good thoughts, I didn't even get a "click"...
👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
Thanks for the seal of approval, Kevin!
Some reseller are bulshit
useless info. because if it has 4 digits, then it could be year 2001, 2011, or 2021 if it's just the last digit of the year and the 1st digit of the 4 , is a 1. LOL
Car batteries don't last 10 years.
why didn't the companies just put the normal years and day and month, on a battery, and cut the bool shit crap, the battery's are bad as is, they have to screw every thing up, it's like a Honda car, star away from this car, that have no service , if you take a Honda in to the garage to fix something that on the warranty you will have to pay full price with tax to install what every it is, my automatic transmission is not working when the car is cold, and at Honda says it's normal, shocks frozen, all 4 of them, making a banging noise under the car, air conditioner gave out, problems with the alignment, some of the battery only last a year our so, some had told me that someone was steeling other people battery at night, and putting there old battery back in the car thy stolid it out of, tell every one to never buy a Honda, i think thy are putting all those crazy numbers and letters on battery's because the battery's are out dated, maybe used batters, and thy didn't wont the public to find out.
My Batt information is BA3AUG2709. It doesn't follow the example above?
@@lmurray3202 Find a WW2 Vet that worked on deciphering German codes. He could PROBABLY help you out! Seriously, I would say the date is Aug 27, 2019....GO with it!