Checking if anyone knows the cut off voltage for the battery to be replaced in the northeast colder climate. I know down south it lasts longer.

 

Your question is vague. Under load, or not under load?

 

Battery strength isn't measured by voltage really, it's measured by CCA (cold cranking amps). A fully charged battery with no static discharge across the case should read about 12.6 volts under no load. If you're concerned about your battery, have it tested with an approved tester. I've seen and tested batteries that read over 12V but put out 100CCA.

 

Battery strength is measured in CCA, not voltage.

 

under no load. the starter sounds a bit slower in the early morning than the late afternoon. it is a sign of battery not holding charge for me. my voltage meter shows 12.2 after 1 day of no driving. 12.6v is at 100% charged and 12.24 is at 50% charged from info searching but that is at 80F degrees. voltage reading should be lower in the northeast? how much can we trust the multimeter reading to indicate the state of charge of the battery?

 

It is the season for batteries to take a crap... Just had to replace the battery in a friends, wifes van. And the one of the batteries in my fathers Ram 2500 is starting to get a little weak.

How old is the battery? It should have a sticker on it with the DOB. If it isn't a plain old DOB pattern, it'll be written as a letter, followed by a number. The letter is the month. A=January, B=March, and so forth. The number is the last digit for the decade. So 2008=8, and so on.

Are you sure something isn't drawing your battery down? Maybe something on your car is doing it, and the cold is just exaggerating it. Can always try un hooking the ground, and letting it sit for a day. See what happens.

 

I haven't look at the date. I don't think there is any battery draw. The battery is probably around 2.5 yrs old.

 

Don't places like autozone test your battery for free? Why not bring it to them and have it tested...it should tell you the voltage and CCA's of the battery, and you can make the decision from there. Age isn't always a deciding factor in a battery. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying age has nothing to do with it, but for what it's worth, I've seen brand new cars with bad batteries (especially moreso this time of year). If you're really concerned about a battery draw, try doing a parasitic drain test. Chances are the battery IS getting weak, and what you're seeing is considered a normal drain. But like I said, get the battery tested before you make a decision. And not just checking voltage, you need to get it load tested. Standing voltage is great and all, but when there's no amperage behind it, you get nothing.

 

Voltage isn't a good indicator. A 9V and a couple of AAA batteries will put out an indicated 12 volts....but isnt going to spin the starter.

I recently replaced my (original) battery, after I noticed is starting to make some relays under the dash chatter during cranking....so it wasn't dead, but it was certainly getting there. The colder the morning were, the stranger the sounds from under the dash.

New battery.....brUM! Brilliant starts now.