Battery Failure, Real or Perceived
Battery manufactures use capacityto specify battery performance, and a new battery should have 100 percent. This means that a 2Ah battery should deliver two amperes for one hour. If the battery quits after 30 minutes, then the capacity is only 50 percent. Manufacturers use capacity to specify warranty obligations. Depending on chemistry and application, the warranty threshold is set between 70 and 80 percent of the specified full capacity.
How does the user know when to claim warranty failure on a battery, or when to replace a pack that no longer performs as expected? Battery replacement has been an ongoing problem and the lack of easy-to-use testing procedures is in part to blame. On one hand, an aging battery may be kept too long until it begins affecting operation, while on the other hand perfectly good batteries are being replaced because of equipment problems or operator misapprehension. This commonly occurs with consumer products under warranty, especially cell phones. If the charge on a cell phone does not hold, the user naturally blames the battery when in many cases the fault lies in the device.
Cell phone manufacturers say that 90 percent of batteries returned under warranty have no problem, and tests conducted in the Cadex laboratories confirm this finding. Many storefronts replace the batteries on the faintest complaint, and this frivolous battery return policy costs the manufacturers millions of dollars per year. Unrealistic expectations, perceived performance loss and lack of practical testing equipment contribute to this wasteful battery exchange behavior.
Generous battery replacement policies are not limited to portable equipment alone: one German manufacturer of luxury cars points out that out of 400 starter batteries returned under warranty, 200 are working well and have no problem. Low charge and acid stratification are the most common causes of the apparent failure. This problem is more frequent with large luxury cars featuring power-hungry accessories than with the more basic models. A genuine factory defect is seldom the cause, and a leading European manufacturer of starter batteries says that factory defects cause less than seven percent of the returned warranty batteries. Similar to the cell phone industry, the manufacturer of the starter battery must take responsibility for a problem that may be customer-induced.
Battery failure in Japan is the largest complaint among new owners. Motorists drive an average 13 km (8 miles) per day in congested cities. With the stop-and-go pattern, the battery has little chance to get fully charged and sulfation occurs. North America may be shielded from such battery problems in part because of the long-distance driving. Read more about Sulfation.
Comments
Good day! I want to cite this article on our research paper. May I know who is the author and the year it was published?
Hi,
I’ve been looking for reasons as to why an electric razor would start again after seemingly running out of battery. Specifically, so i can point out to this individual that he doesn’t have super powers !!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvHOw6_I8Hs
I assume there’s some residual charge left but not sure how it works. Thanks !
una buona lettura tutto sulle pile , baqtterie da no perdersi