In our country today there are a huge number of drivers who try to keep their vehicle as well as possible. The date of manufacture of the battery is one of the most important indicators that you should pay attention to when buying a power source for the car. The fact is that over time, the technical characteristics and ability to hold a charge on a battery deteriorate significantly, therefore, in order for a new battery to last as long as possible, you should buy only batteries that were manufactured and put on sale relatively recently. At the same time, it is very important to be able to independently determine the release date, since not all sellers provide this information to their customers. Therefore, every car enthusiast should know where the date of manufacture is indicated on the battery.
General information
As practice shows, only a few motorists pay attention to the date of manufacture of the battery when replacing this unit in their vehicle, resulting in a lot of problems in the future. But the date when the battery was made is the main indicatorsuitability of the autonomous power source for operation.
The whole problem is that the release date itself is not indicated on the battery, instead a certain code is knocked out, on the basis of which the battery manufacturing date can be decoded. In most cases, it is indicated on the factory sticker. The ability to understand the markings of manufacturers of automotive parts will allow you not only to determine in which year the battery was produced, but also, in case of any problems, to establish the possible causes of the malfunction.
Battery life
Absolutely all batteries have a certain service life. If the battery was manufactured in accordance with all international standards and stored in full accordance with the factory recommendations, its useful life is:
- for dry-charged batteries - 2 years;
- for rechargeable batteries - no more than one and a half years;
- rechargeable, uncharged batteries have a 5-year lifespan.
Thus, if you know how to determine the date of manufacture of the battery, you can always buy only a high-quality and fully functional battery.
A few words about the European label
Today, you can find car batteries from a huge number of European brands on the market, so it is very important to be able to decipher the markings used in the EU countries. European manufacturers do not print any technical information onfactory sticker, and engrave it on the battery case. In this case, the code can be both alphabetic and numeric, here everything depends on the specific manufacturer. Next, we will look at the format in which markings are used by various manufacturers, as well as how to find out the date of manufacture of the battery from the markings.
Battery from manufacturer Varta
Varta is a world famous German company specializing in the production of car batteries. On its batteries, this brand indicates an alphanumeric marking that is applied to the battery cover. The number of characters in the code depends on the year of issue. For example, the manufacturing date of Varta batteries manufactured before 2014 was written as follows:
- the year was indicated by the last digit in the fourth position;
- the month was written in the 5th and 6th positions;
- the day was indicated as a two-digit number in the 7th and 8th marking block.
It is worth noting that until 2013 the company also used color marking. On the factory sticker there was a circle of a certain color, each of which corresponded to a specific quarter of the year.
Batteries from Bosch
The manufacturing date of the Bosch battery has a more simplified notation compared to Varta batteries. The year in which the battery was manufactured is indicated in two places - on the cover and on the front side. In this case, the marking has the form of a three-digit digital code, the first digit of which means the month, and the next two - the year.
Relationship between Bosch and Varta markings
Since 2014, both German concerns have changed their numerical codes, making them more unified. How can I find out the date of manufacture of the battery of these brands? This information is still part of the main marking and is located in the fourth, fifth and sixth code block. The first is the year of production, and then the month. Based on these figures, you can get information about when the battery was nevertheless released from a special table.
Mutlu Batteries
The Turkish company Mutlu is another world famous manufacturer of automotive parts and components. The Mutlu battery, whose date of manufacture is also sewn into the main marking, is the best solution for motorists looking for reliable and inexpensive car batteries. This brand uses a marking consisting of six digits, the first of which indicates the model, the second indicates the year of manufacture, the fourth indicates the month, and the last two indicate the day. Thus, when buying a battery for your vehicle, by reading the type marking 350214, we can get the information that this particular battery left the factory assembly line on February 14, 2015.
It is worth noting that some modern automotive battery manufacturers such as TAB, Topla and others use a similar labeling form with Multu, so the date of manufacture of the battery from these companies is determined similarly.
Vesta batteries
Ukrainian battery manufacturer Vesta produces its products under two trademarks, however, the form of marking in both cases is exactly the same. The only difference is in the font size, which is not very important. The marking on the Vesta battery is on the front side, on the factory sticker, so there will be no problems finding it.
As for the form of marking, there are some differences. For batteries designed for passenger cars and light vehicles, the marking consists of two digital blocks, of which the first contains 4 digits, and the second - six. The first block contains information about the team of workers that worked on a particular day, battery capacity and other technical information. The second block represents the date of manufacture.
To make it easier for you to understand how the date of manufacture of the Vesta battery is determined, let's look at everything using a specific example. The second digital marking block is formed as follows:
- the first two digits of the second block correspond to the year of issue;
- the second two transmit information about the serial number of the month;
- the last two correspond to a specific day.
It is worth noting that, no matter under which brand and at which factory the Vesta battery for a passenger car was produced, the marking will look the same, so you can easily determine the exact year, month and day, inwhich the battery was assembled.
Marking used by manufacturers for heavy batteries
Heavy batteries are batteries that have a large volume and are designed for trucks and passenger vehicles. The form of writing the code on such batteries differs from their counterparts produced for cars, so they should be discussed separately.
In most cases, the marking of heavy batteries has the form of an eight-digit numeric code, in which the 4th and 5th digits correspond to the year, and the seventh to the month. All other numbers are used by manufacturers to convey various technical information. However, it is very important to understand here that different manufacturers may use different marking options. How the date of manufacture of the battery is determined for different brands will be discussed further.
Heavy Battery Marking Form
Most European companies producing power supplies for trucks and buses have long since switched to a single marking standard. These include FB, Forse, Uno, Vortex and many others. These manufacturers use a code consisting of ten digits for marking. The fifth and sixth digits indicate the year of manufacture of the battery, the eighth - the month, and the ninth and tenth - the exact day of the month.
An exception to the rule are Japanese auto parts manufacturers, who use alphanumeric notation to indicate markings. In the land of the rising sunuse the five-digit code found on the factory sticker located on the battery cover. The first character in the marking corresponds to the day, the 2nd and 3rd to the serial number of the week, and the fourth to the year. However, it is worth noting that the year is indicated not by a number, but by a letter of the Latin alphabet, therefore, to find out the year of manufacture of the battery, you need to contact the manufacturer and compare the information you are interested in with a special table.
Determination of the production date of batteries from other manufacturers
If, when buying a battery, you encounter some unknown manufacturer, then in order to determine the release date of the battery, you need to familiarize yourself with the information on the rules for reading the markings in a particular company. You should not trust the sellers in this matter, because they themselves may not know such information or they will provide you with deliberately incorrect data, as a result of which you simply purchase a low-quality battery for your car.
The choice of battery should be taken very seriously, since the operation of your vehicle depends on its quality. Before buying, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the products of various manufacturers and choose the most suitable for yourself. Moreover, today the market for car batteries is incredibly diverse, the main thing is to choose a "fresh" battery.
