How to find out the year of manufacture of the battery?
Content
In batteries, even if they are waiting for new owners on store shelves, chemical processes are continuously taking place. After some time, even a new device loses a significant part of its useful properties. That is why it is very important to know how determine the year of manufacture of the battery.
Shelf life of different types of batteries
The problem is that different types of batteries have their own shelf life, which is strictly not recommended to be exceeded:
- Antimony rechargeable batteries have already become a thing of the past and it is almost impossible to find them on sale. For these batteries, the most important indicator is the manufacturing time, since due to the rapid self-discharge, the batteries are sulphated. The optimal shelf life is up to 9 months.
- Hybrid batteries Ca+. - Antimony is also present in these batteries, but there is also calcium, due to which these batteries have less self-discharge. They can be safely stored in a warehouse for up to 12 months, and if they were periodically charged during storage, then up to 24 months without losing their qualities in further operation.
- Calcium batteries have the lowest self-discharge rate. Such batteries can be stored in a warehouse without recharging up to 18-24 months, and with recharging up to 4 years, and this will not affect its further operation in any way.
- EFB are lead acid batteries for cars with Start Stop system, they are protected from sulfation and therefore can be on the counter for up to 36 months.
- AGM - as well as EFB are protected from sulfation and can stand on the shelves for up to 36 months.
- GEL batteries are, in fact, the most non-sulphated batteries and theoretically have no limitation on storage periods before commissioning, but are designed for the number of charge-discharge cycles.
How to find out the year of manufacture of the battery?
Manufacturers of car batteries post information about the date of their production on the body of the device. For this, a special marking is used, which each manufacturer develops individually. That is why there are more than a dozen ways to designate the release date of the battery.
Where can I find the year of manufacture of the battery? There is no specific industry standard, so different brands have different ideas about the ideal place to place labels. Most often, it can be found in one of three places:
- on the front label
- on the lid;
- on the side, on a separate sticker.
To obtain accurate data, you will need to decipher the release date of the battery. Why does this information need to be decoded? The reason is that each manufacturer uses its own marking option, there is simply no common standard. In most cases, the date of manufacture of the battery is a set of characters that is simply impossible to understand without instructions.
Exide Battery Production Date Explanation
Consider the decoding of the year of manufacture of the EXIDE battery.
Example 1: 9ME13-2
- 9 - the last digit in the year of production;
- M is the code of the month in the year;
- E13-2 - factory data.
| Month of the year | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
| Code | А | B | C | D | E | F | H | I | J | K | L | M |
The second example of decoding the year of manufacture of the EXIDE battery.
Example: C501I 080
- C501I - factory data;
- 0 - the last digit in the year of production;
- 80 is the month code of the year.
| Month of the year | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
| Code | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 |
Deciphering the production date of the VARTA battery
The marking code is located on the top cover in the production code.
OPTION 1: G2C9171810496 536537 126 E 92
- G - code of the country of production
| Country of Origin | Spain | Spain | Czech Republic | Germany | Germany | Austria | Sweden | France | France |
| E | G | C | H | Z | A | S | F | R |
- 2 – conveyor number5
- C - shipping features;
- 9 - the last digit in the year of production;
- 17 - code of the month in the year;
| Month of the year | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
| Code | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 |
- 18 - day of the month;
- 1 - number of the working team;
- 0496 536537 126 E 92 - factory data.
OPTION 2: C2C039031 0659 536031
- C is the code of the country of production;
- 2 – conveyor number;
- C - shipping features;
- 0 - the last digit in the year of production;
- 39 - code of the month in the year;
| Month of the year | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
| Code | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 |
- 03 - day of the month;
- 1 - number of the working team;
- 0659 536031 - factory data.
OPTION 3: bhrq
- B is the code of the month in the year;
| Year | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
| 2018 | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T |
| 2019 | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | A | B | C | D | E | F |
| 2020 | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R |
| 2021 | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | A | B | C | D |
| 2022 | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P |
| 2023 | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | A | B |
| 2024 | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N |
| 2025 | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
- H is the code of the country of manufacture;
- R is the code of the day of the month;
| Day of the month | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | B | C |
| Day of the month | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| D | E | D | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O |
| Number of the month | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
| P | Q | R | S | T | U | V |
- Q – conveyor number / work crew number.
BOSCH battery production date decoding
On BOSCH batteries, the marking code is located on the top cover in the production code.
OPTION 1: C9C137271 1310 316573
- C is the code of the country of production;
- 9 – conveyor number;
- C - shipping features;
- 1 - the last digit in the year of production;
- 37 - code of the month in the year (see the decoding table of the battery Varta option 2);
- 27 - day of the month;
- 1 - number of the working team;
- 1310 316573 - factory data.
OPTION 2: THG
- T is the code of the month in the year (see the Varta battery decoding table, option 3);
- H is the code of the country of manufacture;
- G is the code of the day of the month (see the Varta battery decoding table, option 3).
