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Just on 2 years ago I purchased a car battery for my classic car which has a generator/dynamo as opposed to an alternator. The battery has a 2 year warranty. Recently it has been failing to hold a charge. I took it back to the supplier who asked if I did 20,000Kms a year or regularly charged the battery. The answer to both questions is no. He then said that there was nothing wrong with the battery other than that I had not maintained it properly. I came home and put the battery on my charger for some 36 hours but it still goes flat. I took it to another garage who also tested it and said there was nothing wrong with it. They also advised that it was a calcium battery and that a generator does not produce a high enough voltage to charge it. They also told me that calcium batteries need a 3 stage charging process which my old charger certainly doesn’t have. Neither when the battery was installed nor when I recently went back did the supplier tell me any of this. My question is, as the charging system in the car the battery was installed in will not charge the battery was the battery fit for purpose under section 8 of the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993?

If you relied on the battery suppliers expertise and made him aware of the fact that it needs to be suitable for a vehicle fitted with a generator it could be argued that it is not fit for purpose. However, if a judge had to decide what is reasonable it will more than likely not be in your favour. In these circumstances it will be seen to have lasted for a reasonable amount of time from the date of purchase. The battery has lasted two years, had you realised the problem a month or two from the date of purchase it might be a different outcome.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to get your hands on non-calcium batteries, in your case you should consider installing a maintenance charger.

Thanks for posting this item about calcium battery's, my thoughts are the battery industry should be more knowledgeable about the products they are selling, that being, able to give the correct advice to consumers.

It is a matter that I was blissfully unaware of as my lead acid battery is still going after 5 years