My SSR: 2005 AquaBlur, Automatic, Born on 10/29/04, Also 1972 GMC Sprint,2000 Silverado Sportside 4X4
Finally replaced the battery.....
Well I finally replaced the original seven year old battery in the 'R'! It had been drained down twice in the last year, most recently after coming back from the WDC. It rained on and off for over a week and the 'R' never came out of the garage. Turned out the GPS was on the whole time and drained the battery down dead. I recharged the old Delco and it came back up, again, but how long was I going to chance it? I thought about a new Delco, but from what I read, the Delco you can buy off the shelf, does not last as long as the original ones from the factory.
Advance Auto had a deal on the Optima, which was what I wanted, but I was concerned about all the 'made in Mexico-quality problems'. I was going to get the MAXX battery from that big W store, that was supposedly highly rated in Consumer Reports. Well if you actually read the article ( which I downloaded if you want to see it ) it says "we tested the Everstart in 5 group sizes, and all BUT THE 34/78 SERIES scored near the top or middle of the group" After alot of reading I decided to take a chance on the Optima, and Advance Auto on line had a 25% off on batteries over $100, so I saved almost $48.
Also, since I do store mine from November to March, I plan on getting a maintainer too. After talking to Optima, they will not specifically promote one brand over another, but in a short video on thier site they show the Xtreme and the CTEK chargers. I did alot of checking on these and other chargers approved for AGM batteries. Both of theses have the multi step maintain/anti-sulfur pulse/charge tech, but the CTEK unit actually has an Optima Red Top setting. Thats the one I will be getting.
Time will tell if I made the right choice. I figured I would share what I found, since the battery issue seems to keep popping up in the forums.
Well I finally replaced the original seven year old battery in the 'R'! It had been drained down twice in the last year, most recently after coming back from the WDC. It rained on and off for over a week and the 'R' never came out of the garage. Turned out the GPS was on the whole time and drained the battery down dead. I recharged the old Delco and it came back up, again, but how long was I going to chance it? I thought about a new Delco, but from what I read, the Delco you can buy off the shelf, does not last as long as the original ones from the factory.
Advance Auto had a deal on the Optima, which was what I wanted, but I was concerned about all the 'made in Mexico-quality problems'. I was going to get the MAXX battery from that big W store, that was supposedly highly rated in Consumer Reports. Well if you actually read the article ( which I downloaded if you want to see it ) it says "we tested the Everstart in 5 group sizes, and all BUT THE 34/78 SERIES scored near the top or middle of the group" After alot of reading I decided to take a chance on the Optima, and Advance Auto on line had a 25% off on batteries over $100, so I saved almost $48.
Also, since I do store mine from November to March, I plan on getting a maintainer too. After talking to Optima, they will not specifically promote one brand over another, but in a short video on thier site they show the Xtreme and the CTEK chargers. I did alot of checking on these and other chargers approved for AGM batteries. Both of theses have the multi step maintain/anti-sulfur pulse/charge tech, but the CTEK unit actually has an Optima Red Top setting. Thats the one I will be getting.
Time will tell if I made the right choice. I figured I would share what I found, since the battery issue seems to keep popping up in the forums.
Wish me luck! Jeff
Cape Cod Blur
WOW!!!! I'm impressed.
I don't think, no, I know that I've never had a battery that lasted that long.
Congrats!
My SSR: Slingshot Yellow VIN 20778 Born 05 May 2005 (05/05/05)
Good News, Jeff . . . my OEM Delco lasted a whopping 2.5 years. You definitely got your money's worth.
To fix that, I sprung for a Battery Tender Plus for less than 50 bucks plus an extension cord with a plug for the AUX socket on the dash. I have been hooking it up each and every time I pull into the garage and, so far, the 2nd battery is doing fine.
By the way, it looks like Battery Tender now makes a Gel Cell Model . . .
My SSR: 2005 AquaBlur, Automatic, Born on 10/29/04, Also 1972 GMC Sprint,2000 Silverado Sportside 4X4
AGM vs. GEL
Like I said, I tried to collect as much REAL information as I could before getting a new battery, and tried to ignore all of the "OMG, worst battery I ever had" kind of stuff. Heres a bit of what I found out......
When charging or maintaining, remember that the Optima is an Absorbent Glass-Mat (AGM) battery, and not a gel battery. Many newer battery chargers have microprocessors that collect information from the battery and adjust the current and voltage accordingly. Some have different settings for charging wet cell (flooded), gel and AGM batteries.
Although under normal conditions, most 12-volt automatic battery chargers will work on an AGM battery, the battery will only be charged to about 80 percent of its full capacity. Many newer battery chargers have settings specifically for AGM batteries
AGM and gel technology differ, the technology of an AGM battery is not the same as a gel battery, which has its own charging requirements. If your charger offers different modes, select the correct one for your battery. If you use the gel setting to charge an AGM battery it won't fully charge and, over time, it will actually damage your AGM battery.
Which is why I am going to get the CTEK MUS-3300 charger/maintainer, it has an Optima red top setting.
My SSR: Slingshot Yellow VIN 20778 Born 05 May 2005 (05/05/05)
Interesting information, Jeff.
Definitely anything but an expert here, however, when I was doing my research three plus years ago, I learned there is a huge difference between a Battery Charger and a Battery Tender (maintainer).
Do these special settings and requirements (AGMs vs Gels vs Wet Cells) apply to tenders or only chargers and charger maintainer combos? If so, I guess I'll be shopping for a new Battery Tender once the second battery poops out on me as I'll more than likely upgrade to an Optima which I have been using in the Jeep for many years.
Lots of "heavy duty thinking" for so early in the morning.
My SSR: 2005 AquaBlur, Automatic, Born on 10/29/04, Also 1972 GMC Sprint,2000 Silverado Sportside 4X4
Additional battery info....
Doophus,
It would be nice if once some research was done on a subject like this, it could be sent to the Library (with a disclaimer) for others to take advantage of. There was alot of stuying to do on the subject. One thing I was worried about was how would it fit into MikeAZ's carrier from the spare tire relocation kit. (cutting any part of a battery off will void the warrenty) I am happy to say it fit with room to spare, and I actually used some dense foam spacers to center it in the box, before bolting it down.
From what I have read, if you left your lights on and the Optima ran down, you could charge it once with a regular charger, even though it would only be maybe 75-80%, I guess it would be okay. Then in theory, your alternator (which is meant to maintain the battery) could keep it up. But I don't know if it would 'top it off' or not. Repeated use of a standard charger will hurt the AGM battery. What I read on a number of sites was; if your charger is an older one ( my standard Schumacher charger with jump option is over 10 years old now ) get a new one with WET/GEL/AGM options. Be prepared to spend some good cash to get one, cuz it won't be cheap.
On the subject of maintainers, again the 'new' ones with pulse technology and 4 or 5 stage maintenance are better than the old ones. I have a Schumacher SC-200A I have had for 5 years. I think it was $39 at Napa when I got it. I bought it for my 'plow truck' which was no longer on the road and didn't see much of any use unless it snowed. I plugged it in in November, and left it on the dash. I could see the little green OK light in the windshield walking by and it always kept that battery up. BUT the only option on it are a 6/12 volt switch.
The maintainer I mentioned, the CTEK 3300 has a Optima Red Top option, and is $60-75. Another model I looked at was cheaper, like $40-45 and had a "snowflake" option, for charging batteries in the winter, which is the suggested setting for any AGM unit. The cold charge is a lower rate slower charge, which is what Optima suggestes on their website. I don't plan on using my current Schumacher charger, even though it is a float charger/maintainer because the lowest setting is 2 amp. According to Optima; a Float Charge should be 13.2 to 13.8 volts, at a MAX current of one amp.
So my 'investment' in the Optima will require me to get a new maintainer, and possibly a new standard charger at some point. ( I checked the batery in the wife's 2006 Jeep and it is the original too, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it. ) I wanted the best battery I could get for the SSR, anf the Optima was about the same price as other AGM or Gel batteries out there, including the top of the line DieHard AGM. Who knows, if Sears had a 25% off sale too, I may have ended up with that DieHard.
After my last post concerning battery life, I pulled the service records on two of my other vehicles and discovered that on my '03 Chevy DuraMax I replaced the batteries in '09.
I left the truck in storage a bit too long and the batteries had completely discharged so I charged the main battery and then went to Sam's Club and had two new Everready batteries installed.
I'll see how these hold up but I intend on replacing them IF I get 5 years out of them regardless if they're working well or not.
On the Vibe, I was having it serviced in '09 and they discovered that the battery had a dead cell.
Glad they caught that. THere's no way of knowing when a battery with a dead cell may not start your car.
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