Batteries - Should be simple, never is.
 

Battery in my skid steer would not take a charge. Intestate.

Pulled it out, which was a royal PIA. Put charger on it again, zero current. I walk away to get a meter, come back, and it's charging.

Why would it not take a charge initially?

Paging Aurel ...

I think that some oxide layer may have needed breaking down.

Maybe put in a battery that isn't as vunerable to vibration/ breakage.

I would try an Interstate battery next time. :D

He's must be thinking about the other thread - http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/1110426-unfortunate-choice-executor.html

^^^ I missed that one. I don't think I could ever be an executor.

Chargers in the last decade or so are all micro processor controlled with a bunch of safety nannies to protect you from yourself. If it is one of these models it may have had to ponder life for a while and decide if it trusts your intentions of good over evil.

If it is one of those lovely 0ld fangled transformers in a box types, just had to depassivate the plates a bit.

That stuff is funny right there...

My Land Rover independent mechanic and I had a discussion re: batteries last months when my wife's Interstate battery crapped out for the second time in 2 years. Yes, one new battery for each year. At $200ish each, I'm not laughing.

Anyway, they sell Interstate and Continental batteries. He said that Interstate has been having issues and a lot of batteries dying prematurely in the last couple of years. It seems to be a trend these days.

^^^ Have you ever tried Intestate batteries?

It could be that the electrodes were sulfated. Lead sulfate is insulating. Now, just because you could get the battery to charge doesn’t mean it will hold the charge…

IF this latest battery doesn't last maybe I will.

Yep. I have one of these in my rollaway. NOT a load tester, it measures milliamps of resistance between the posts. First fully charge the battery, then test. You tell it the CCA rating of your battery. It gives you an actual CCA reading, tells you the %age of efficiency..whether the battery is good or bad. It's very possible for a battery to read 12V on a multimeter and still be bad. There are youtube "how to videos" on this unit..

https://www.harborfreight.com/digital-automotive-battery-analyzer-66892.html

My fancy electronic charger will give a bad battery code when trying to revive some flat batteries. If I use the old school Century charger on it first on the highest amp setting and after an hour or two switch to the fancy electronic one I seem to get good results and the batteries seem to hold a charge well.

This. If the reading is off, the microprocessor will not recognize the battery. I had to go to Tractor Supply Company to buy a "dumb" charger to restore some batteries. Once they each had about 10% charge, I was able to get them back on the regular charger.

This was a nominal 48V system with eight 215 AH batteries. Someone switched the system to inverter battery mode and left it that way for a couple of weeks with nothing charging it.

The 'computerized' fancy charger didn't think a battery was connected. The 40 YO sears charger is supposedly charging it.

I guess I'm lucky to have my 35 year old Schumacher charger that still works fine.

Timely thread, I need to replace the battery in the Cayenne and apparently there's a new battery called an AGM. Supposed to last longer than lead acid. Anyone know anything about these?

AGM batteries generally last longer than standard lead acid batteries. Because of their low self-discharge rate, AGM batteries also last longer than their flooded counterparts when not in use. A well-maintained AGM can last up to 7 years, while flooded batteries typically last around 3-5 years.Jul 6, 2021

Absorbed Glass Matt...like used in optima batteries. Has been around for years. Totally sealed.

https://www.thedrive.com/cars-101/36405/what-is-an-agm-battery#:~:text=An%20AGM%20battery%20is%20a%2012-volt%20car%20battery,%28or%20Material%29.%20How%20 Does%20an%20AGM%20Battery%20Work%3F

If fancy charger isn't charging or throws code on your half dead battery, hook up another good battery to it along with the one that needs charging. The charger will recognize the good battery and starts charging them both.

No more Optima for me. What a POS. I have had good luck with Exide AGM battery on my 4 runner. It lasted 7 years so far but its seems to be getting weak. I am sure it is made by one of the large battery mfgs?

I stopped messing with car batteries years ago. In good faith I bought a yellow top Optima battery but it failed in less than 12 months and the manufacturer wouldn't honour the warranty because I had a high powered stereo in my car. :rolleyes:

So now I only use "standard" batteries and replace them as needed. You could try adding rejuvenation etc. but IME it's best just to bite the bullet and buy a new one.

I use this to test car batteries... If it fails the test it gets replaced.
- Search for "Solar B47" on Google.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1642047660.jpg

and Kent's excellent video on how to use one.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Oi8sUE9XCgA" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I had just watched this one the other night for no other reason than it was there.
Personally, I would consider this video for entertainment purposes only.



<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8CxFpIoKwy0" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

As long as we're posting videos...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVPLUzGyaDk

Peter, the Solar tester you showed and my Cen-tec do the same thing..measure conductance.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YC--MLNIbik" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The one thing I really like about my Solar tester... There's no guess work.

Thanks Mark and Paul, hope to replace it this weekend.

I had two red-top Optima's in my 84
The first one lasted 12 years. I replaced it with another one and it only lasted 3 years.
Same car and alternator. Replaced it with an Interstate. (working fine at 4 years now)

Some say Optima's are not nearly as good as they were before.

You've got me a little worried - The red-top Optima in my '84 is about 12 years old. I don't want to replace it with a lesser battery.

There was a thread about batteries some time back and Optima came up.
There were others that said the same....the old ones last much longer...the quality went downhill.

The Yellow top Optima I owned was made in Mexico I think. I can find out for sure. I still have it in the garage somewhere waiting to be recycled.

^^^ The yellows are a deep cycle battery...expensive! Start at over $300

It used to be that batteries were made "locally" in the USA or Mexico. Many of the manufacturers are now moving production to, yes, China.

In the solar business, I have not had any issues with the batteries made in Monterrey, Mexico.

That Solar tester seems pretty decent for the price.
Is there one that will test RV/Golf cart batteries that do not have a CA/CCA rating?

Same here, my old charger will work just fine, while my newer ones tell me it's a bad battery.

didnt watch any of the vid-jeos and not sure what the latest philosophy is on battery recovery. But I have been able to revive several fully discharged batteries with a simple 12v low current wall wart.

Just leave it on there until OC voltage comes up to 10v and the newer chargers will start to charge.

AT true zero state of charge you have severly dimished the performace of most 12v car batteries however.


Its sort of ironinc that new chargers wont charge batteries unless they are somewhat charged already, and car batteries only really function well if they arnt discharged which is sort of the point of a battery. Seems a bit "whos on first".

Many years ago I had a good optima, but sold the car. Bought 3 or 4 for my other cars, all short lived.

A while back Optima Jim was here pitching them, promised to help me out but never delivered, and he didn't last much longer than the dead batteries.

Optima was in the game early, but others are now making AGM. Don't know enough to suggest or slam any of them. The one big advantage to AGM as far as I'm concerned is no acid sloshing around.

If I'd known about the solar, I'd have probably chosen it. This because of my inherent suspicion of anything sold by harbor freight. I know the Cen-tec made in China...maybe the solar also? Bottom line, both are amazing bargains as far as conductance testers go.

Suspicion aside, my Cen Tec unit has performed flawlessly every time I've used it. I've read on some boards that harbor freight tools quality has improved. Maybe others can weigh in on that.

A good tip in the video I posted...I plan to take it with me the next time I go battery shopping...buy the one with the best conductance.

Newer smart chargers can identify and treat sulfated lead acid batteries. It's the semi-smart variable current chargers that don't do so well with them.

I had 2 dead batteries yesterday. The Interstate from the skid steer recovered(so far).

The Subaru did not. Exide from Costco, 4+ YO, and the car was sitting for a few months. Got our money out of that one. I'm going to head out and pick up another, $99 + core.

I've been using this charger for the last few years, it said both batteries were 100% : https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B089767MGQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

I was using a Schumacher 6A automatic charger for the past 10+ years, think I'll go back to one of those.

I've read that 6 amps is too high for charging AGM batteries. 4 and below is recommended.