# 1 year after replacing my battery



## sparkola (Jun 9, 2014)

So I still had my old battery sitting on the garage floor since replacing it after it started to offer weak cranking amps when the Chicago winter weather set in last November. I've been watching some videos about restoring AGM batteries and saw that adding some distilled water to the slightly dried out cells and charging with a proper AGM charger it might bring back the battery. I purchased the latest Harbor freight 4amp digital battery charger, a gallon of distilled water and a Turkey baster to add the water. The charger went into a desulfation mode and after 2 days said the battery was charged. I hooked up my 100 amp load tester and what do ya know the battery took 10 successive load tests for 10 seconds each with a 10 second pause without ever dropping below the 800 CCA rating. ****! I could have saved myself the 200 bucks replacement cost of a new battery. They make the cell caps almost impossible to remove, but its worth the time to do it. I'm a little leary of how the active variable charging system treats the AGM battery and that a proper recharge from a proper battery charger and a slight topping off of water every now and again might help these batteries go a little longer.


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## RichLo1 (May 31, 2018)

Nice, I never knew that, I thought they were sealed though and could be mounted upside down if thats what the owner wanted...?


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## sparkola (Jun 9, 2014)

The caps are unscrewable with a screwdriver and a tool to tap on the screwdriver. When you look at how each plastic cap is manufactured it's clear that they made them so that they won't unscrew easily. Let's call it sort of tamper proof. Also I only added enough water to make the cells look moist. The point is not to turn this into a flooded battery but to return enough moisture to the cells to make them fully functional.


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## sparkola (Jun 9, 2014)

And yes because they are not flooded batteries they can be mounted in any direction


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

Ahh, if the battery is sealed (all AGM batteries are sealed) then where did the electrolyte (water) go?


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## sparkola (Jun 9, 2014)

The acid is still there. The water is gone. Sealed is a relative term. I imagine if it was truly sealed any time an overcharge would cause an explosion due to the rapidly expanding gases with no place to go. Anyway like I said I’ve only added enough water to rewet the cells as there is no free water to pour out after several charge/discharge cycles. Wish I would have done this last year. But now I’ve got a spare battery perhaps I can install it in my Argo 8x8 as a better power source for my winch and lights ?


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## sparkola (Jun 9, 2014)

Come to think of it I have a survival knife that I bought when I was 12 (I’m 46 now) that has a fluid filled compass at the butt of the handle. That too is a “sealed” unit. The fluid disappeared decades ago so now the directional ball just bounces around in there dry.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

sparkola said:


> Come to think of it I have a survival knife that I bought when I was 12 (I’m 46 now) that has a fluid filled compass at the butt of the handle. That too is a “sealed” unit. The fluid disappeared decades ago so now the directional ball just bounces around in there dry.


You do realize that a knife marketed to 12 year-olds in 1984 is not exactly built to the same design tolerances as an AGM battery assembled circa 2015 and intended to survive an automobile collision.


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## froyofanatic (Jul 16, 2018)

Interesting post. I just buy my batteries at CostCo as they come with a 3-year warranty. Killed my Avalanche battery on vacation...boom, free battery.


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## sparkola (Jun 9, 2014)

Tomko said:


> sparkola said:
> 
> 
> > Come to think of it I have a survival knife that I bought when I was 12 (I’m 46 now) that has a fluid filled compass at the butt of the handle. That too is a “sealed” unit. The fluid disappeared decades ago so now the directional ball just bounces around in there dry.
> ...



LOL until two days ago the knife was still outperforming the battery ?


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## IndyDiesel (May 24, 2015)

I agree with @Tomko the idea of opening a sealed AGM battery to add distilled water doesn’t seem like a good idea to me. I seriously doubt it is now a sealed battery.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

still on OG battery

its been dead a couple times from the blind spot indicator staying on and parked for couple weeks


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## sparkola (Jun 9, 2014)

Ya one of the things that first peaked my interest is that each cell had an obvious screw in cap that apparently they don’t want you to remove. Why would they design the top of the battery with caps at all on a “sealed” battery? If you guys want I can take some pics or video.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

sparkola said:


> Ya one of the things that first peaked my interest is that each cell had an obvious screw in cap that apparently they don’t want you to remove. Why would they design the top of the battery with caps at all on a “sealed” battery? If you guys want I can take some pics or video.


For manufacturing and assembly purposes. So that an AGM can be built using the same line and techniques as a flooded.


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## Snipesy (Dec 7, 2015)

I feel like most people haven never experienced one of these batteries explode.


Will it kill you? No. But you will get acid all over you. The burns take a very long time to heal and really never fully heal without expensive treatment.


And that's just your skin. How quickly can you dump water in your eyes? If the answer is more than 10 seconds then you should not be working on lead acid batteries, period.


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## sparkola (Jun 9, 2014)

Snipesy said:


> I feel like most people haven never experienced one of these batteries explode.
> 
> 
> Will it kill you? No. But you will get acid all over you. The burns take a very long time to heal and really never fully heal without expensive treatment.
> ...


I had a 480 Volt 800 amp switchgear blow up in my face 20 years ago. Does that count? I’ve also ignited several LiPO batteries doing my RC Airplane hobby ?


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## IndyDiesel (May 24, 2015)

sparkola said:


> Hey can I get the 100000 mile badge please?


Congratulations on getting to a 100k

Do you live on a gravel or dirt road? How do you get that much dirt on the steering column?:shocked:


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## sparkola (Jun 9, 2014)

My Cruze is my work vehicle I’m an underground power and communications electrician My vehicle weight with all my tools is probably @ 6000 lbs ?


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## IndyDiesel (May 24, 2015)

sparkola said:


> My Cruze is my work vehicle I’m an underground power and communications electrician My vehicle weight with all my tools is probably @ 6000 lbs ?


Why not drive a truck?


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## sparkola (Jun 9, 2014)

I have to pay for my own fuel. If trucks could get the mileage I get with the diesel I’d drive my Tundra to work.


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## Scott M. (Apr 23, 2013)

I applaud your efforts. Sure the AGM battery is a safer battery than the good old lead acid battery but I doubt you did any harm to it at all and even if you did compromise the seal you are still left with a standard lead acid battery which is still a relatively safe battery. An AGM battery is just a glass mat to soak up electrolyte. Its not magic. Its just a slight modification on decades old technology.


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## sparkola (Jun 9, 2014)

I just want to be clear I did not add enough water to each cell to even be able to call it a standard lead acid. I did however add only enough water to “rewet” the absorbent glass mat. These should never appear dry during a recharge which they did. I have successfully load tested the battery and it has performed well.


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

100 amps is not the proper tool to load test a battery. The starter motor pulls more then 100 amps. (Used to anyways, might be less these days)

A proper load test is 1/2 the cca rating. For 15 seconds. Battery voltage shouldn't drop below 11 volts. Was the old test. 

According to google. Looks like 9.6 volts now. 

In short. You need the machine capable of at least 500 amps. Something like this (used to be popular) machine. 

https://www.zoro.com/associated-equip-carbon-pile-load-tester-analog-500-amps-6034/i/G7620444/

Any battery can pass a 100 amp test in 10 seconds. If it don't. It's seriously junk.

*Load Test* the *Battery*. If the *battery's* state-of-charge is at 75 percent or higher or has a "good" built-in hydrometer indication, then you can *load test* a *car battery* by one of the following methods: With a *battery load tester*, apply a *load* equal to one-half of the CCA rating of the *battery* for 15 seconds.

I'm trying to find if the AGM battery has the same testing procedure.


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

This site says water can't be replaced. 
AGM Batteries And Testing

As far as google seems to be concerned. AGM testing is the same as lead acid,.


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

Properly load testing the battery requires this special tool. Very good deal at Harbor Freight. 

https://www.harborfreight.com/500-amp-carbon-pile-load-tester-91129.html

A 100 amp load tester is only good for a 200 CCA battery.


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## sparkola (Jun 9, 2014)

I'll have to pick one of those bigger testers. I didn't see it at my Harbor Freight


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## BDCCruze (Jul 12, 2017)

For you guys that have replaced your CTD batteries, how did you diagnose the battery was faulty?

My understanding is the AGM batteries are supposed to last longer than a lead acid battery, which itself is usually around 5-6 years. I live in a very mild climate (rustbelt) so my summers are short. Are you southern guys the ones replacing them after only a couple years?


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

I've had my last 3 cars around 7 years each and sold them with the same lead batteries that were already in the cars when I bought them. 

Bought my motorcycle 18 months ago. It had an AGM. Didn't last very long. It got replaced at the beginning of the season this year. My Cruze sat around for 13 months before I bought it. the AGM it came with was replaced 3 months in to ownership. 

From the posts on this thread. I'm not seeing agm last anywhere near as long as lead. 

As for testing the battery. Do a google for the correct testing procedure. That common tool everyone is using is a 100 amp load test. And THAT'S not the tool for the job. 

You can buy the proper testing tools from harborfreight. A volt meter and a 500 amp load tester.


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## Rivergoer (Mar 30, 2017)

BDCCruze said:


> For you guys that have replaced your CTD batteries, how did you diagnose the battery was faulty?
> 
> My understanding is the AGM batteries are supposed to last longer than a lead acid battery, which itself is usually around 5-6 years. I live in a very mild climate (rustbelt) so my summers are short. Are you southern guys the ones replacing them after only a couple years?


My factory AC Delco AGM was still working when I replaced it at 40 months old. I noticed weaker cranking, especially on cold (cold here is a relative term) mornings. I like to replace batteries before they force me to...which is usually at the most inconvenient time.

Arizona heat kills batteries. 3-4 years is pretty standard with 120F summers, AGM, Flooded, doesn’t make any diff.


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## Jondaytona (Apr 26, 2018)

Here I am, replacing my battery today and read this post. Just figured I'd put in my :2cents:

I've got almost 110k miles on my 2014 CTD and hasn't been an issue for the last year I've been driving it, BUT, these last few weeks of intermittent sub-zero temps left my Cruze lifeless at work during a high temp of 1 degree F. I was at work and was able to jump it, then pull it into the shop and let it warm-up and charge for 2hrs. The temps came up and has been fine lately, but I can just tell by how slow the engine is turning on a cold start, it's time. It sucks at $200+core to replace a battery that I know will work fine in temps above 20F, but any 5yr old battery, why take a chance when you know it's gonna need it soon anyway. This is my first AGM in a car, but they've definitely held up better than lead-acid batteries in everything else I've had (lawnmowers, ATV's, etc.). I think my best in a car was 7yrs on an oem that was in my 2001 Buick which was located INSIDE under the back seat.


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