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Would an AGM battery perform better in the cold? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

19 comments fedilink hide all child comments

My car sometimes doesn't get driven for a week at a time, between that and winter cold I am having constant issues with it dying and needing to be trickle charged. My engine also seems to want a lot of juice for it to turnover.

Would an AGM battery last longer between charges? Would it perform better in the cold? Is there any better solution than just making sure some regularly drives it a few times a week?

Edit: It seems Costco lists an AGM for my car cheaper than a lot of regular batteries, so it seems like I will find out either way... But I am still curious if people think this will solve my charging problems.

all 20 comments

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[–] bluGill@fedia.io 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I have a battery disconnect on my truck because I rarely drive it and it would discharge the batteries (it didn't discharge the near as fast batteries until I put the trailer brake controller in so I know part of the cause). A trickle charger will help, but they have a tendency to declare a fault after a few days and stop charging: leaving you with a dead battery anyway. Still a trickle charger is a good idea as batteries don't like being discharged, just remember to check on it every few days. It is possible the draw is larger than the trickle charger can provide and that is why it doesn't work - I wouldn't know.

I have a JNC660 jump starter battery pack which I keep warm in the house. Others tell me this is the way to go (I just bought it so I can't say how it works). Some li-ion battery packs have a jump starter function - I have mixed results with them (It worked for me once, the next time I got a good crank but it cut out before the engine started).

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

The battery disconnect might actually be a decent idea for me. The vehicle gets driven almost every day one week, then possibly not at all for a week or two due to my wife and I varying schedules and work from home and the fact we share both vehicles and use them for different things.

How many CCA is the truck battery and what's the engine size out of curiosity?

[–] bluGill@fedia.io 1 points 3 months ago

I have dual 800 CCA batteries (which my mechanic just measured at 680 each). The engine is a 7.3 liter diesel though (best engine Ford ever had according to many), and it needs a lot of power to turn over cold. I drove it about 2000 miles last year - I bike most places but sometimes I need to drive and a few of those trips need a truck.

[–] mortalic@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Agm is fine, but I'd guess you really need a trickle charger more. Also something might be sapping power, like something plugged into a USB port.

[–] Whats_a_lemmy@ponder.cat 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

A week is not a very long time to leave a car alone, and 3 batteries in 5 years is a lot.

Did you have the batteries tested, or did you just replace them when they stopped being able to start the car? Could it be a problem with the alternator?

[–] madnificent@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago

When the battery gets fully discharged it degrades much faster.

I'd be searching for what's draining the battery and in the meantime I'd add a battery disconnect switch for these periods.

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Yeah, I had a lot of the stuff tested about 3 years ago. They seemed to think there was nothing wrong other than me abusing the battery by not driving or charging it enough. I will say it takes a LOT of juice for me to start my car, I probably cheaped out in the past and didn't get enough CA.

[–] Geometrinen_Gepardi@sopuli.xyz 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Do you drive mostly short trips? In cold weather it might take 20 minutes of driving before a battery even starts accepting charge (a cold battery charges slower).

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 months ago

Usually 40 mins each way once or twice a week, then maybe 20 mins one day. Then it might not get driven at all for 5-10 days.

I am guessing it discharged too much and then froze, killing it off, since it's been really cold.

[–] zxqwas@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago

How cold?

How old is the battery? I live very far north and a 4 year old battery has done it's time.

If you have a lot of cold starts every year consider installing a block heater and and using an oil with good cold performance.

[–] Cheradenine@sh.itjust.works 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Besides what others have said. Have you changed your oil? Cold oil is slow oil and makes starting harder.

A cold weather oil will move more freely and do a better job of lubricating the engine during the hardest part of the run cycle, the start.

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, oil is not the issue. It needs a lot of juice all the time. Even in the summer if its not driven at least once in a week will have a good chance of being dead. This has been over like 3 batteries in the last 5 years.

[–] Montagge@lemmy.zip 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Sounds like you have a parasitic draw somewhere

[–] chknbwl@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago

I concur. Get the alternator checked. The diode might be giving up the ghost and causing reverse-current, draining the battery even while off.

[–] chknbwl@lemmy.world 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Don't waste your money on an AGM battery. Unless you have a premium luxury vehicle (i.e. Audi) and the extra cash to burn, just find a decent brand battery with as much CCA as you can fit under the hood.

Get yourself a 12V trickle charger. Most quality units will fully charge your battery and keep it in a "floating" mode to top it off, letting you keep it connected to the car for several days at a time.

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Why does the car being permium matter?

It seems an AGM battery does have the highest CCA that the websites list.

Its a 40-$50 difference between the highest CCA regular vs AGM.

Internet also says that AGM can take more abuse as well. Seems like it's perfect for me, no?

Edit: Just checked out Costco and they apparently only list an AGM battery for my car and its cheaper than the highest CCA regular battery at other shops. Hopefully this works better.

[–] chknbwl@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

Why does the car being permium matter?

More electronic systems means higher instantaneous current draw.

Seems like it's perfect for me, no?

Hey, if you get a fine deal on it and it provides all the CCA you need then that's a win in my book. You should still look into trickle charging if not driving the car for more than a week. The battery can get damaged.

[–] HikingVet@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 months ago

Batteries preform worse in the cold.

If it's cold enough to affect your battery, you need to keep them warmer. As another commentor points out, block heater are a solution.

[–] iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 months ago

A block heater can reduce the load on a battery in the cold.