3 Dead AGM Batteries in 2 years?

[CharlesHoward]

I replaced my very old Sears DieHard AGM Batteries in April 2022 with DieHard Platinum AGMs from Advance Auto Parts.
Fast forward to Fall 2022 and I put the Truck in Storage from Dec through March in Montgomery AL (which unusually did have some hard freeze events) with the Batteries DISCONNECTED.

Batteries Reconnected (with RV Battery jumped just in case) and Truck started up fine.
Got Home and put the NOCO dual Battery Charger on them and they took two days to fully recharge.
After a week NOCO Battery Charger indicated a problem with the Passenger Side Battery.

Took that Bad Battery back to Advance Auto Parts and got a Free Replacement under the 3 year Warranty.

Drove from Montgomery to Imperial (Western) NE (now have 181k Miles on this Ram) and in mid April and have driven the Truck infrequently for very short in-town trips (we usually walk everywhere).

Have put the Batteries on the NOCO Dual charger twice (once a month) since here.
Took a long 30 mile drive and due to CAMSHAFT POS Code, left the truck at "Quality Diesel" in Grant NE.
After sitting for a little over a week there, they couldn't start the Truck and claim both the new and two year old AGMs are bad and don't pass the "load test"! They wonder why too...
They'll install 2 less expensive Lead Acid Batteries for me (pending a return of my AGMs to a
Advance Auto Parts someday...)
But how could 3 AGM Batteries fail so soon?
My Dash Voltage meter always goes to 14V and I've conditioned them on the NOCO charger monthly (5 Hours to full charge on the old AGM, 7 Hours to full Charge on the new AGM.
What kind of short or drain could be occurring? Could PCM Voltage Regulator be at Fault? Wife thinks the Charger is overcharging... but IT KNOWS they're AGMs. All Battery Terminals are snug/tight.
Suggestions are appreciated!

 

[AH64ID]

Batteries aren’t what they used to be, it’s very common for premature failures.

The NOCO’s are smart chargers, and you can leave them connected 24/7 when the truck is parked since they shut off and cycle the charge when the batteries are fully charged. You don’t need to charge them separately, just a single connection with them hooked up in parallel is fine.

 

[Topzide]

As @AH64ID stated, they don't make them like they used too! Do you have access to power where stored? If so, hook up the NOCO to keep the batteries at peak. Only takes a cold snap at a low state of charge to zap a battery of it's life! A great way to charge the batteries without lifting the hood is to make an adapter to back feed through the 7-way trailer connector. Makes it much easier to hook up. Sorry to hear the bad luck with the batteries. Hopefully you get a better group. Maybe you'll need a good solar setup to keep them up to snuff if power not available.

 

[Darkbloodmon]

Batteries aren’t what they used to be, it’s very common for premature failures.

The NOCO’s are smart chargers, and you can leave them connected 24/7 when the truck is parked since they shut off and cycle the charge when the batteries are fully charged. You don’t need to charge them separately, just a single connection with them hooked up in parallel is fine.

Can't say enough good things about my Noco battery tenders, and Can't say enough bad things about battery mfg. today. When I was working for Advanced Auto I would test the new batteries when we were slow, I'd have to put so many of them, AGM or Lead Acid on our charger even though the were produced the same year/month because they tested low or failed load testing off the delivery trucks.

Try batteries plus next time you need a replacement out of warranty. I really like the X2 AGM in my '91 Accord, and I got 2 Duracell AGM's for my '03 2500.

 

[CharlesHoward]

Thanks for the advice - I'm less upset about the rapid failures now!

 

[AH64ID]

Thanks for the advice - I'm less upset about the rapid failures now!

It’s still worth being upset with, quite frankly it’s ridiculous.

I’ve been using Costco batteries the last few years. Easy, no hassle warranty and good prices. If nothings going to last at least the warranty is decent.

Always replace both batteries in a dual battery system, that way they are matched. A bad battery can quickly kill a good battery.

 

[CharlesHoward]

I know that -
But what was I to do when an expensive AGM was replaced under warranty with its one year old partner? I immediately put both on the NOCO dual charger to hopefully equalize them...
But when I return home in Sept I will have 2 bad AGMs under warranty to exchange as a pair once again for the luck of the draw apparently....

 

[AH64ID]

Unless you are disconnecting one battery a dual charger isn’t needed, or recommended. If they still connected it can throw off the chargers.

The best, and simplest, method is to leave them connected and use a single charger. When you have an issue then you can disconnect and isolate them.

 

[EDankievitch]

AMG batteries don’t like going unused or going dead. I’ve destroyed two AMG batteries in my sailboat. I have a solar battery maintainer on them year round. In the summer they get cycled but over the winter not so much. I’ve got a regular wet cell deep cycle battery in my power boat. It’s been in there since 2015. My electronics will run it down over the winter but give it a zap overnight 5amp trickle charger right before the boat goes in in the spring and it’s good to go for the summer.
My feeling is if your truck or boat is going to sit unused go with a wet cell battery. If you are going to be using the vehicle then go with an AMG. You will be happier and get better life out of the battery.

 

[CharlesHoward]

In the future is it better to put the charger on ONE of the two batteries OR put the Negative input on one Battery and the Positive Input from the Charger on the other Battery?

 

[AH64ID]

In the future is it better to put the charger on ONE of the two batteries OR put the Negative input on one Battery and the Positive Input from the Charger on the other Battery?

I have mine connected the + and - of the drivers side battery, the OE crossover cable is more than adequate size for trickle charging.

No need to complicate it.

 

[Blakers]

Who makes the Sears Diehard batteries? I have had very good success with AGM batteries in my truck. My current NAPA AGM batteries (made by East Penn Battery Co) are about 2 years old and have absolutely no issues. Prior to this, I had Exide AGM batteries in it. They lasted 9 years. Prior to those, the truck had the original lead acid batteries, and they lasted 9 years.

One of the original lead acid batteries (now 20 years old) is still going strong in a Gravely garden tractor, and both of the Exide AGM batteries are still used for other things that require less power, like running an electrolysis tank.

 

[Tuesdak]

But what was I to do when an expensive AGM was replaced under warranty with its one year old partner?

This is what caused your multiple failures. It's always a problem to get places to warranty a failed and WEAK battery in a dual battery system: because it passes a test. Even MOPAR Warranty is a bad example of CHEAP as they require extensive testing and then only replace one of two in the pair. By the time they rented me a vehicle overnight to warranty a battery it's still cutting off their nose to spite their face.

You have to either insist they warranty both or replace the other "old" one somehow.

After the sub-standard warranty repair for a no-start where RAM only replaced one battery I went over to Batteries Plus and replaced both batteries with new AGM's. I kept the new battery from warranty for starting a generator. I am not going to put up with a preventable no-start condition over battery mismatch.

When the Odyssey AGM's had one go bad...

Due to supply chain shortages I tossed in the "new" MOPAR 94R that was assigned generator duty. I didn't get that long before I had two no-starts because the other weak AGM murdered the good MOPAR 94R. The X2's were finally in stock and I was able to get the batteries warrantied. The murdered one was out of my pocket even though I knew better than to do it. Had no choice with supply chain shortages. (The drive to get a temporary loaner batteries offered under warranty and time needed to do so wasn't worth it.)

Try batteries plus next time you need a replacement out of warranty. I really like the X2 AGM in my '91 Accord

For a time most places couldn't get the higher end AGM's from Enersys hence my above saga. Enersys, they make the Odyssey brand, now owns Northstar battery who makes the X2's. They are effectively the same thing I read due to consolidation of the production line technology etc.

Even the 94R X2's were in short supply so Batteries Plus were substituting Odyssey AGM's vs. their own X2 labeled stuff for a time.

The 5 year warranty they offered on the X2's (and Odyssey) is now down to 4 years. The price increase is eye watering.

At least Batteries Plus knows to replace both in a dual battery system at the same time when one fails.

The NOCO’s are smart chargers,

I got one as a gift otherwise I would have returned it due to one limitation it has. You have to search their specs on their website as they have the "Chinesium re-imagined specifications" and turn into a pumpkin at 104F. That's Max operating temperature, 104F, of the NOCO black box. It's going to be 111F today making one of these USELESS to me. Their expensive line (renamed lately) does offer 121F max operating temp though.

 

[Matt42]

It’s still worth being upset with, quite frankly it’s ridiculous.

I’ve been using Costco batteries the last few years. Easy, no hassle warranty and good prices. If nothings going to last at least the warranty is decent.

Always replace both batteries in a dual battery system, that way they are matched. A bad battery can quickly kill a good battery.

I know that -
But what was I to do when an expensive AGM was replaced under warranty with its one year old partner? I immediately put both on the NOCO dual charger to hopefully equalize them...
But when I return home in Sept I will have 2 bad AGMs under warranty to exchange as a pair once again for the luck of the draw apparently....

When I end up with an orphan battery under similar circumstances, I keep the better of the two back to use as a "beater" on my travel trailer. Even if the old battery isn't intended as a deep cycle, it works just fine in my usage. It seems to help that all I use are AGM batteries. I usually have one or two really old and dead batteries on hand to use as trade-ins or core fefund, so no big deal there. Nobody ever seemed to care that I was trading in, say, a Group 65 when I was buying a Group 27. The concept also works if the "somewhat OK" battery will fit on a different vehicle that needs only one. (For a wonderful time, all of our vehicles used the same size battery.)

The last time this took place was when one of the two Batteries-Plus house brand AGM batteries died and the good one discharged into it. They were the same group, but made at way different times so not really matched. It took 6 years for trouble to show up, because I keep them on float charge. I charged both of the old batteries back up separately, then let them sit for a day. The battery that maintained the highest voltage after 30 hours went to the trailer. The horrid battery from the trailer went to trade with the less-good starting battery when I took them in for core refund.