Car batteries?
 

I did not see a category where this would fit.
The non Villages forum is not viewable on my home page.

Anyway, I am looking for comments/suggestions regarding car battery replacement. Which I have done myself for way too many years....and I may still do this one.

What are the views of AGM or "flooded" batteries.
At this juncture in my process I would conclude the AGM batteries are a little more expensive and have a significant list of advantages over the "flooded" products.

What is/has your experience knowledge about the two?

Check with your auto manufacturer to make sure an AGM battery is suitable for your car, and specifically the charging system. I recently purchased 2 smaller AGM batteries for a project that required the batteries to be able to be mounted in any position, and the charger for these was specific to AGM batteries. I am not sure these are universal replacements for flooded cell designs in all cases.

what are you trying to do ??? for me I keep my cars about 10 years, so that means I have to replace my battery one time . a flooded type Walmart battery is fine for me about $100, how much for other types and how long of a service life do you want .

AGM batteries are/were the factory provided batteries in Mazda Miatas and seem to last a long time. My original battery lasted 10 years. This is significantly longer than more traditional batteries in my other cars (4 years) but that could also be influenced by the battery location: the Miata battery is in the trunk instead of under the hood. As I understand it, heat does impact battery life.

I believe Walmart installs the new battery at no additional cost.

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Sams club free installation. Our front tire has to be removed just to get to the battery

What I've read about AGM they Last longer due to the plates are separated by glass material so they don't get corroded like, lead acid batteries plates floating in water, so I'm guessing in theory they should be safer from rare explosions if the pos and neg plates are kept separated ???? Course the cost is more. Depends on how long you want battery to last if the extra money worth it. But, even then, no garrentee it will last longer.

I would be more concerned about disconnecting and reconnecting the batteries in proper sequence. A spark or jump in voltage can play havoc with computer circuits on car now days. When I replace battery I try to get the highest CCA battery that will fit my car based on size of my battery box and position of the pos and neg terminals. Some time this involves altering the battery hold down bracket. But, that's me.

Re: Buying highest cca battery
 

While I might think the same, I recall reading that tho get greater CCA they need to make the plates thinner so it becomes more likely to suffer physical damage from vibration etc etc etc.

My battery is 6 years old. It still works but, the headlamps dim at idle. It is time to change it before it lets me down.

IMO yes, any lead acid battery over 5 years old can fail on the first cold morning or hot day and it don't have to 5 years old. You can have it load tested at autozone for free. This will tell you if you have any weak or falling plates.

I can usually tell when my battery getting ready to go bad it spins the starter slower which has different sound. I also get the biggest CCA battery (more plates, more amps, heavier) that will fit in my battery box. I learned costly mistake few years ago when my wife when home 500 miles away on old battery on hot day was working normal, then she stopped for lunch and nothing. Course I was no where near. Said the battery was bad and the alt. Which came in close to $1000 bucks. Funny thing about modern cars the have fault they will tell if the alternate not charging, which she said no warning light came on.

Dimming headlights could be couple things, battery going bad, alt. Regulator failing or winding failing, or idling to low? Again auto zone will check the battery and alt for free, at least they use to

I just replaced an original battery for my Acura RDX. Only warning was several clicks on two previous starts. I should have taken it someplace for replacement at that time. On the third time, no start, and a call to the auto service who jumped the car. I had AutoZone replace the batter with their best Duralast. When the red cover was removed over the positive terminal it was totally corroded. AutoZone did the replacement and their was a lot of serious acid cleanup involved in the tray. My battery was about $140. The AGM batteries such as Optima was over $200. My problem was not replacing the battery at the 3 year point.

Corrosion at the battery terminals can cause low voltage, which may have been your problem? Did autozone load test the battery and test the charging system? I guess it failed load test why you got new one? Did they say anything about charging system?

Usually batteries will last 5 years or more. IMO I would of had the charging system check if the didn't do it? If If it's over charging it will cause the problems you described above, corrosion, battery failure, and excessive acid boil overs (which probably cause the battery to fail hold charge due to low water).

Re;walmart batteries
 

We bought a Wallmart battery two months ago. According to my reading on the internet it is suggested you buy the slightly more expensive line as it is made by a different manufacturer. Interesting to me they sell different batteries in our HOT climate compared to colder climates.

In any case, they install for free. You can get a Wallmart credit card and it knocks $25 off your first purchase. The total bill was with tax about $100.

Today, the battery powers all the wizbangs in your car. Some have mentioned putting it in yourself. You can of course do that. They supply power to your cars computer systems at all times. If, you do it yourself, you will need to reset the computers. On some cars you need to do stuff like turn the key on and off 3-4x while standing on your head and running around the car. FREE is far easier. Also,
today getting rid of a used battery PROPERLY, is likely a major production-acid, lead etc.

My experience
 

I agree with what you've said that the average life of a car battery is about 5 years. Today, your car is controlled by several computers and they are very sensitive to voltage drops. My previous car ???? 5-6 years old just stopped-no warning. I with help from a good Samaritan pushed it to the side of the road.

I just had my battery replaced in my current car. It was still starting the car fine. I did notice that at idle the headlights were dim. THE ORIGINAL BATTERY WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD SO I TREATED THE CAR TO A NEW BATTERY.

By the way, the battery is under a plastic cover. The old battery looked like new. The new battery has solved the minor headlight dimming at idle.

I agree, low end lead acid batteries are less weight which means less plates and lead why there cheaper. When I had more than one vehicle I would get more out of batteries. Now only have one, so when I get 4 years or so one one I listen for the signs of battery fatigue. Usually it will wind the starter little slow creating different sound, I replace it cause it will probably fail at inconvenient time. I check cables for corrosion every time change the oil, any signs I clean then. Can't beat Walmart for batteries or tires IMO. I trust the guys at sourthern trace, they always done good job for me. Trust but verify. Beings I was aircraft engine mechanic for 40 some years I can detect sloppy work in heart beat. In my field there was a ZERO tolerance for even minor errors.

Careful on cheap batteries
 

Some cars such as BMW for one need to have the computer software set for a new battery or over charging may occur. (Ive verified this) I hope I’m not starting a whole new debate. 😬