Battery Replacement Question for the Experts

[OldGuyNewJeep]

I think you only have to disconnect the AUX negative, so not that big a deal.

@DanW, just to ensure I’ve adequately beaten this dead horse…

I reached out to Enersys again (they are very fast to respond - great service).

They confirmed that disconnecting the AUX is all that is needed. They also said, specifically, to NOT try charging two batteries wired in parallel at the same time UNLESS they are exactly the same.

They also gave me this link on the subject of charging with the battery still in the vehicle IF you have a smart charger (old school ones could damage sensitive electronics): https://gmundcars.com/charging-a-car-battery-while-still-connected/

Last bit of info they gave:

Note that in the article, they connect the charger cables directly to the battery terminals - pos on pos and neg on neg. While in our manual we say to connect one cable to the battery and one the vehicle chassis (depending on which side is grounded). We are actually going to change our instructions to connect both terminals to the battery in our next revision.

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[DanW]

@DanW, just to ensure I’ve adequately beaten this dead horse…

I reached out to Enersys again (they are very fast to respond - great service).

They confirmed that disconnecting the AUX is all that is needed. They also said, specifically, to NOT try charging two batteries wired in parallel at the same time UNLESS they are exactly the same.

They also gave me this link on the subject of charging with the battery still in the vehicle IF you have a smart charger (old school ones could damage sensitive electronics): https://gmundcars.com/charging-a-car-battery-while-still-connected/

Last bit of info they gave:

That's great info! They are a great company.

 

[RAO]

Does this information about the chargers apply for all AGM batteries or just this one brand?

 

[DanW]

Does this information about the chargers apply for all AGM batteries or just this one brand?

It applies for sure to high performance or pure lead AGMs like Odyssey, Northstar, and Optima. There may be others, but those are the ones that are best known.

The AGM batteries at auto stores that are not those brands may not be high performance, or pure lead AGM batteries. I can't speak to them, but it is possible that they can be charged with standard procedures and chargers. I'd check with whomever the manufacturer might be to be sure.

 

[JeepJLU402]

I just tested my batteries after the dealer said they were ok and got ESS to work for a week. From what I've learned I think my batteries are about to die. the main was at 12.25V and the aux was at 11.95V. The Jeep still starts up right away but there is no ESS. it's a 2019 3.6L would this be a correct assumption?

 

[DWS44]

Sorry for digging up an older thread, but found this while searching for some knowledge on which batteries to buy. For quick reference, mine is a 2018 JLR, Manual, 3.6L, 3.5 years old, just crossed 30K miles. Still on original bats for main and aux. ESS hasn't kicked on in months, and couple weeks ago started getting the "Aux Switches not available" message, so I figure it's time to replace the batteries before things continue spiraling from here.

For the Aux, I was going to do the DieHard Platinum AGM mentioned here and several other threads. For the main battery, I found the Batteries Plus battery mentioned in this post and local store stocks them (hell, it even matches my Ocean Blue), but the price has gone up to $330/ea on their website...$100 more than a DieHard Platinum AGM at the local Advance. Other than the warranty, is anything about it worth $100 more than the DieHard?

Lastly, the thread references "Group 48" as the battery size, but I note that the DieHards on the Advance website list both a "Group H6" (760CCA) and "Group H7" (850CCA) as being an "Exact Fit" at the same price.

 

[DanW]

Sorry for digging up an older thread, but found this while searching for some knowledge on which batteries to buy. For quick reference, mine is a 2018 JLR, Manual, 3.6L, 3.5 years old, just crossed 30K miles. Still on original bats for main and aux. ESS hasn't kicked on in months, and couple weeks ago started getting the "Aux Switches not available" message, so I figure it's time to replace the batteries before things continue spiraling from here.

For the Aux, I was going to do the DieHard Platinum AGM mentioned here and several other threads. For the main battery, I found the Batteries Plus battery mentioned in this post and local store stocks them (hell, it even matches my Ocean Blue), but the price has gone up to $330/ea on their website...$100 more than a DieHard Platinum AGM at the local Advance. Other than the warranty, is anything about it worth $100 more than the DieHard?

Lastly, the thread references "Group 48" as the battery size, but I note that the DieHards on the Advance website list both a "Group H6" (760CCA) and "Group H7" (850CCA) as being an "Exact Fit" at the same price.

The Die Hard Platinum AGM is probably a very good battery. But it is not a high performance AGM like the X2, which is made by Northstar/Odyssey. I think the X2 is worth the money. Go sign up for Rakuten, which is a web discount site. They hae 3% cash back now with Batteriesplus.com and if you time it right you can get 10 to 15 % off from Batteries Plus for purchasing online. That'll take a nice bite out of the price. The warranty on the X2 is outstanding, too. Better than Northstar/Odyssey's warranty on the same exact battery.

Winching and high load situations is where that X2 really pays off. Plus, they last a long, long time.

But again, I think the Duracell is very good. And it, along with the Northstar, Odyssey, and X2, are made in the USA. The Duracell is made by a privately owned company in Pennsylvania. Owned by an American family.

I've got an X2 in my JK and an Odyssey in my JL. BatteriesPlus substituted the Odyssey because the X2 was back ordered at the time. I want to say the JK battery is pushing 4 or 5 years old and performs like day 1. I expect 8 to 10 years out of it.

Just my 2 cents.

Oh, I did buy an Optima charger. The pure lead high performance AGM batteries require a charger equipped to handle them. Regular chargers can't get it done. Especially if discharged below a certain voltage. You and Autozone will think the battery is no good but the right charger can still recover it and the battery will be fine. You'll need to read up on all that. Optima has some good resources and I think someone has posted here before.

Optima, btw, is another good battery. Just not quite there in capacity or CCA compared to the equivalent X2/Odyssey/Northstar.

 

[Jebiruph]

Odyssey is frequently on sale from Napa.

 

[jeepdabest]

The Die Hard Platinum AGM is probably a very good battery. But it is not a high performance AGM like the X2, which is made by Northstar/Odyssey. I think the X2 is worth the money. Go sign up for Rakuten, which is a web discount site. They hae 3% cash back now with Batteriesplus.com and if you time it right you can get 10 to 15 % off from Batteries Plus for purchasing online. That'll take a nice bite out of the price. The warranty on the X2 is outstanding, too. Better than Northstar/Odyssey's warranty on the same exact battery.

Winching and high load situations is where that X2 really pays off. Plus, they last a long, long time.

But again, I think the Duracell is very good. And it, along with the Northstar, Odyssey, and X2, are made in the USA. The Duracell is made by a privately owned company in Pennsylvania. Owned by an American family.

I've got an X2 in my JK and an Odyssey in my JL. BatteriesPlus substituted the Odyssey because the X2 was back ordered at the time. I want to say the JK battery is pushing 4 or 5 years old and performs like day 1. I expect 8 to 10 years out of it.

Just my 2 cents.

Oh, I did buy an Optima charger. The pure lead high performance AGM batteries require a charger equipped to handle them. Regular chargers can't get it done. Especially if discharged below a certain voltage. You and Autozone will think the battery is no good but the right charger can still recover it and the battery will be fine. You'll need to read up on all that. Optima has some good resources and I think someone has posted here before.

Optima, btw, is another good battery. Just not quite there in capacity or CCA compared to the equivalent X2/Odyssey/Northstar.

X2 has a 5 year warranty with 2 replacements.

 

[DWS44]

I think the X2 is worth the money. Go sign up for Rakuten, which is a web discount site. They hae 3% cash back now with Batteriesplus.com and if you time it right you can get 10 to 15 % off from Batteries Plus for purchasing online. That'll take a nice bite out of the price. The warranty on the X2 is outstanding, too. Better than Northstar/Odyssey's warranty on the same exact battery.

Odyssey is frequently on sale from Napa.

Thanks to both of you for all the info! I caved and ordered an X2 94R, since the local store had one in stock, plus the 10% code and the Rakuten deal Dan mentioned. Looked at the NAPA deal, but would have had to wait on shipping, and hoping to play with all this over the holiday weekend. Also ordered a new Braille (instead of the DieHard) for the Aux spot...so that should hopefully cover me for battery power for a while.

 

[DanW]

X2 has a 5 year warranty with 2 replacements.

Yep, can't beat that with a stick!

 

[entropy]

To add to what Dan already replied, you don’t need the fancy charger I ordered.

If you drive every day, your alternator will do the job of charging for you. Back when I had a daily 60 mile commute I never had to worry about charging batteries. I’d plug in my little 1a Deltran every couple of weeks and things worked fine for three years.

According to Enersys, you can achieve full charge with 10% of rated amp hours (Ah). So for the Northstar X2, that’s a 7a charger and for the Odyssey 94r that’s an 8a charger.

That all means a Noco-10 would probably be just fine, and it’s only $99.

I will use my Noco-5 for my little AUX battery, and my new Odyssey for the 94R. Note that the Odyssey charger also does trickle/maintenance, so just like the Noco you just plug in in and forget about it.

Can you throw 10a at the AUX? Well, I guess that depends on who makes it. The internet consensus is that 0.1C is the safest charge rate for AGM batteries, so just take Ah and divide by 10. That said, “good” batteries like those made by Enersys want more current - 0.4C being preferred, but a whopping 1C is acceptable if one needs a rapid charge.

If you threw 1C at the stock AUX battery (or cranking battery, for that matter), you’d absolutely cook it.

TL;DR - it depends ?

I was going through this post because I had an odyssey I recently bought die on me after about 5 months of use.

My jeep is not a daily driver. I work from home and it sits a lot.

The part that I dont get. My 2020 camry isnt my daily driver either and I never have battery issues. Never.

So I think these expensive batteries are just pure shit. A battery shouldnt die so soon. And now how the fuck am I gonna get a replacement when theyre saying it is about 8 weeks. And send them a dead battery they can then try to repair or wtver. Fuck that. Lesson learned. I am buying an average battery at autozone or O'Reilly's and if it goes kaput they can just replace it.

I rather spend $200 every 3 years than to spend over hundreds on charger, battery, and having to go through all this charging mess.

 

[BRuby]

@DanW, just to ensure I’ve adequately beaten this dead horse…

I reached out to Enersys again (they are very fast to respond - great service).

They confirmed that disconnecting the AUX is all that is needed. They also said, specifically, to NOT try charging two batteries wired in parallel at the same time UNLESS they are exactly the same.

They also gave me this link on the subject of charging with the battery still in the vehicle IF you have a smart charger (old school ones could damage sensitive electronics): https://gmundcars.com/charging-a-car-battery-while-still-connected/

Last bit of info they gave:

This. As previously posted have been doing this with the aux 5A smart charged and main 7.2A for years with perfect results plus regular repair desulfating. No battery issues at all. Original OEM batteries. No need to change what works. But appreciate all the naysayers on this approach. Haha.

 

[cbh]

If your Odyssey or Northstar did drain down like that you could just disconnect it and charge it with the higher amperage, then reconnect it.

I'm no expert, but I'd bet you could use 10 amp charging to do both. I've been running for 10 months with an Odyssey and a Die Hard AGM aux battery with no issues. I think the issue might be if you let it sit a long time. Mine has sat for 2 weeks a couple of times with no issue.

My JK has sat for up to a month with its Northstar and no issue. I want to say I've had that Northstar for 4 or 5 years or so. (It's the Batteries Plus X2 version.)

Btw, Oddyssey makes some smaller less expensive 12 amp version of their charger. Also a 6 amp, although I'm wondering if that'd be enough. I'm probably going to go with the small Optima, though. It has more settings to make it easier to set up for different battery types and a digital display.

For long term storage, I'd guess you could disconnect the big battery, fully charge it and then hook it back up and put the trickle charger on it. That'd maintain it while probably quickly bringing the little battery up.

I've never had one of these drain down, though, so I'm not at all speaking from experience. I didn't even sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night. I only watched the video @OldGuyNewJeep posted. Lol.

Are the battery chargers you're refering to small enough and robust enough to be mounted idefinitely under the hood of a truck?

 

[DanW]

Are the battery chargers you're refering to small enough and robust enough to be mounted idefinitely under the hood of a truck?

The smaller Optima charger probably could be, but I don't know if it would hold up to the dust and heat under the hood of a Jeep. But it is a great little charger. I have one. It just isn't fast. But it can properly charge, and I believe recover, a fully drained pure lead AGM battery. I haven't had to recover one, so I'm not 100% sure about that. But it will properly charge it.

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