SuzukiSavage.com - Life span of AGM battery

stewmills

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Life span of AGM battery
09/23/16 at 13:10:14

I have an AGM battery that is about 3+ years old. Never gave me any trouble. IIRC, it's an Autocraft Powersport Premium from Adv Auto.

I rode as recently as last week and it performed just fine. Leaving the house this morning the bike cranked but seemed to want to chug and stall almost like it was intermittently getting fire and didn't want to run strong until I got out on the road and got the RPMs up for a couple of miles then it was fine. Reason I am wondering about the battery is because as I got to the end of the driveway (~1400 feet) the bike choked out and I had to restart it. When I did, it seemed like the battery was having a bit of a struggle and I was worried that if it didn't crank momentarily it might start petering out...but luckily it cranked.

So, do we expect sealed AGM batteries to last more than a couple of years and if I am on year 3+ I'm just fortunate and probably need to trade up before it dies and leaves me stranded one day? My electrical system is stock so no leeching of the battery on accessories, etc. and it is garage stored and not exposed to the elements, etc.

Thanks!

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justin_o_guy2

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What happened?

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Re: Life span of AGM battery
Reply #1 - 09/23/16 at 13:39:57

Batteries,, man, you might as well start a thread about
What do women Want from a man?

A battery can be a turd, right outta the box, or, gold, for years.
I left the key on on the backhoe, Twice. Flattened the battery.
Wal-Mart saved it. It finally started having trouble firing it off.
Five years and two months..
You described a battery puking out. The charging system is not the nicest approach to long battery life. Three years isn't bad, really. You can get it tested,, but I can't bump start it, I Want a genuine, trustworthy battery.. but the dang things can sure pick a bad time to surprise a guy.

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stewmills Serious Thumper Offline Imagination is more important than knowledge Posts: 2641 Auburn, AL Gender:	Re: Life span of AGM battery Reply #2 - 09/23/16 at 13:43:36 A real man can push start a backhoe!
Back to top	2008 \| 152/52.5–Air Mix 3/4 \| Rotella T4 \| Seat Lift w/Sheepskin \| Speedo Rattle \| Rear Pulley Shim \| 140/90-15 Rear \| Kaw Front Pulley \| Relocated Rear Signals FREEDOM ISN'T FREE! IP Logged

Kris01 Serious Thumper Offline Eat, sleep, RIDE! Posts: 3767 Tennessee Gender:	Re: Life span of AGM battery Reply #3 - 09/23/16 at 13:57:23 No, Stew. It takes a real BIG man!
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verslagen1 YaBB Moderator ModSquad Online Where there's a will, I want to be in it. Posts: 28886 L.A. California Gender:	Re: Life span of AGM battery Reply #4 - 09/23/16 at 14:46:40 stewmills wrote on 09/23/16 at 13:43:36: A real man can push start a backhoe! A real man can fart down the intake of anything to get it started.
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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Life span of AGM battery Reply #5 - 09/23/16 at 15:14:54 The intake of the backhoe is behind a heavy guard. I kill it by farting down the exhaust.
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gizzo Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiCabbage. It's Savage. Posts: 1318 Australia	Re: Life span of AGM battery Reply #6 - 09/23/16 at 15:16:15 I used to have a girlfriend who could Suck Start a small block chev.
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Steve H

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Re: Life span of AGM battery
Reply #7 - 09/23/16 at 16:49:19

Stew,

It's been my experience that when an AGM dies, it does so rather quickly. Like it's fine one day and the next you can't get anything out of it kind of quick. Have it checked but it's probably done.

They don't leak and seem to hold up very well to vibration, temp changes and stuff. Like JOG said, some are gold, some a turd. Sounds like you got probably about average life. The charging system isn't really battery friendly. Batteries should be charged at c/10 usually. Vehicle charging systems are designed to shove as much power into the battery as fast as possible to get the charge back up for the next start. It takes a toll on the internal chemistry.

Being that AGM isn't liquid submerged, there is really nowhere for the heat to go. There's nothing other than the plates and mats to heat. No boiling off to cool or anything. Fast charging takes its toll. I've got the cheapest standard wet cell I could find and finishing up on 4 years on it. Still works really well. Keep it full. Keep it charged. Don't go below about 70 percent charge and they last quite a while. I am expecting it to die sometime within the next year. They have just gotten too good at designed obsolescence. It's only intended to last 2 years, with good care, you can get more. But, at some point, it will be consumed. I'll propbably go with an AGM when this one dies just so I don't have the constant water level hassles since the battery is such a pain to take out.

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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Life span of AGM battery Reply #8 - 09/23/16 at 18:05:52 gizzo wrote on 09/23/16 at 15:16:15: I used to have a girlfriend who could Suck Start a small block chev. So, when she got ahold of your 3horse Briggs, did it, uhh, throw a Rod?
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gizzo Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiCabbage. It's Savage. Posts: 1318 Australia	Re: Life span of AGM battery Reply #9 - 09/23/16 at 18:26:02 She even emptied the fuel tank!
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12Bravo Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 628 Mid-Missouri Gender:	Re: Life span of AGM battery Reply #10 - 09/24/16 at 08:54:52 Stew, I have the same battery in mine. I've had it for a little over 4 years now and it is still going strong. I don't ride the bike much since I mostly ride the HD geezer glide. The S40 fires up right away every time.
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Ruttly

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Re: Life span of AGM battery
Reply #11 - 09/24/16 at 10:24:17

Never used a AGM battery. I got lithium battery (Deltran/Battery tender)
great battery until the other day started up & went for a ride came back to make carb adjustment, go to start it nothing , no warning of a slow crank or dim lights , just nothing voltage was at 5 volts , anyways put a new battery same brand & guess I will try it again !

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SavageMan99 Senior Member Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 391	Re: Life span of AGM battery Reply #12 - 09/24/16 at 11:54:05 I want a Samsung lithium battery so I can make bobber bomber out of mine. Talk about a bang shift...
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Gary_in_NJ

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Re: Life span of AGM battery
Reply #13 - 09/24/16 at 12:30:26

Stew, from my experience they last anywhere from 5 minutes to 5 years. I'm not making a joke either. I installed one in a GSX1100 that had an internal failure just 5 minutes after installing it. With the broken plate the battery showed 12.8 volts, but it couldn't handle any load.

In a bike that vibrates like our big singles, battery life is as much luck as any other variable.

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Ruttly Serious Thumper Offline Thumpers Rule Posts: 5109 Manteca , CA Gender:	Re: Life span of AGM battery Reply #14 - 09/24/16 at 19:22:20 Yeah that lithium battery was close to 3 yrs old so it wasn't like it was new. Have a Shorai lithium in the sportster , they are best rated of the lithium also very expensive but it's doing well. Guess the newer batteries give you no warning of failing , they just fail !!
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