[Teneck83]

Update. As mentioned above, I replaced the factory battery with an optimum yellow top. First start with the optimum battery it wouldn't start. Second attempt it started. Drove the car for about 10 miles and parked it. Now today, again the car wouldn't start. Charged it with my maintainer/charger for 15 minutes, fired right up. Drove 10 miles, than parked for 30 minutes. Again, car wouldn't start. Just heard clicks. Had to jump start and took it home.

This is very unusual. Any ideas? Anyone experience something similar?

[ZX-10R]

15 minutes isn't enough, it takes many hours to fully charge. Does your charger tell you the battery state? Get an Optimate6

[Teneck83]

I have a deltran battery 12v, 10 amp rapid charger / maintainer for AGM batteries.

[jbp8653]

2017 ZL1 bought new 3/17. Drive about 5500 miles a year. No battery tender. Still on the original battery with no issues.

[BlueinTN]

Originally Posted by Teneck83

I have a deltran battery 12v, 10 amp rapid charger / maintainer for AGM batteries.

Well a electrical meter would tell you everything.


Somewhat simple terms your new Optima has about 800 cranking amps. A 10 amp charger would take quite a while to full charge that battery. think a 10 gallon bucket filling an 800 gallon tank. Optima usually read 12.8 to sometimes 13 VDC fully charged. GM charging system usually looking for 80% of that which I think is 12.4 VDC.


I made this video of the voltage at rest, the amp draw, starting amp draw, voltage running and amp charging. Car had sat for 3 weeks I think so the battery voltage was low.


The A on the meter is amps The V with the solid line over it is VDC.






Quick guess is the battery you bought was not fully charged up when they sold it to you.

[Teneck83]

Originally Posted by BlueinTN

Well a electrical meter would tell you everything.


Somewhat simple terms your new Optima has about 800 cranking amps. A 10 amp charger would take quite a while to full charge that battery. think a 10 gallon bucket filling an 800 gallon tank. Optima usually read 12.8 to sometimes 13 VDC fully charged. GM charging system usually looking for 80% of that which I think is 12.4 VDC.


I made this video of the voltage at rest, the amp draw, starting amp draw, voltage running and amp charging. Car had sat for 3 weeks I think so the battery voltage was low.


The A on the meter is amps The V with the solid line over it is VDC.






Quick guess is the battery you bought was not fully charged up when they sold it to you.

Great info. thank you

[ember1205]

Is the battery that they sold you an AGM battery? When they load tested your old one, did they use testing equipment compatible with AGM batteries?

What I find amusing is that AGM batteries claim to be able to start a car 60k times and run "a lot of electronics" for a long time. Yet, these batteries are dying in our Camaro's after about three years and the car won't allow the radio to stay on while you're washing or similar for very long.

There's also conflicting information about charging these batteries. One place tells you "low and slow" is the correct way to charge them (which makes no sense for a battery designed to provide a significant amount of power in a short amount of time - it should get re-charged quickly) while another tells you that they are capable of much faster recharging than other batteries.

The one thing that seems common with them is that cars that use AGM batteries have them located in the trunk since they are a completely sealed product with much higher safety expectations (no leaking of acid or fumes).

[KingLT1]

On my 3rd battery. 1st was factory Delco that didn't last 2yrs, but I never kept it on a tender. So Instead of taking it in and get it replaced under warranty, I thought that it would be better to buy a aftermarket AGM. That proved to be a mistake... Second battery was a AutoCraft platinum AGM that I kept on a tender and it still didn't last 2 yrs. It went completely dead to the point the tender was showing not connected to a battery. Thankfully It was under warranty and I received a DieHard AGM free this time around. These cars seem to put a lot of strain on the batteries.

[Glen e]

I have several AGM batteries, 4 on my boat, and one in each of my cars. I also used To sell odyssey AGM batteries for a yacht builder. They do not require a special charger. The only situation that you get into that are different than a standard lead acid battery is if they get entirely discharge down to near zero, the batteries need to be equalized before a charger will bring it back. However no car contains any type of special alternator, an AGM battery is still a lead acid battery. It is gel (now about extinct ) and lithium that take a diff charger.

Read here:

https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-u...er-agm-battery

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by Glen e

I have several AGM batteries, 4 on my boat, and one in each of my cars. I also used To sell odyssey AGM batteries for a yacht builder. They do not require a special charger. The only situation that you get into that are different than a standard lead acid battery is if they get entirely discharge down to near zero, the batteries need to be equalized before a charger will bring it back. However no car contains any type of special alternator, an AGM battery is still a lead acid battery. It is gel (now about extinct ) and lithium that take a diff charger.

Read here:

https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-u...er-agm-battery

Interestingly, here's another page from the same site that alludes to the use of special chargers: https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-u...ng-agm-battery

In reality, it isn't the charging that's up for debate so much as it is the charge maintenance. Once you hit "full", your charger/maintainer needs to be able to adjust accordingly to keep the battery from overcharging.

Another thing I dislike about AGM batteries is that they are somewhat similar to NiCad in that they will slowly lose capacity over time. I wonder if anyone has replaced their AGM battery with a non-AGM and is able to speak to what sort of drawbacks they may have encountered (if any).

[KingLT1]

Originally Posted by ember1205

Interestingly, here's another page from the same site that alludes to the use of special chargers: https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-u...ng-agm-battery

In reality, it isn't the charging that's up for debate so much as it is the charge maintenance. Once you hit "full", your charger/maintainer needs to be able to adjust accordingly to keep the battery from overcharging.

Another thing I dislike about AGM batteries is that they are somewhat similar to NiCad in that they will slowly lose capacity over time. I wonder if anyone has replaced their AGM battery with a non-AGM and is able to speak to what sort of drawbacks they may have encountered (if any).

This fact and I do keep all my stuff on Tenders that float charge. Still doesn't mean you won't have a bad battery. I honestly don't think batteries are as good as they use to be. Longest battery I ever had last was a Crown lead Acid from 1998. It lasted over 9yrs in the truck I had at the time. Most batteries I have owned prior to 2015 would last at least 6yrs. Now all of my Vehicles 2015 and newer have needed the battery replaced in less then 3 years.

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by KingLT1

This fact and I do keep all my stuff on Tenders that float charge. Still doesn't mean you won't have a bad battery. I honestly don't think batteries are as good as they use to be. Longest battery I ever had last was a Crown lead Acid from 1998. It lasted over 9yrs in the truck I had at the time. Most batteries I have owned prior to 2015 would last at least 6yrs. Now all of my Vehicles 2015 and newer have needed the battery replaced in less then 3 years.

I literally just put a new battery in my 2015 Silverado yesterady. Built in July 2015 and I bought it early August (just came in on the truck). 76k on the clock and the battery was original. -NOT- an AGM battery.

[BlueinTN]

Just to add some counter point I use them because Im getting more than 8 years out of them where as I would get 4-5 with a conventional battery. On one vehicle I have with headers the water would boil out and the battery might last 3 years...I just replaced it at 9 years and I dont charge anything unless its dead. Vehicle sits sometimes 4 months a year. Bad on me.


Above video always shows our Camaros have no problem starting at under 12 volts...well at least mine. I bought it off the show room floor its a 2018. I know the battery went dead once...it was dead when I went to test drive it.

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by BlueinTN

Just to add some counter point I use them because Im getting more than 8 years out of them where as I would get 4-5 with a conventional battery. On one vehicle I have with headers the water would boil out and the battery might last 3 years...I just replaced it at 9 years and I dont charge anything unless its dead. Vehicle sits sometimes 4 months a year. Bad on me.


Above video always shows our Camaros have no problem starting at under 12 volts...well at least mine. I bought it off the show room floor its a 2018. I know the battery went dead once...it was dead when I went to test drive it.

What car and motor is in that in the video?