[ZX-10R]

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 average 6-8 years but always use Optimate6, Battery Tenders are junk in my experience and it matters. For a typical ZL1 owner, the car sits for extended periods with no charge then big wallop of juice to fire up a 6.2L, drive it for 20 minutes (barely gets charged from startup event) and repeat - that's tough on a battery.

[BlueinTN]

Originally Posted by ember1205

What car and motor is in that in the video?

2018 Chevy Camaro ZL1 1LE with about 4k miles. I think the build date is 10/17.


I should note the readings are off the charging lug in the front of the car(underhood) not directly off the battery in the rear of the car so there some voltage drop. My guess would be .2 volts DC.


There a few more videos on my Youtube channel on vehicle charging.

[Teneck83]

This is getting very frustrating. Saturday I disconnected my car from my maintainer and started up immediately. Went on a 40 mile drive. Parked it when I got home and did not connect battery maintainer. Monday I wanted to detail the car. Started up quickly and without effort. Spent 30 minutes cleaning the car in the driveway. When I started the car to pull it into the garage the start seemed weak. Pulled it into the garage, turned the car off and attempted to start again, barely started. Than performed the same action again. Click, click, click... no start. Seriously, has this exact scenario happened to any other owners?

I mounted my maintainer female adapter to the fuse box and ground on the frame.

[L78toLT1]

I must have gotten one of the seemingly rare good batteries. Mine is still going strong without any attention whatsoever. My car almost always sits during the week, and oftentimes goes two weeks or more without being started.

[KirkH]

First thing to check is any aftermarket equipment. My battery drain was caused by aftermarket tail lights.

[ZX-10R]

Originally Posted by L78toLT1

I must have gotten one of the seemingly rare good batteries.

It has nothing to do with "lemon" batteries (very small number), it's all how you drive the car.

If you drive it regularly for longer trips you're fine. If it sits and/or shorter trips with more starts/stops (cranking a monster 6.2L) battery life is shortened dramatically unless you keep a good trickle charger on it all the time. This isn't rocket science

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by ZX-10R

It has nothing to do with "lemon" batteries (very small number), it's all how you drive the car.

If you drive it regularly for longer trips you're fine. If it sits and/or shorter trips with more starts/stops (cranking a monster 6.2L) battery life is shortened dramatically unless you keep a good trickle charger on it all the time. This isn't rocket science

Battery Life and whether or not a battery gets fully recharged between uses are not the same thing.

AGM batteries are used because they are supposed to be able to provide more power to drive all of the electronics and such in the car, but the reality is that it shouldn't matter. When the car is running, the alternator should be able to provide ALL of that power and more as it needs to also be able to replenish the stored capacity in the battery. All that should be required is a battery with enough CCA to turn the motor over and the alternator should "take it from there."

I have 1500 miles on my car and have been running into strange issues that are 100% electrical that never should occur. This is due to the FACT that AGM batteries have a shorter lifespan than non-AGM batteries due to how they need to be charged (and not overcharged). I'm not confident that the electrical system in the car is designed to correctly match with an AGM battery in the first place. There are way too many stories of these batteries failing at 2-3 years old.

[Teneck83]

My battery is a brand new optima. 2 months old. This cannot be parasitic drain from 30 minutes of detailing the car

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by Teneck83

My battery is a brand new optima. 2 months old. This cannot be parasitic drain from 30 minutes of detailing the car

You stated that starting the car to back it out to START the detailing demonstrated that it wasn't cranking at full power. So, at a minimum, you seem to have been starting from a less-than-perfect state...

[Teneck83]

Initial start was as powerful as it gets. Subsequent starts , 3 in total, were consecutively weaker, leading to the final attempt with no start.

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by Teneck83

Initial start was as powerful as it gets. Subsequent starts , 3 in total, were consecutively weaker, leading to the final attempt with no start.

I think you missed my point.

You are claiming that there's no way that this could be related to a parasitic draw yet you acknowledge that all subsequent starts were, and you stated it again, weaker and weaker.

In other words, in addition to the heavy draw to start the car, sitting in between starts with a parasitic draw, could very well be related at a minimum. Starting your car to back it out of the garage offers pretty much zero time for that power to be replenished in the battery. If you -add- to that a parasitic draw, you could very well be seeing the situation you're in.

If your battery won't properly take a charge in the first place, if your charging system isn't correctly replenishing power, or if you have some other fault like this then all it would take is a small extraneous power draw to be the 'final straw'.

[CW3SF]

I’ve been using a battery tender on all of my weekend cars and bikes for 20 years. My batteries on all of my cars usually last 9-10 years. If your car isn’t a daily, put it on a tender. There’s a reason most collectors use them. They work.

For reference, I do not keep my daily drivers on a tender. I usually get 5-6 years out of the batteries in those cars.


OP - sounds like you got a bad battery. Usually “holding a charge” or cranking power electrical issues are a battery issue. Before you waste a bunch of time chasing gremlins I’d make sure the battery is good to go first. Just because you just bought it doesn’t mean it’s good.

[ZX-10R]

Originally Posted by ember1205

Battery Life and whether or not a battery gets fully recharged between uses are not the same thing.

Batteries have a typical cycle life assuming no more than about 70% discharged. Lead acid and AGM tolerate somewhat lower discharge but I suspect many of these failing batteries are almost fully discharged on multiple occasions and not charged properly. Think about how much more juice it takes to turn over a 6.2L on multiple occasions

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by ZX-10R

Batteries have a typical cycle life assuming no more than about 70% discharged. Lead acid and AGM tolerate somewhat lower discharge but I suspect many of these failing batteries are almost fully discharged on multiple occasions and not charged properly. Think about how much more juice it takes to turn over a 6.2L on multiple occasions

I don't doubt that the level of discharge to crank this motor is larger than in the 4/6 cyl versions. Still, charging systems should be designed to recover that power in a "small" amount of time so that short trips and frequent starts aren't overly problematic.

AGM batteries are sensitive to overcharging and doing so will shorten their lifespan and reduce the total charge they can accept, and I honestly wonder if swapping them out for a standard Lead Acid would actually remedy problems in these cars.

The ONE benefit of AGM batteries that we get in these cars is the fact that that can be located "inside" the car (in the trunk) because there is no venting required for them. Beyond that one specific thing (that frees up precious space under the hood), I can find zero benefits to this kind of battery in this car but a number of potential disadvantages.