Not Ranked
I've had a similar experience Patrick. I think I got my Cobra on the road back in 1997 and have just now had my 2nd battery fail. Like you, I never checked the acid/water, however on this second battery, the level was down almost a half inch in each cell. That didn't do it any good even though it lasted a long time.
As previously mentioned, my issue has been all new batteries do not have the clamp down end tabs. Also manipulating the battery into the battery tray might result in spillage with a vented battery. (Dan: mine is an older ERA and doesn't have that access panel)
I have a strap and a parachute buckle to fix the first problem. I'll just have to check for chafing of the strap for a while. The latter issue is to go with a sealed flooded lead acid battery.
I still havn't completely given up on AGM as so many people claim success, and to be truthful, I can't see an extra 1/2 volt from the alternator/regulator causing much of a problem by generating significant heat. Even if the float draw was 5 amps, that's only an extra 2.5 watts. Then again, I'm not sure what happens when you exceed the float voltage on an AGM.
There's a lot of conflicting information. Many articles claim not to have an AGM battery in the engine compartment due to heat, but other articles state that an AGM battery handles heat better than a traditional lead acid battery.
|