Happy Anniversary 12v battery failure

[awilli1010]

Yesterday was my 3 year anniversary of owning my lightning. Today my 12v battery failed! Nice, real nice. I know lots of folks are already or coming up on their 3rd year of ownership. Hopefully all goes well for everyone. This is my first out of pocket expense. Love my truck!

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[RLXXI]

Yesterday was my 3 year anniversary of owning my lightning. Today my 12v battery failed! Nice, real nice. I know lots of folks are already or coming up on their 3rd year of ownership. Hopefully all goes well for everyone. This is my first out of pocket expense. Love my truck!

Lead acid batteries of the AGM variety especially are a crapshoot how long they last, I've had them last 7 years and I've had them go bad after 9 months. Never can tell when they decide to fail.

 

[beast]

And this is why I have decided to change the battery every two years to avoid this situation

 

[TaxmanHog]

Thanks for the reminder, I need to hop over to the auto parts store, have them do a basic load test, if it's marginal I'm replacing it, I DO NOT like surprises.

 

[sstevetx]

I picked one up (Motorcraft BAGM-H3) from RockAuto for $125 shipped including taxes and core. Came last week and I installed it over the weekend. My truck just hit 3 years and Texas heat is brutal, so changed it just in case. Rock Auto technically allow a core return ($18 I believe), but you have to pay shipping to get it back to them. You can take it to O'Reilly's for a $10 gift card though. You can Google a Rock Auto referral code to get 5% off

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[DCAZEV]

Here in AZ, with the extreme heat, the average vehicle battery (ICE Vehicles) only lasts 24 - 36 months. Especially, if the vehicle sits outside and is not garaged. . Many people here in AZ simply replace the battery as a "pre-emptive" strike to avoid being stranded. When the battery goes, it simply goes with no pre-warning.

 

[BSull]

Thanks for the reminder, I need to hop over to the auto parts store, have them do a basic load test, if it's marginal I'm replacing it, I DO NOT like surprises.

My local Autozone refused to test mine. Said it was company policy not to test EV 12v batteries.

 

[TaxmanHog]

My local Autozone refused to test mine. Said it was company policy not to test EV 12v batteries.

Interesting, I'm heading out to Advanced Auto locally, if they have the same policy, I'll just pull it out and bring it to the counter, then they can test it. I'm still likely to swap it regardless of potential decent health remaining, you just never know when it could fail after the warranty period.

 

[Lytning]

Lead acid batteries of the AGM variety especially are a crapshoot how long they last, I've had them last 7 years and I've had them go bad after 9 months. Never can tell when they decide to fail.

I have an Optima Red Top AGM battery in my 1967 Pontiac GTO that is 21 years old! It does not get load stressed near as much as the Lightning 12 volt battery, but that is still an amazing battery life.

 

[MaintGrl]

I have an Optima Red Top AGM battery in my 1967 Pontiac GTO that is 21 years old! It does not get load stressed near as much as the Lightning 12 volt battery, but that is still an amazing battery life.

Ya, Last battery I replaced, 2 yrs ago was the one in my 96 Ranger XLT, it was 13 yrs old...

 

[ka-chow]

Any tips when changing these batteries out? Anything special we need to do?

 

[RLXXI]

I have an Optima Red Top AGM battery in my 1967 Pontiac GTO that is 21 years old! It does not get load stressed near as much as the Lightning 12 volt battery, but that is still an amazing battery life.

Ya, Last battery I replaced, 2 yrs ago was the one in my 96 Ranger XLT, it was 13 yrs old...

Y'all should call Guinness book of world records and Ripley's Believe it or not then go buy a lottery ticket. I've been working in this industry over 40 years and have never seen or heard of any type of lead acid battery last that long except for IFLA.

We replace red and yellow top Optima batteries about every year or two at work. I'll never buy one that much is certain. On any given month we have stacks of them waiting for recycling and the oldest one I can remember was 3 years old, most of them barely a year.

 

[RLXXI]

Any tips when changing these batteries out? Anything special we need to do?

Nope, just change it out like any other battery.

 

[Lytning]

Y'all should call Guinness book of world records and Ripley's Believe it or not then go buy a lottery ticket. I've been working in this industry over 40 years and have never seen or heard of any type of lead acid battery last that long except for IFLA.

We replace red and yellow top Optima batteries about every year or two at work. I'll never buy one that much is certain. On any given month we have stacks of them waiting for recycling and the oldest one I can remember was 3 years old, most of them barely a year.

My GTO has no power accessories, and I rarely drive it at night. Basically, all the battery does is start the engine. It has a Powermaster high torque mini-starter with 4:1 gear reduction. I disconnect the battery terminals when I am not driving it. I bought the battery directly from Optima in 2004. Optima moved production to Mexico in 2007, and likely made other changes to reduce cost ... and shorten life.

 

[RLXXI]

Optima moved production to Mexico in 2007, and likely made other changes to reduce cost ... and shorten life.

That makes sense but I'd still go buy a lottery ticket if I were you, lol. I've seen IFLA last that long but not a regular FLA battery.

I put a lithium battery in my motorcycle back in 2012 and it still cranks the bike like new.

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