CTEK Battery Recondition mode for AGM seems to work

[FlyPenFly]

I got this battery health tool to just see where things are on my vehicles.

On my 2020 AMG C63, the initial reading seemed to indicate I needed to keep an eye on it. The battery post itself is stamped:
03
23

So that seems to indicate a Jan 2023 battery?

Anyway, I have a Ctek MXS 5.0 charger and for my wife’s CX50 with an EFB it works miracles. I have read that AGM batteries cannot be reconditioned but decided to give it a shot. The second reading was a few minutes after a full charge and reconditioning.

I’m going to take a second reading to see what it says in 24 hours.

 

[FlyPenFly]

Well after stabilizing overnight, it seems to have gotten even better.

Will be interesting to see if it can fix my Golf R battery which is in woeful shape for some reason. I charged it a bit a few days ago but again it’s reading pretty low.

 

[FlyPenFly]

Somewhat of an improvement after a charge and recondition.

Will have to keep an eye on it since I should have warranty for another 2 years.

Unfortunately the 2021 Velar battery seems to be done after a full charge and recondition. Will pick up a Walmart AGM today.

 

[f355spider]

I have seen improvement on both flooded and AGM batteries using a Battery Minder battery tender with continous desulfation.
Does you Ctek do desulfation automatically, or do you need to activate a specific cycle?

The WalMart in Lynnwood is my "go to" for AGMs. I usually order online and pick up. I bring the old one at time of pick up so I only have to make one trip. They give you a card for store credit for the core deposit.

 

[FlyPenFly]

I have seen improvement on both flooded and AGM batteries using a Battery Minder battery tender with continous desulfation.
Does you Ctek do desulfation automatically, or do you need to activate a specific cycle?

The WalMart in Lynnwood is my "go to" for AGMs. I usually order online and pick up. I bring the old one at time of pick up so I only have to make one trip. They give you a card for store credit for the core deposit.

The CTEK one I use has a Recondition mode that they do at the end of the charge.

I went to the Monroe one!

 

[bonjo]

Yes it does indeed.
Don't use it too often, they recommend once a year

 

[FlyPenFly]

Replaced the battery in the Velar, I did another recondition cycle and of course it improves 10% in health making it "Healthy". But I'm glad I replaced it anyway, LR's are very sensitive to voltage.

 

[Donald]

It would be nice to be Superman with X-ray vision to be able to see into the cells and see the sulfate crystals before a recondition mode charge and after. Are they all gone after?

 

[meep]

Mower has been on the ctech now for 6 weeks. It does do a pulsed standby charge which would qualify as gentle desulfation. It is improving the 4 year old battery.

 

[martinq]

How does it test?

 

[FlyPenFly]

How does it test?

I think it's super simple, just checks resistance and voltage. measures against what you set as the capacity.

 

[JHZR2]

I think it's super simple, just checks resistance and voltage. measures against what you set as the capacity.

It calculates a resistance based upon some frequencies it passes through.

The real tell on these questionable batteries is a carbon like load tester, and calculate resistance based upon current and voltage drop.

Vt = Voc-IR

Battery impedance is based upon a lot of things including state of charge and temperature. You did some kind of equalization charge which likely fooled the tester.

You can do reconditioning, thing is that the elevated voltages are bad for your cars electronics (hopefully in such an expensive car you disconnected the battery), and they induce gassing. AGM can recombine gassing produced at lower voltages, but if it gets too high it will escape. You can’t refill AGM which is the problem. Dry out a cell and you could even start a fire. Yes, lead acid batteries burn…