High rate of failure in first year-NOCO genius 1 battery charger/maintainer

[willbur]

I have 4 NOCO Genius 2 chargers. One I bought in April went dead like GON's. Doesn't light up or charge. They have a 3 year warranty but the return policy is a pain. My experience was that I had to spend over an hour with the "chat" people. They require the serial number and proof of purchase which they kept saying they didn't receive. They finely found the copies I sent them 3 times and then gave me an address to send the dead charger to at my expense. They said they would test it and if they found it was defective, they would send a replacement in three weeks. I may just throw it away. I am not a NOCO fan any longer.

same experience, too. Waiting for black friday to pick up something else

 

[Inked]

I’ve used Deltran products for many years with no issues.

 

[f355spider]

Glad I bought the cheap Chinese knock-off version

This one is the best: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U3ZBU2E?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

Heard good things about them...they are private labeled and sold by Griot's Garage for $90.
If I didn't have several Battery Minders and Granite Digital "Save a Battery" units I would add one to my fleet.

 

[We're Metals]

I had a GB40 which swelled and basically died. I reached out to Noco and they sort of told me to punch sand since I was out of warranty. I dicided to try a cheapie model off Amazon and Im happy with it so far.

 

[Rand]

My solar prologix died less than 5 years.. 20 amp model was 64$ in 2016

I have a NOCO 5amp now for about 4 years.. still works.

I also have a 4 Amp battery tender I use on a infrequently driven 2013 Equinox.

Currently the pro-logix 10amp model is $78
and the noco 5amp is $69.97

 

[MasterSolenoid]

Better to have it malfunction when NOT in use as compared to it being used.
I just bought the NOCO Genius 10.
So far it seems good, but it's good to know that they can fail.

Battery Maintainers are like anything else you buy.
You buy it .... you use it .... it breaks .... you bad mouth it and buy another brand.
Meanwhile, somebody's xyz just broke, and they will try NOCO (and like it).

 

[billt460]

I have a Noco genius 2 that won’t go from charge mode to maintain mode on the Buick’s battery. The Battery Minder 1.5 amp charges quickly then goes to maintain mode on the same battery (which is only two years old).
The Noco worked fine on another battery however, so I don’t know what’s going on. Battery tester shows the Buick battery to be healthy.

I have had all 3 of my vehicles on NOCO Genius 1's for close to 4 years now, and all 3 are doing fine. I recently noticed that the 2 I had hooked up to my truck, and my Toyota Camry were remaining in, "Maintain Mode", (flashing green), for as long as 2 days before going solid green, "Monitor Mode".

Both batteries are Walmart Everstart Maxx flooded lead / acid models. And both seemed to spin the engine over fairly well. I checked both on my battery tester, and the CCA was reading under 400 on both, and it said, "Replace Battery". (They were rated at 750 CCA).

Rather than take a chance, I replaced both batteries. Both new batteries were dated 6/25. (Both Walmart Everstart). I charged both of them for a good hour at 15 amps when I got home, then installed them. I plugged the NOCO Genius 1 in, and it flashed red, (Charging Mode), for about 4 or 5 hours. Then it went into flashing green, (Maintain Mode), for another 3 or 4 hours before going solid green, (Monitor Mode).

Yesterday I drove both vehicles about 20 miles. (The starters spun much faster), And when I returned and plugged in the Genius 1, it went from flashing red to flashing green in about 5 minutes. Then it went to solid green just a few minutes later.

So..... If you are using a Genius 1, (1 amp max charge), and it is flashing green for a longer and longer period of time, test the battery. It could be starting to go south. And it's not worth getting stranded. Could I have nursed a bit more out of them? Perhaps, but it's just not worth the risk.... Especially this time of year out here when it's 115F+.

 

[John105]

Another 8 mos has passed my NOCO 5 is over 4 years old, no issues. But if we want to stop fooling around and do it right? RV battery charger. Size and expense and no need to code would justify not getting one. I grabbed one during the pandemic during the great giveaway of everything (55A was in the $120 range)

 

[carviewsonic]

The Noco genius 2 went haywire a couple of weeks ago, wouldn’t charge any of our four car batteries. It would alternate between charging and then displaying the bad battery/connection symbol. I’ve had it for approximately 5 years, so not a big loss if I just toss it.
The Optimate and BatteryMinder both work fine on all of the batteries.

 

[GON]

The Noco genius 2 went haywire a couple of weeks ago, wouldn’t charge any of our four car batteries. It would alternate between charging and then displaying the bad battery/connection symbol. I’ve had it for approximately 5 years, so not a big loss if I just toss it.
The Optimate and BatteryMinder both work fine on all of the batteries.

Early next month I will inspect five NOCO Genius ones that were placed in service at Christmas 2024. Four of the five NOCOs are being used in a outside environment, although under the protection of a vehicle hood.

The five NOCOs are operating a desert environment, with low humidity levels, cool nights, and warm to hot days.

Wil share the findings.