Super Start Platinum AGM battery failures.

[Ducati996]

I have a 2006 Mercedes E320 CDI diesel with an O’Reilly bci 49 battery p/n 49PLT.
This is the second battery that has started failing within the warranty period.
The symptom is low voltage after sitting for a week or more which causes slow cranking and a low voltage warning when cranking.
It charges at 14.2 volts and there are no excessive current draws. When the vehicle is shut off the current draw is 5.5 amps and drops to 0.03ma after 30 minutes.
Brought it to O’Reilly & they check it with a higher end Walmart style battery tester & determine it’s ok.
In my days as an auto mechanic we used carbon pile battery testers that actually loaded the battery.
Frustrating to deal with parts counter people using in my words fake tools to diagnose.
Guess I’ll have to wait until the battery is obviously bad.
My other vehicle a 2016 Volvo just started the doing the same thing today.
Same battery brand.
Once warranty’s are expired I’m going with Interstate batteries
Anyone else with these issues?!
90cummins

 

[Davejam]

5.5 Amps for 30 minutes sounds like the problem...would give most batteries an issue after 2 or less years.

 

[JavierH19]

Some module is staying powered on for way too long so i'd fix that first. Any battery would suffer that so I wouldn't blame it on the superstart platinum. Interstate is good but I'm personally switching from interstate to toyota batteries if they fail out of warranty. They are just so reliable and they give 60 and 84 month warranties granted they're only for toyotas but regardless they're known to last close to and sometimes over a decade even when not used in toyotas and used in hot climates like Florida. I think someone commented that they reliably got 8 years out of multiple toyota batteries in the florida heat.

 

[wings&wheels]

Are you locking the vehicle every time you park it for more than a short period? I learned to do that w/ the late 80's+ toys as they tend to have significant resting draws and locking them puts them to 'sleep'. 90's+ Porsches are notorious for this and I expect your MB to be similar.

 

[f355spider]

I have a 2006 Mercedes E320 CDI diesel with an O’Reilly bci 49 battery p/n 49PLT.
This is the second battery that has started failing within the warranty period.
The symptom is low voltage after sitting for a week or more which causes slow cranking and a low voltage warning when cranking.
It charges at 14.2 volts and there are no excessive current draws. When the vehicle is shut off the current draw is 5.5 amps and drops to 0.03ma after 30 minutes.
Brought it to O’Reilly & they check it with a higher end Walmart style battery tester & determine it’s ok.
In my days as an auto mechanic we used carbon pile battery testers that actually loaded the battery.
Frustrating to deal with parts counter people using in my words fake tools to diagnose.
Guess I’ll have to wait until the battery is obviously bad.
My other vehicle a 2016 Volvo just started the doing the same thing today.
Same battery brand.
Once warranty’s are expired I’m going with Interstate batteries
Anyone else with these issues?!
90cummins

If O'Reilly AGMs are made by Clarios, then the Interstate will be no different. (You are on the East Coast, so it may end up being an East Penn at O'Reillys). Be aware that in the past two years, Clarios is sourcing their AGMs from multiple factories across several countries. Check the label, it could come from the USA, Germany, Mexico, China, or Korea. I have had good luck with the USA, Germany and Korean ones so far... Check this label...some Interstates don't know where they come from.

 

[Ducati996]

5.5 Amps for 30 minutes sounds like the problem...would give most batteries an issue after 2 or less years.

It doesn’t stay a 5.5amps for 30 minutes it starts at 5.5amps & immediately starts dropping down eventually to 0.03 ma.

 

[FoxProTwisty]

Once warranty’s are expired I’m going with Interstate batteries

For the warranty? Better price? Because you're almost certainly buying the exact same battery with a different sticker on it.

A proper load test for any battery is starting the vehicle it's designed to handle. Then a carbon pile load tester due to how it draws current. Then maybe a cheap handheld simulator like Project Farm recently tested.

 

[Danno]

Have had alot of experience with AGM batteries this winter. They do poorly in the winter (discharge) and if vehicles aren't driven much, they die. Not impressed with AGM.

 

[D1dad]

Have had alot of experience with AGM batteries this winter. They do poorly in the winter (discharge) and if vehicles aren't driven much, they die. Not impressed with AGM.

I haven’t had one long enough to pass judgement, although the 6 month old new car battery tanked suddenly. I will say that based off of the state of charge always being low, I can’t figure out what all the hooplas about. My flooded batteries with the exact same charging profile have no issues.

 

[repairman54]

AGM's in my Ski Doo's seem to deal with winter just fine.

 

[BrendanC]

Walmart Everstart Platnium AGM’s. best value in AGM batteries with great warranties.

 

[f355spider]

Walmart Everstart Platnium AGM’s. best value in AGM batteries with great warranties.

I just bought my third Everstart Platinum AGM, this time for a family friend. Supposed to arrive today...shipped directly from a Clarios warehouse.
I will make a new post about the mail order experience and test it when it arrives, then throw it on a Pulse Tech charger before installation next week. I like the four year free replacement warranty. Way better than Costco three year pro rated warranty for the same Clarios battery. On the west coast, both Walmart and Costco sell Clarios. I guess east coast Walmart sells East Penn.

 

[BrendanC]

I just bought my third Everstart Platinum AGM, this time for a family friend. Supposed to arrive today...shipped directly from a Clarios warehouse.
I will make a new post about the mail order experience and test it when it arrives, then throw it on a Pulse Tech charger before installation next week. I like the four year free replacement warranty. Way better than Costco three year pro rated warranty for the same Clarios battery. On the west coast, both Walmart and Costco sell Clarios. I guess east coast Walmart sells East Penn.

it’s hard to argue with 4 year free replacement on a battery that’s cheaper than most parts stores lead acids.

 

[D1dad]

AGM's in my Ski Doo's seem to deal with winter just fine.

Nothing running in the background stealing their charge. An agm should discharge at a slower rate so that should make sense.

 

[repairman54]

Nothing running in the background stealing their charge.

Not 100% sure on that, Injected motor and digitally encoded security system chip keys are used on them.

 

[Arc]

I have a 2006 Mercedes E320 CDI diesel with an O’Reilly bci 49 battery p/n 49PLT.
This is the second battery that has started failing within the warranty period.
The symptom is low voltage after sitting for a week or more which causes slow cranking and a low voltage warning when cranking.
It charges at 14.2 volts and there are no excessive current draws. When the vehicle is shut off the current draw is 5.5 amps and drops to 0.03ma after 30 minutes.
Brought it to O’Reilly & they check it with a higher end Walmart style battery tester & determine it’s ok.
In my days as an auto mechanic we used carbon pile battery testers that actually loaded the battery.
Frustrating to deal with parts counter people using in my words fake tools to diagnose.
Guess I’ll have to wait until the battery is obviously bad.
My other vehicle a 2016 Volvo just started the doing the same thing today.
Same battery brand.
Once warranty’s are expired I’m going with Interstate batteries
Anyone else with these issues?!
90cummins

Aren't all lead batteries the same now between the brands? Sounds like you just got a bad one. Pry the top off and check each individual cell with a meter when you get ready to replace it. My guess is one cell doesn't have good plate separation and isn't holding a charge.