I have a car that has stop/start as standard. I am able to disable this permanently with a scan tool. Am I then able to use a normal SLA battery?. I have heard that it may not last long as the charging system designed for AGM batteries may overcharge a normal SLA. Is this correct?
I'm no expert, but it could be true - many modern cars have a battery management system that controls charging etc, and if yours is spec'd as an AGM, then the BMS will treat it as an AGM and charge accordingly, which could ruin a non AGM battery in short order. Alternately, the BMS may detect that you aren't using an AGM battery as prescribed, and then throw up an error code along with accompanying charging issues.
Yes I know AGM batteries are expensive (in fact all batteries in NZ are crazy prices compared to what people pay in say the USA), but one good thing about permanently coding out stop/start on your car is that your AGM battery should last a very long time due to much less strain being put on it.
My VW Touareg doesn't have stop/start, yet frustratingly it is still spec'd with an AGM battery (no doubt due to having electric everything!). The dealer wanted around $1200 for a new one, but I managed to find one from a non-dealer mechanic for around $700. Then a mate who also has a Touareg got one for himself for $350 direct from the distributor. Talk about a markup Mr Dealer!!
Slightly off-topic but if prices are that high consider this: Number Plate Search - The Battery Cell Online. I have a Mazda CX5 diesel with SS and the recommended battery is circa $400.
Slightly off-topic but if prices are that high consider this: Number Plate Search - The Battery Cell Online. I have a Mazda CX5 diesel with SS and the recommended battery is circa $400.
Interesting - thanks for the link. My Touareg came out at $842 + gst ($968). Less than the dealer but still a couple of hundred more than I ended up paying.
I researched this for my Touareg - couldn't find a yes on anyone defeating the functionally with a remap/retune/reprogram ECU service. I just automatically press the disable button now.
Reply to a question I asked on the Century battery website.
Unfortunately, even with the start-stop function disabled, the alternator will still charge too quickly for a calcium battery to handle. Therefore, it will be continuously over-charged which will result in battery failure.
rookie65: Reply to a question I asked on the Century battery website.
Unfortunately, even with the start-stop function disabled, the alternator will still charge too quickly for a calcium battery to handle. Therefore, it will be continuously over-charged which will result in battery failure.
i think thats a bs answer. you cannot overcharge a battery as such. in fact the most alternators don't regulate current to the battery, they only have voltage regulators. eg older non ecu controlled alternators pump full speed into the battery and you don't see them failing.
the problems will come from the management system thinking the battery is dead. i suspect that would be because agm batteries can charge/discharge faster than normal batteries. this is why some require you to program the ecu with the battery specs.
Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly
to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.
Trusted
Chorus
ID Verified
