Quick AGM battery question.

[Troy McLure]

Hi all. I have a quick question about drawing down Lifeline 6v AGM batteries.

I have a 1 year old pair wired in series. I baby them, never going below 60, maybe 50% at most.

We took our 23D in for bodywork after we got sideswiped in early October. We went to pick it up this weekend and found the batteries completely drained down after someone left the lights on for about 6 days.

I'm trying to figure out what to do here. Are the batteries permanently damaged? I have an uncomfortable feeling they'll try to charge them up and send me on my way.

Should I be insisting on full replacement/ reimbursement? These things ain't cheap and the Lifelines are quality units. I'm hesitant on having them put a new, but lower quality pair in.

Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated.

[JeffE]

You'll find the customer support folks at LifeLine Batteries to be very helpful. They'll be able to give you the definitive answer.

My guess is they'll say to charge them and equalize ("condition") them. They'll probably have lost some capacity, but if they're new, not much. But LifeLine can tell you for sure.

Jeff

[Paprika]

Troy, if I were in your shoes I'd first insist that the repair facility replace the batteries with identical 6V Lifelines. Tell them that batteries that have been dead for months are permanently damaged, so they owe you a new set. Don't accept lower-quality replacements.

As for the "try to charge them up and send me on my way" scenario, they may well try to pull that. But again, even if the batteries can be brought up to a reasonable voltage, their lifespan has been seriously shortened by the repair place's carelessness.

If all else fails and you are stuck with the damaged batteries, you can try a "boost charge." If you're lucky, that might revive them for a while. See the Lifeline Technical Manual for the procedure.

[ROBERT CROSS]

^
X2
Insist on new...👍
Inform your insurance company, explain and see if they have a damage, liability option.
The shop should also have liability insurance to cover "brain farts."

Bob
🇺🇸

[azflycaster]

Your batteries have suffered some damage because of neglect by the repair facility. To be made whole again, the batteries should be replaced with new or some other consideration ($$) be made and accepted by you.

[GM Airstream]

No... your bats are probably going to be ok... but a little short'r life in no of cycles... Most can recover from a deep discharge a couple of times if re-charged immediately. they will sulferize if left in a low state.. which will damage them.

Best to re-charge as soon as you discharge to less than 50%... to get max life

[uncle_bob]

Hi

If you can talk them into giving you new batteries for free, go for it. If not, there likely is no damage and charging them up again is all that is needed. With AGM's there isn't quite as crazy a "rebuild" process as with flooded cells.

Bob

[Troy McLure]

Thanks all for the feedback. I contacted Lifeline and this was their response:

This situation is a little tricky.

How low did they get? Did you get the voltage off the batteries?

1. If they are above 10 volts I would get the charger on them asap and get them back up. If they are below 9 volts it becomes difficult to get them back. Most smart chargers come online and check voltage first before starting up. If the voltage is too low the charger thinks there is no battery connected and they won’t turn on.
2. There is a way to fool the charger. You can connect a good battery to them using jumper cables and wait 5 minutes. Turn the charger on and then remove the jumper cables. The charger will stay on. Or you can find an old style charger that does not have a circuit board and that will work as well.
3. The other option if they are below 9 volts is to have the dealership pay for new ones. Unfortunately this scenario happens a lot at service centers.

As an update, the dealership has agreed to replace the batteries.

[68 Overlander]

Originally Posted by Troy McLure

Thanks all for the feedback. I contacted Lifeline and this was their response:

This situation is a little tricky.



As an update, the dealership has agreed to replace the batteries.

Good on your dealer. We have sold them for about 12 years and this has happened more than once. More than 20 times probably by owners and dealers. A total discharge of an AGM battery is not good but most of the time they are fully recovered the first time it happens provided they did not sit dead for months. Same with Fullriver and others. They are more forgiving than flooded or cranking batteries for sure.
You all know when you leave your headlights on overnight in your car a couple times, you are now on borrowed time.
I tripped a GFI on the side of my house before I had 30 amp service and ran my lifelines down about a year after I bought them. 11 years later, they now really need changed but this time I'm going with Fullriver on that RV because of the compact group 27 6 volt size and 7 year warranty.