JD Battery short life

[tomd999]

Hiya,

Short battery life of newer battries is mainly caused by being undercharged for long periods and then having a high charging voltage.

The older lead plate, open cell style were very forgiving of a low charge states and high charging voltage and would still provide a resonable service life. The newer sealed AGM style are very unforgiving of either of these conditions and will have a very short life if they are subject to them.

In order to get long service life out of an AGM type you must make sure the charging system is maintaining correct charging voltage and amperage, not subjecting the battery to high rates that will cause the electrolyte to boil off. Since AGM battries contain very little electrolyte to begin with, even a small amount of boiloff will render the battery unuseable. AGM types used to be called "acid starved" because they contain such small amounts of acid. Since they are sealed, you can't add it back, your only solution is to replace the battery.

The best advice I can give for AGM owners is to measure the charging rates and purchase a battery tender that will maintain charge during long storage periods. If properly maintained, an AGM should give a 5 to 6 year service life.

Tom

 

[topstoy]

Tomd999, thanks for the advise n AGM's I am not positive if it is an AGM, looks like a maint free but maybe AGM. I have 8 battery tenders for tractors, quads and street bikes but not for the lawn mowers. I am relying on running them once a month in the winter. But looks like that isn't frequent enough. I am going to look for a good old normal lead battery for a replacement and pick up another couple tenders for the mowers. Thanks! Ken

 

[AKfish]

By the way, I love my Deere's and they are all nice peices of equipment. Just dissapointed in the quality of the battery and yes it could be a "Fluke" but the response of the dealer to say that this is quite normal. I just don't think this is Normal. The X300 has been a joy to use and glad I purchased it. Would reccomend the rider to anyone, just not the JD battery if 2 years is typical.

My neighbor has a X300R - just like mine - but a year newer. (My battery will/has lost charge after sitting for ~2 weeks.) Nonetheless, JD issued a recall last summer to replace the alternator for a larger capacity model.

Seems that the alternator was insufficient to keep the battery charged and was causing premature starter failure...

A visit with your dealer and discussion might shed additional "light" on the matter!

AKfish

 

[topstoy]

Thanks AK, I'll check into it. Bought a new battery today at Les Schwab. More CCA's, 30 month warrenty, half the price. Hopefully no more issues but will check on the alternator recall.

 

[Jdman4x20]

Thanks AK, I'll check into it. Bought a new battery today at Les Schwab. More CCA's, 30 month warrenty, half the price. Hopefully no more issues but will check on the alternator recall.

What brand did you get? The 30 month warranty is the way to go.

 

[topstoy]

What brand did you get? The 30 month warranty is the way to go.

Les Schwab brand. 230 CCA vs 195 for the stock.

 

[BigD9]

The battery in my John Deere 2320 lasted 3 1/2 years, then suddenly just failed. I replaced it with a Advanced Auto Gold battery with a 36 mo free replacement warranted.

 

[Yellowfever440]

Tolstoy, do something for me if you get a chance. Go to the Deere dealer and look the battery over very well, then go home and look at your les Schwab battery and tell me if they look the same. I have heard from many people that their are only a couple or few possible battery manufacturers in the world and I wonder if they re different. I know John Deere and case IH use the same battery manufacturer and my boss says the case batteries are better. So a couple weeks ago we went to case to get a battery since "they were better" and they handed us a John Deere battery. So we asked what the dealer was and the delivery truck got his stops backwards and gave a couple John Deere batteries to the case dealer. So I laughed in my bosses face, it was hilarious. Anyways another thing to think about, my lawn mower batteries last forever, but I plow snow in the winter and mow in the summer, but when I worked at Deere as a mechanic we were always replacing batteries with big r or rural king batteries. They were cheaper and we would send the customers their to save them the extra cash, but it didn't matter what battery we Putin because the long winters killed the batteries.

 

[Yellowfever440]

Sorry, I meant topstoy

 

[buck12]

Tolstoy, do something for me if you get a chance. Go to the Deere dealer and look the battery over very well, then go home and look at your les Schwab battery and tell me if they look the same. I have heard from many people that their are only a couple or few possible battery manufacturers in the world and I wonder if they re different. I know John Deere and case IH use the same battery manufacturer and my boss says the case batteries are better. So a couple weeks ago we went to case to get a battery since "they were better" and they handed us a John Deere battery. So we asked what the dealer was and the delivery truck got his stops backwards and gave a couple John Deere batteries to the case dealer. So I laughed in my bosses face, it was hilarious. Anyways another thing to think about, my lawn mower batteries last forever, but I plow snow in the winter and mow in the summer, but when I worked at Deere as a mechanic we were always replacing batteries with big r or rural king batteries. They were cheaper and we would send the customers their to save them the extra cash, but it didn't matter what battery we Putin because the long winters killed the batteries.

I have a friend that is a mechanic at a JD dealership. He told me an Exide truck delivers batteries to their shop.