Many of us on the Ford truck forums have had to switch to AGM batteries in the 2017+ 6.7 trucks. These trucks are known to have the OE Motorcraft battery on the driver side leak. If you catch it early, you can get away with just cleaning up the tie down bar. If you don't, the corrosion has been known to creep down the battery cables under the insulation. The cost to replace that harness is not pretty. When it happened to me, I took my warranty replacement from the dealer, came home, and installed two Odyssey AGMs. The Motorcraft units sold on CL for $125. Now, I'm not saying Motorcraft makes a poor battery and any vented battery would have likely failed in the same situation. The funny part is, while this is a very common issue on the 17+ trucks (and happens on the 11-16's as well on a less common basis), no one including Ford can figure out why. All I know is it cost me $600 for a pair of AGMs that I would have rather not spent...
These small batteries for power sport use seen to be more susceptible to failure. Yes, the engines are typically smaller than automotive engines, but there's just less "juice" to start with.
I was going to say go OEM because I’ve had positive experience with whoever Honda uses. My quad battery reliability is great but on my KTM they use Yuasa and I find it needs replacing every 2-3 years.
I've worked in the Telecom Power industry since I got out of the Army in '85. The batteries we deal with are LARGE stationary batteries so they aren't subject to the vibration and physical shock that OPE and motor sports batteries have to deal with, let alone the temperature extremes. The internal lead structure and alloy makes huge differences in design determined by they will be used for. A battery designed for high cranking amps (high performance motorsports engines with a premium on battery weight) is designed and manufactured differently than low current long duration (deep cycle, trolling motor for example). The large stationary batteries have various designs also depending on the use just like the smaller ones we use. High rate discharge batteries used in UPS applications requiring only a 15 minute duration to full discharge have different internal structure compared to long duration battery used in 8 to 24 hour duration to full discharge. Sorry, I get long winded... Over the years, each manufacturer has had huge successes and bad oopies. Back in the early '90's one of the progressive manufacturers jumped into the AGM / valve regulated batteries big time and promised 20 year life and pro-rated warranties to go with it. 5 years later these were being replaced after miserable dissapointing performance. Leaking posts causing massive corrosion, bulging, cracking cells from too high of internal pressure due to failing valves and poor container construction caused catastrophic failures. On top of that, the AGM uses very little electrolyte compared to a flooded cell and the leaking post seals or failed pressure valves could allow internal dry out leading to thermal run-away failure in constant float charge applications. I remember that characteristic sulphury rotten egg smell... phewww... They all learned from those early days, but every few years, economic pressures drive the manufacturers to cost reduce, try new formulations, lower manufacturing costs, or even the retirement of Ingred the Inspector that knew everything and how to fix it can cause a run of batteries to not be top notch. Everyone has heard stories of "my car was built on Friday afternoon before a long weekend". So yes, I can see that just like 2 stroke oil, there is engineering, chemistry, human oopies, and brand loyalties all at play. I've had car batteries that lasted 17 years and garden tractor batteries that lasted a whole whopping 11 months... So when I need a battery, I cringe when opening my wallet, because I know it is kinda a crap shoot and I'm not gonna spend HUGE $ on an exotic battery that may not last as long as the one on close out at the local discount store. With all my experience with batteries, I still hold no brand loyalty because I've seen first hand and heard many stories over the years on both ends of the spectrum. Good luck.
Optima was a huge player before they were bought by Johnson Controls and production moved to Mexico. Quality went down the toilet soon after. Not sure who owns them now, I believe JC sold their battery division. Odyssey/Northstar are the king of lead acid automotive batteries. Both are owned by Enersys. They are a thin plate pure lead construction, and require a specific battery charger FYI. I run Odyssey's in all I own when I need to replace a battery. It didnt hurt that I worked for Enersys, and got them at cost. I have used them in my plow truck for years with no issue. I used to park the truck in the spring after the last storm, and wouldnt touch it until the first snow the next season. It would always crank over like I just drove it the day before.
I believe you are correct. Yuasa at one time owned Enersys when they were still under the Exide name.
JCI sold the battery division to Clarios in 2019. Former JCI battery business re-launches as Clarios to focus on advanced battery growth - Batteries International
That was a weird turnaround for JCI. They entered into talks to buy Enersys, but when that didnt pan out, they sold their battery division all together.
Yeah, quick change of direction. I know people that work at Clarios now. They said it was a surprise, all badges everything set up overnight. They kept their staff, so that's always nice. You can deal with surprises, but there's some surprises that are a bit too much though.
I would. That's going to tell you if the issue is your battery or the ATVs charging system. I never bother looking at the voltage while cranking. There's too much at play then. Once the starter stops spinning, that's when you can tell the output of the charging system.
That's pretty low...I don't recall the normal cranking voltage on those right now...I can get it if you want/need it. Seems to me its ~ 10V or so. ATV's don't always charge when idling...depends on the model, and how high the idle speed is set, but often times idling voltage will be at, or just above "key off" voltage. When revved up some, battery voltage (on a good battery that is fully charged) should peak out in the high 13's...should not be over 14.5V for sure...again, that can vary a little by model, but those numbers will get you close...
