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Battery opinions

FWIW, last month I pulled an Interstate battery out of my Suburban. Not because it died, but because I couldn't believe it was still going strong. I installed it in November of 2012 (I mark my batteries with a Sharpie since I can't keep track of how all the date codes work). It was a standard lead-acid technology. Side post since it is GM.

Just one more data point.
 
Followup Part2:

So after replacing my AGM AutoZone Battery last week w/a new one... all seemed good until yesterday after work. Got in and turned the key on and dead once again. Got a jump start and she fired right up and I drove home no problem.

Put my volt tester on the battery when I got home and was getting a good 14.2 volts reading. Shut her off and measured voltage ~ 12.8 +/-. Fired right back up and was showing 14.2 volts again. So I put my battery test/charger on and after running thru it's process to test the AGM battery it showed at 75%. I left it on to slowly charge overnight. This morning it was reading 100% and tested at 12.9 volts after removing the charger.

Jeep fired right up like brand new. Battery Charging at 14.2+ volts....

Jeep stopped and started a couple times on the way to work (like it should, stopped for coffee, etc...) and ran perfectly! So where do I go from here? Do you think the battery could be another lemon? Could I have an issue w/my Alternator or Starter? Starter never clicked or acted like any I've had fail before and it fired my XJ up just fine w/the battery was charged.

I'm thinking this AutoZone AGM is iffy at best and thinking of just going w/a BatteriesPlus and getting a Duracell Ultra Gold LeadAcid battery and calling it good. I've had terrible luck w/ my last several AGM batteries starting w/the decline of Optimas going forward.

ANY suggestions are appreciated! Thx. I may need to start a new thread ... ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5zLxD74r20
 

Following up again...

Had been thinking about all the potential issues... and going back to double check those. A fully charged battery that runs fine once it starts. Never had a crank but no start. Always jumped and fired right up after hooking up another vehicle, HD Cables all around, New HD AGM Battery, Marine Grade Battery Posts, etc...

Turns out my + Battery Post where all the cables are pressed together via the nut had come loose. The nut was not even finger tight. Apparently the vibration of my XJ and the removing and installing and all the other work I've done over the last year finally caused that nut to back off just enough to cause intermittent power to the Distribution Block and Starter, etc... NEVER had something so obvious yet so well hidden in plain sight give me such issues. Looks can be deceiving as she looked tight and clean (no corosion). Glad I listened to that small voice in my head tell me to check that.

After tightening up that post the XJ fired right up and hasn't given me any issues. Although it's only been a few days so we'll see. I'm a bit gun-shy now. AND I feel really STUPID for not checking that in the first place.
 
Oh, and I've done the parasitic drain test and my rig is good. No drain at all while the key is out and doors shut, etc... That was something I did several months ago just to be sure. Thanks for posting that vid though.
 
A battery is the last thing I worry about when it comes to one vs the other. They're all the same thing, rebranded.

Red and yellow tops are overpriced crap.

Get what fits.

2001 XJ sport (mine), 1999 XJ Sport (sons)
 
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