SLIU1RT Rayovac Maximum Battery (BatteryPlus) [Archive] (2024)

shuayjye

11th April 2012, 17:16

Trail_Blazer

12th April 2012, 00:48

Jeff Anderson

12th April 2012, 01:24

... The car started right up better then ever (only had the car a few years). I am unsure how to make sure it is an AGM but otherwise happy. ...Car starting better than ever before is a typical indicator of switching from an AGM to a wet cell car battery.

A way to tell if AGM or wet cell is to simply pick the battery up and shake it a little. The sound of water sloshing about is indication of the battery being a wet cell.
An AGM car battery will usually have "AGM" printed on it.

Trail_Blazer

12th April 2012, 01:54

Car starting better than ever before is a typical indicator of switching from an AGM to a wet cell car battery.

A way to tell if AGM or wet cell is to simply pick the battery up and shake it a little. The sound of water sloshing about is indication of the battery being a wet cell.
An AGM car battery will usually have "AGM" printed on it.

You're right as usual, Jeff. A little research here turned up the fact that Mazda replacement batteries - which mine was, courtesy of the PO - are all wet cells and have been for years. I thought that since it was a Mazda battery it was an AGM...nope.

It was pouring rain last night when my battery exploded in downtown Portland, but I left the trunk lid open a bit for ventilation. What I thought was rainwater in the battery tray was actually acid. I poured the acid into a bucket and dumped in some baking soda to neutralize it, then wiped out the trunk, sprayed it with baking soda solution, waited for the fizzing to stop and wiped it out again. Fortunately there appears to be no corrosion damage to the paint or to any metal parts.

Dennis Nicholls

12th April 2012, 06:59

shuayjye

13th April 2012, 15:52

Trail_Blazer

14th April 2012, 01:50

Trail,
Did you have your vent tubes hooked up to your bad battery?

Dennis,

They were, but it occurred to me that they could be blocked. When I installed my new AGM battery tonight, I tried blowing through the tubes and I couldn't get any air to go through. I removed them from the fitting in the floor of the trunk and was able to blow air through them, so I figured the tube in the trunk was blocked.

But when I connected just one of the tubes to the fitting and blew hard, I could get air to go through but with some resistance. So idk, maybe there's crud in there and I blew some out but not all of it. I'm going to take it apart this weekend and see if there's a blockage.

Dennis Nicholls

14th April 2012, 03:44

Dennis,

They were, but it occurred to me that they could be blocked. When I installed my new AGM battery tonight, I tried blowing through the tubes and I couldn't get any air to go through. I removed them from the fitting in the floor of the trunk and was able to blow air through them, so I figured the tube in the trunk was blocked.

But when I connected just one of the tubes to the fitting and blew hard, I could get air to go through but with some resistance. So idk, maybe there's crud in there and I blew some out but not all of it. I'm going to take it apart this weekend and see if there's a blockage.

Interesting thought. Maybe I'll climb under my car with a pipe cleaner today and see if road dirt has blocked the exit of that tube.

tom4416

14th April 2012, 07:00

I shook the battery and could not hear much move around inside. I have attached some pictures of the battery. I am happy with it because the original battery would die if I left the parking lights on while I got gas to the point where it wouldnt start if I listened to music for a few minutes.
A couple days with it and I noticed that it the engine cranks better but like I said, it could be because the original battery was way past due.

It's an AGM, likely another Deka product relabeled.

Jeff Anderson

14th April 2012, 09:35

I shook the battery and could not hear much move around inside. I have attached some pictures of the battery. ...There's no noise at all from shaking an AGM battery. Noise from one could be indication of a seriously dangerous defect. Wet cell car batteries make noise when shaken, but may not be much noise.

There's nothing I see shown in your pictures of the battery, nor its labels, that indicates it's not a well cell car battery. Stated to be "ready filled" and "Do Not Open Battery", along with shaking noise, and stronger car-starting, are all indictors of it being a wet cell car battery.

Dennis Nicholls

14th April 2012, 11:47

I checked my vent assembly this morning. The white plastic part that goes through the floor unclips easily from the underside. It had a bit of dirt in it but nothing serious - a pipe cleaner and hot water did the trick. BUT it's seated with a rubber o-ring which broke apart in my hand. I put it back in with some blue silicone sealant I had left over from installing the waterpump.

I wonder whether the failed o-ring lets H2 back into the trunk for those who have had exploding batteries.....

Clearly it's an easy part to get clogged with road dirt/mud.

Mal

14th April 2012, 20:50

The "exploding" that all batteries reported on here is totally internal and has nothing to do with vents. It no doubt happens when the batteries are not kept full of electrolyte resulting in one or more cells being filled with H2 and O2. A spark on start or charging lights the mix off....

Not really your fault you didn't service it. By all indications it is an AGM. But as you found out it isn't.

Trail_Blazer

20th April 2012, 01:36

The "exploding" that all batteries reported on here is totally internal and has nothing to do with vents. It no doubt happens when the batteries are not kept full of electrolyte resulting in one or more cells being filled with H2 and O2. A spark on start or charging lights the mix off....

Not really your fault you didn't service it. By all indications it is an AGM. But as you found out it isn't.

Mal, my wet cell battery was maintenance-free. There was no way to add water to it. I'm no battery expert, but it seems likely to me that pressure built up inside the battery because the gas had nowhere to go, and that is what caused it to explode. But now I have an AGM battery, so if it explodes someday it won't spew acid in the trunk. It was a righteous PITA to clean up that mess.

Mal

20th April 2012, 13:24

Mal, my wet cell battery was maintenance-free. There was no way to add water to it. I'm no battery expert, but it seems likely to me that pressure built up inside the battery because the gas had nowhere to go, and that is what caused it to explode. But now I have an AGM battery, so if it explodes someday it won't spew acid in the trunk. It was a righteous PITA to clean up that mess.No, you just thought it was maintenance free. Not your fault. The caps are difficult to remove and some are under the label but somewhere in the literature that should have come with the battery it is clearly written that the caps can be removed to re fill the cells.

The explosion was literally an explosion of a very small amount of hydrogen and oxygen that had collected due to hydrolysis in a near empty cell. It was touched off by a spark when the cell shorted. If the cells are kept full, that can't happen.

Unfortunately it is fairly common with those batteries. In fact I haven't seen a Miata battery explode other than those. It's a wonder Mazda didn't get in some sort of legal trouble over that one....

BS_GAC_Man

20th April 2012, 19:10

Trail_Blazer

21st April 2012, 21:25

No, you just thought it was maintenance free. Not your fault. The caps are difficult to remove and some are under the label but somewhere in the literature that should have come with the battery it is clearly written that the caps can be removed to re fill the cells.

The explosion was literally an explosion of a very small amount of hydrogen and oxygen that had collected due to hydrolysis in a near empty cell. It was touched off by a spark when the cell shorted. If the cells are kept full, that can't happen.

Unfortunately it is fairly common with those batteries. In fact I haven't seen a Miata battery explode other than those. It's a wonder Mazda didn't get in some sort of legal trouble over that one....

I looked at the "maintenance-free" wet cell NAPA battery in my Explorer and sure enough, the caps come off. Thank you for the tip, Mal. I had no idea.

Trail_Blazer

21st April 2012, 21:28

I kept killing my battery all winter leaving doors or the trunk open for hours, and at times day while I had it up on stands doing winter maintenance. I kept having to charge it. Well today I drove into work and left the running lights on for about 30 minutes when someone noticed and turned them off for me. I came out to drive to another building on base and found the battery dead. No nothing just clicks. So, I figured if should not have killed the battery that fast and pulled it out to replace it during my lunch break. The stickers you’re supposed to peal of to tell when it was installed were all still there, but the stickers only went up to 2006. That means the battery was at least 5 ½ years old, time to replace it. VIP wanted $125.00 I almost choked. Went to Sam’s Club and they didn’t even sell one to fit. Called all around and the cheapest was Advanced Auto $105.00. I was in uniform ad jokingly said “ I hear you give 25% military discount” The clerk said no it’s 20%. WOW, $87.50 nice discount. But I’m used to Miata parts being cheap. What happened to the batteries?

After I ran my battery down a couple of times from leaving the parking lights on, I did this mod: http://www.miata.net/garage/buzzer.html (scroll down to the second to last item). Took less than an hour and has saved my battery more than once.

Cxracer

25th December 2012, 19:42

I shook the battery and could not hear much move around inside. I have attached some pictures of the battery. I am happy with it because the original battery would die if I left the parking lights on while I got gas to the point where it wouldnt start if I listened to music for a few minutes.
A couple days with it and I noticed that it the engine cranks better but like I said, it could be because the original battery was way past due.

I have the same battery from Battery Plus.
It's made by Deka/East Penn http://http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_makes_Rayovac_car_batteries#page1

I found another cheaper one from the same place sold in SJ
http://http://www.powerstridebattery.com/car-batteries-light-truck-batteries-van-batteries/mazda-batteries/mazda-miata-battery-2005-1991

kmofuggind

4th December 2015, 12:32

Thread revival due to new branding (duracell) and info from East penn website:

http://www.eastpennmanufacturing.com/east-penn-releases-new-duracell-automotive-batteries/

https://www.batteriesplus.com/battery/car-and-truck/mazda/miata-_-incl-mx=5/2002/l4-1.8l-320cca/sliu1rt

Mad Swede

5th December 2015, 12:48

Thread revival due to new branding (duracell) and info from East penn website:

http://www.eastpennmanufacturing.com/east-penn-releases-new-duracell-automotive-batteries/

https://www.batteriesplus.com/battery/car-and-truck/mazda/miata-_-incl-mx=5/2002/l4-1.8l-320cca/sliu1rt

I have put this battery in both of my Miatas.:thumbs:

Shabbernigdo

6th December 2015, 02:32