Battery Life

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I understand and have felt the battery problem over and over again. I am now using a https://www.northstarbattery.com. They are God awful expensive but I have talked with the president and a sales engineer within the company. You wouldn't believe how this whole industry works.
 

catman

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I dont know what "God awful expensive" means, but our local BJ's Wholesale Club sells the Exide Global/Nascar Extreme battery in the L5/49X (900cca) size for $119.00 and occassionally have small sales on top of that. They do not sell the AGM version battery for cost comparrison. Still at $120, unless you are running a lot of accessories (which I know many are), simply replacing it every 2-3 years may make more sense than a $300-$400 battery.
 

Popham

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It’s pretty well documented that the LR4 uses a very weak charging profile. The computer controlled alternator only charges infrequently, and rarely at its highest level of 14.2v, presumably to reduce drag (parasitic loss) and boost gas mileage. This is particularly true if you take frequent short trips like 10-15 minute errands, commute, etc. Unless you run the car at highway speeds over lengthy hour or longer trips the battery’s resting state of charge never goes above 65-70% (12.25-12.30v) instead of the normal 100% of 12.67v.

I had all the classic issues discussed here with my 2011 LR4. Then with a fresh battery and dealer confirmed “optimal” charging system, the IID live data tool graphed the charging profile over varied conditions for a few weeks. I tried different batteries and styles (AGM/Non), but all had the same result… resting state of around 12.25-12.30v. Others found the same results with the IID tool. It was actually comical and there are lengthy posts on other sites as we saw the erratic charging profile draining the fresh batteries down as we went about our day. It's a pretty sophisticated profile that senses hillls, brakes, speed, has a warm-up profile, etc., but, it’s normal. A charge of 65-70% appears to be the target.

Generally, it’s not cause for concern. While the low state of charge will eat a battery a bit earlier than normal, in every-day use you don't really notice it. Unfortunately the marginal charging is clearly a disappointment when you need a bit of reserve. For camping off grid, you’ll see regular posts about turning off interior lights, changing to LEDs, etc. since the battery drains down so quickly from its low state of charge. Its not uncommon from just occasional courtesy lights and car remaining "active" (by having the key nearby) to have it drain down to a no-start state overnight.

I like to camp off grid with a rooftop tent, kids opening/closing doors, etc. so installed the 2nd battery option with the Traxide kit to compensate. But, once again only saw a resting state around 12.32v on even the 2nd battery. The extra capacity of the 2nd battery was nice, but I was missing over 50 amp hours of reserve between the two batteries being kept low. Not to mention the likelihood that the batteries would have short lives.

The solution? Until someone like the IID guys find a way to change the charging profile a lot of the LR4 guys simply plug their batteries in to a charger once a month, particularly before they go to remote locations and dry camp. Kind of ridiculous with this level rig, so I put two small solar panels between the forward-most slats on my factory roof rack. They're tied in to the 2nd battery and provide a 40 watt boost that tops off the batteries nicely to 12.67v. After a few days the resting state measured first thing in the morning was consistently 12.67v.
 

TLB

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Hi guy,
My 2013 LR4 ( almost 50,000 miles)battery just died today. Parked the car came back , tried to start it and it did not. It showed all the Christmas Lights on the dashboard, clock , date reset, got all kinds off warnings.
I am in Arizona and heat kills batteries. About 2 years ago when the car was still under factory warranty my battery was replaced with interstate battery. It looks like it has 6 years prorated warranty so I will contact my dealer tomorrow. In the past I did not scan for codes, faults so I have not idea what faults I had at that time.
Today I jump started the car , drove back home for few miles and of course I did not start after I turned ignition off. BTW the car drove fine after jump starting.
I scanned with OBDII scanner and got these four faults:
( I know they are repeated, but this was how it looked like after the sac)

P0340 Camshaft Position Sensor "A"
Circuit Bank 1 or Single Sensor

P0345 Camshaft Position Sensor "A"
Circuit bank 2

P0340 Camshaft Position Sensor "A"
Circuit Bank 1 or Single Sensor

P0345 Camshaft Position Sensor "A"
Circuit bank 2


Now should I worry that something is going on or those codes can be there in case of a dead battery.
Thanks for feedback .
 
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umbertob

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Bummer. My guess is that the camshaft pos. sensor and PCM are doing just fine and all those faults are directly related to your battery crapping out so brutally today and causing a cascade of faults. As a matter of fact, I am surprised you only pulled those 4, usually a dead battery - or even a relatively mild dip in voltage when cranking the engine - often results in truckloads of seemingly unrelated and dire sounding faults to be recorded in a variety of modules. Pretty much all of them are momentary, but they get a date / time stamp and "stick around" in the modules' respective memory banks for diagnostic purposes down the road, until you or a mechanic clear them. After you get the battery situation resolved and successfully start your car with no warning lights popping up, go ahead and clear those faults (if you can - do you have an IIDTool?) and I am pretty confident they will not come back. Until then... resist the temptation and don't use an OBDII scanner, you'll get worried/depressed for nothing. :)

If the dealer replaced the battery FOC under factory warranty, they will probably tell you the replacement warranty expired along with your car's at 4 years or 50K miles, whichever occurred first... I don't think the warranty "resets" during the coverage period regardless of what the replacement might say, but hopefully I am wrong and you get a portion of the money for a new one back. I am curious to see how much a dealer charges for a new battery, though. Even with a pro-rated reimbursement, you may still be better off buying a new one - and possibly a better quality one - elsewhere. Nothing against Interstate, I think their flooded batteries are just fine. But you can do better. Especially if you off-road, consider an AGM, it's a little safer. Keep us posted!
 

TLB

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Thank you Umberto.
I will call my dealer in the morning to check on the battery policy. I just checked exide web site and for LR4 they recommend this FP-AGML4/94R. this is different than a battery you have. (Exide Edge AGM L5/49/H8).
What is also interesting , my current battery ( which died) is Interstate MTP-49/H8, but when I go to interstate web site and search by a vehicle it recommends MTP 94R/H7. Why? (I am not a battery expert.)
 

umbertob

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94R/H7 is a couple of inches shorter (same exact height and width) and it's the factory installed size, which is why you will get that recommendation at most automotive stores as factory match replacement for RRS and LR3/4. 49/H8 is the next size up and normally offers a little more juice and better cranking numbers for a very similar price, only weighs a few extra lbs than its smaller sibling, and fits no problem in our battery well. That's why even dealers routinely install the Interstate Megatron H8/49 when replacing the crappy H7/94R Varta factory cell.
 

TLB

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Thanks again.
It looks like I will spend my Friday finding the battery. Too bad I need it now. Home depot has Exide Edge AGM L5/49/H8 for $245 with free shipping but... would have to wait about 2 weeks.
 

ktm525

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According to the Interstate site their H7 has superior cranking #'s over the H8 but the H8 has larger reserve capacity (120 vs 175). I use the H8s. It is a tight fit but they work. Typically get 3 years and then they go..Like clockwork.
 

mpinco

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It’s pretty well documented that the LR4 uses a very weak charging profile. ......... Unless you run the car at highway speeds over lengthy hour or longer trips the battery’s resting state of charge never goes above 65-70% (12.25-12.30v) instead of the normal 100% of 12.67v.

I had all the classic issues discussed here with my 2011 LR4. Then with a fresh battery and dealer confirmed “optimal” charging system, the IID live data tool graphed the charging profile over varied conditions for a few weeks. I tried different batteries and styles (AGM/Non), but all had the same result… resting state of around 12.25-12.30v. .....

First, thanks for a great post. One of the better ones on LR4 charging systems.

Which brings up the issue of RV/camper (house) batteries. I would think most keep their camper batteries charged to optimal levels while at home and then connect the "house" battery to the engine battery (charging system) thru the "tow package" connector for the camping trip/drive to campsite. Given the charging profile of the LR4 this appears to be a bad choice unless the RV/house battery is isolated at the higher state of charge. The LR4 charging system would actually bring the house battery down to the 12.25-12.30v resting state.

Better to isolate the LR4 completely from other battery systems. Looks like I have some IID tool work in my future.
 

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