Comparing pros & cons Lead batteries vs AGM

SilverGhost

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Location
Back in So Flo - St Lucie
TDI
'05 Golf - totaled :(, wife's '13 Beetle - buy back, TDIless
no hood blanket,
so no protection for hood getting hot?
fans on hard wires 100% of the time, no side skirts or belly pan,
So any heat is immediately blown out the gaping openings all around the engine?
no insulation other than selective heat wrap on firewall,
So nothing between hot engine and painted hood?
i race and autocross with ac on 100% of the time unless i have to keep my windows down like in PCA and CDC autocross events.
35 minutes of WOT track racing on a 95*F day with like 80% humidity with the AC on full blast and the battery still was able to be touched with no burning feeling. when i got back to the pit i have to feel it every time, also took thermal imaging back when i was doing that water injection and the battery was always one of the coolest parts of the engine bay.
So it sounds to me that in trying to make your point about hot engine bay and heat damage to battery being non-existent, you actually proved the opposite. You drove a car to create massive amounts of heat, but then dump it all out before battery has a chance to get baked.

Now if you had done the track time with full skirts/belly pan, left the hood and engine insulation on, let the fans cycle normally, then had to sit in the lineup with 10 or 15 other cars idling for their turn, that would have baked the battery.

Jason
 

GEFP

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Joined
Jan 22, 2018
Location
Southern Alberta Canada
TDI
2- 2001 Jettas, 2 - 2002 Jettas (1 for parts) 2003 1.8t Jetta (parts) 2014 Jetta
If I'm careful how I treat my battery's I can typically get 10 - 12 years out of them. If there is lots of shutting off and starting, or car doors are left open for night they don't tend to last as long.

I live in Canada and we have lower temperatures for at least half the year so I'm thinking that ambient temperatures have some to do with battery life.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
so no protection for hood getting hot? So any heat is immediately blown out the gaping openings all around the engine? So nothing between hot engine and painted hood?
So it sounds to me that in trying to make your point about hot engine bay and heat damage to battery being non-existent, you actually proved the opposite. You drove a car to create massive amounts of heat, but then dump it all out before battery has a chance to get baked.
Now if you had done the track time with full skirts/belly pan, left the hood and engine insulation on, let the fans cycle normally, then had to sit in the lineup with 10 or 15 other cars idling for their turn, that would have baked the battery.
Jason
Engine bay temps over 200f. I usually run up into the low 200s in temp all day like that, on a 95* day it makes no difference with full sun, easily I'm at one end of an extreme.
Have you seen the temp ratings vs voltage? Fairly impressive I might say in the last 20 years of battery tech.
 

mickyTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2003
Location
Longford, Ireland
My Passat is 3 years and 10 months old. 107,000 miles. It came with a Varta AGM battery. I got one of those Topdon battery testers and the results are :

SOH : 41%
Amps EN : 440 A ( rated 680 A)
REPLACE

It still started the other morning at 0 degrees C. Start stop still works ok so i’m not sure if i should take the readings with a pinch of salt however testing new batteries give100% SOH in comparison.
3 years and 10 months doesn’t seem a lot for an AGM battery but when i consider how many start/stops it has endured over the 107k and the brake recuperation charging system that keeps the battery charged at only 80% most of the time AGM batteries are tough suckers.
 

MAXRPM

Veteran Member
Joined
May 7, 2008
Location
US
TDI
00 Jetta and 99.5 Golf, 2015 Passat TDI,BMW 2
I do not think we would head in the direction of AGM for the worst, I'd think we still have to test them in the cars then we can have an opinion about them
 

joeelliottshin

New member
Joined
Mar 10, 2019
Location
New York
TDI
2015 Jetta
I have a 2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI SEL, Manual Transmission, 105K mileage. Trying to change my car batteries. Based on original specs the battery is currently JZW 915 105 A 12V 72 Ah 640A EN/SAE/GS 380A DIN.
Is this an AGM battery? Do I even have to replace my battery as AGM?
 

SilverGhost

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Location
Back in So Flo - St Lucie
TDI
'05 Golf - totaled :(, wife's '13 Beetle - buy back, TDIless
I have a 2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI SEL, Manual Transmission, 105K mileage. Trying to change my car batteries. Based on original specs the battery is currently JZW 915 105 A 12V 72 Ah 640A EN/SAE/GS 380A DIN.
Is this an AGM battery? Do I even have to replace my battery as AGM?
The JZW batteries are the "economy" batteries, part of VW economy parts line of cheaper parts with less warranty to gain traction in the aftermarket repair (wholesale) business.

We generally stay away because the cost savings up front rarely pan out long term.

Oh, and off the top of my head a 105 A battery is regular flooded lead acid, not AGM. VW usually puts a big AGM very prominently on their batteries when they use that design.

Jason
 

Dannyboy

Veteran Member
Joined
May 25, 2013
Location
Mb
TDI
2014
Well said Jason, you'll definitely know when you have an AGM as the letters printed are easily noticeable.
 

tikal

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2001
Location
Southeast Texas
TDI
2004 Passat Wagon (chainless + 5 MT + GDE tune)
Are the VARTA batteries still available from the VW dealers?

And if so, who makes them lately, is not Panasonic anymore, correct?
 

DivineChaos

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 27, 2019
Location
Minnesota
TDI
mk6 jetta sportwagen tdi
Cmon it's got nothing to do with the previous posting I did, I'm curious about difference of these 2 types of batteries, I'd like to put my recent experience between the 2, and pls chime in.

My passat came with the original lead battery, replaced it about 1.5 year ago, got it from Costco, passat was giving me issues starting appears to be the key was not electronically communicating when firing her up, I was actually planning to take her to the stealer for programming, (nothing wrong with battery just communication issues) so I decided to switch battery with Costco and I got me an AGM, car fired right up, communication appears to be on track now, locks right up and everything seems to be fine, this is why I was asking you guys, I heard from interstate battery rep, that AGM batteries are better for electronics than lead battery.
My $300 agm went weak before a calendar year. It tested good. But with an actual load test. 30 sec at 150a. It dropped way too low. Yeah it's got 2 years of warranty left. But I could buy a fla every other year and have been ahead....
 

pedroYUL

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2011
Location
MI, USA
TDI
2015 Passat CVCA; 2015 GSW CRUA; 2012 wagon CJAA; 2004 wagon BEW
Are the VARTA batteries still available from the VW dealers?

And if so, who makes them lately, is not Panasonic anymore, correct?
Last couple of batteries I got from the dealer were Varta branded, that was about 2 years ago
 

hskrdu

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 17, 2003
Location
Maryland and New England
TDI
2003 Golf GLS 4D 5M, 2015 GSW SE 6M
Are the VARTA batteries still available from the VW dealers? And if so, who makes them lately, is not Panasonic anymore, correct?
We replaced the batteries in two Mk7's in 2021 and 2022 with dealer units. The first was Varta, made in Germany, the second was Enertec, made in Mexico. I tried to get Varta both times, but the parts guy said he doesn't have visibility on which brand are coming in, only the p/n and quantity on order. I doubt Panasonic makes them, only bc German labor costs are high, but can't say for certain.
 

tikal

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2001
Location
Southeast Texas
TDI
2004 Passat Wagon (chainless + 5 MT + GDE tune)
We replaced the batteries in two Mk7's in 2021 and 2022 with dealer units. The first was Varta, made in Germany, the second was Enertec, made in Mexico. I tried to get Varta both times, but the parts guy said he doesn't have visibility on which brand are coming in, only the p/n and quantity on order. I doubt Panasonic makes them, only bc German labor costs are high, but can't say for certain.
The specs of the battery for my 2015 Passat SE from https://parts.vw.com/ is fairly weak in my view (in red):

Vehicle Battery.

Part Number: 000915105DE
Supersession(s): 000-915-105-DE; 000915105DEDSP; 5K0915105D; 915105DE

2.0 LITER. 2013-2016.
280 CCA. 330 amp. 330 Amp. 330 CCA. 60 AH. 60AH type 1. 61 AH. 61 amp. 61 amp hour. 61AH. A power source for a vehicle's electrical system. CONVENTIONAL. To 07/04/2016.


2.0 LITER, 330 amp. 2.0 LITER, 60 amp hour. 2013-2016, 61 amp hour. 330 amp. 60 AH. 60 amp hour. 60AH. 60AH, type 1. 61 AH. 61 amp. 61 amp hour. 61, 60 amp hour. 61AH. BATTERY & COMPONENTS, CONVENTIONAL, 61 amp hour. CONVENTIONAL W/1.4 LITER, 61 amp hour. CONVENTIONAL W/O 1.4 LITER, 61 amp hour. CONVENTIONAL, 61 AH. CONVENTIONAL, 61 amp. Convertible, 61 amp hour. SEDAN, CONVENTIONAL W/O 1.4 LITER, 61 amp hour. Sedan/Wagon, CONVENTIONAL W/O 1.4 LITER, 61 amp hour. W/O HYBRID, all.


Dealer Price

$ 169.20


I would like something with a lot more juice (CCA) and similar (or larger) capacity (amp hour).
 

hskrdu

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 17, 2003
Location
Maryland and New England
TDI
2003 Golf GLS 4D 5M, 2015 GSW SE 6M
Does the 2015 Passat have the modular battery tray? Some Mk7 G/GSW TDIs came with the 60ah H5, but the system later specs the H6. One of our Mk7's came with an H5, the other with the 72ah H6. I swapped the H5 to an H6 with an easy change of where the clamp sits. The thumbnail pic above links to the folder with comparison pics of the batteries, and a pic of the modualr tray (ignore the ALH pics). GolfDave has a massive write up on the battery issue at the UKMk7 forums, but it's GSW-centric. Also, dealer coupons for $ off a new battery are common, check around their websites. I paid $150+/- both times.
 

pedroYUL

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2011
Location
MI, USA
TDI
2015 Passat CVCA; 2015 GSW CRUA; 2012 wagon CJAA; 2004 wagon BEW
Actually...hrskdu reminded me same thing happen to me, I first got an Enertec VW branded for my 2015 Passat SE:


Then like a couple of months later a Varta for my GSW
 
Last edited:

SilverGhost

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Location
Back in So Flo - St Lucie
TDI
'05 Golf - totaled :(, wife's '13 Beetle - buy back, TDIless
The specs of the battery for my 2015 Passat SE from https://parts.vw.com/ is fairly weak in my view (in red):

Vehicle Battery.

Part Number: 000915105DE
Supersession(s): 000-915-105-DE; 000915105DEDSP; 5K0915105D; 915105DE

2.0 LITER. 2013-2016.
280 CCA. 330 amp. 330 Amp. 330 CCA. 60 AH. 60AH type 1. 61 AH. 61 amp. 61 amp hour. 61AH. A power source for a vehicle's electrical system. CONVENTIONAL. To 07/04/2016.


2.0 LITER, 330 amp. 2.0 LITER, 60 amp hour. 2013-2016, 61 amp hour. 330 amp. 60 AH. 60 amp hour. 60AH. 60AH, type 1. 61 AH. 61 amp. 61 amp hour. 61, 60 amp hour. 61AH. BATTERY & COMPONENTS, CONVENTIONAL, 61 amp hour. CONVENTIONAL W/1.4 LITER, 61 amp hour. CONVENTIONAL W/O 1.4 LITER, 61 amp hour. CONVENTIONAL, 61 AH. CONVENTIONAL, 61 amp. Convertible, 61 amp hour. SEDAN, CONVENTIONAL W/O 1.4 LITER, 61 amp hour. Sedan/Wagon, CONVENTIONAL W/O 1.4 LITER, 61 amp hour. W/O HYBRID, all.


Dealer Price

$ 169.20


I would like something with a lot more juice (CCA) and similar (or larger) capacity (amp hour).
A 105 DE battery is used for gas engines, generally low option cars. I would expect a DG battery for a Passat, especially a higher option model. Also that is a typo - 330DIN amps, NOT CCA. See the picture of the DG battery above - shows a 380DIN battery is rated 640A SAE (which is closer to CCA).

Jason
 
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