How to check water in battery?

[rob4092xx]

I have a 2018 Expedition and went to check the water in the battery. It has stickers over the six screw caps which make it appear as if you don't have to check the water level. Do I remove these stickers and unscrew the caps or is this considered a sealed, don't check water level, battery? Thanks!

 

[Artie]

I have a 2018 Expedition and went to check the water in the battery. It has stickers over the six screw caps which make it appear as if you don't have to check the water level. Do I remove these stickers and unscrew the caps or is this considered a sealed, don't check water level, battery? Thanks!

You don’t check water in these, they are maintenance free.

 

[bushpilot]

this is the 1st AGM battery ive seen that had caps....if it wasn't serviceable or meant t be check it seem to me the would have sealed it completely like the Optima & Odyssey brands.

 

[rob4092xx]

this is the 1st AGM battery ive seen that had caps....if it wasn't serviceable or meant t be check it seem to me the would have sealed it completely like the Optima & Odyssey brands.

Exactly. What are we supposed to do?

 

[ExplorerTom]

Haven’t batteries been maintenance free for like 20 years?

 

[st381183]

I have a 2018 Expedition and went to check the water in the battery. It has stickers over the six screw caps which make it appear as if you don't have to check the water level. Do I remove these stickers and unscrew the caps or is this considered a sealed, don't check water level, battery? Thanks!

Leave it alone.

 

[bushpilot]

Haven’t batteries been maintenance free for like 20 years?

thats what they WANT you to believe!

 

[bushpilot]

Exactly. What are we supposed to do?

about the only thing you can do is pull the caps and see what the fluid level is - shouldn't be more than about 90% full (room fro gassing). Id do a bunch of research before adding any fluid (of any kind)

 

[Fozzy]

about the only thing you can do is pull the caps and see what the fluid level is - shouldn't be more than about 90% full (room fro gassing). Id do a bunch of research before adding any fluid (of any kind)

I don’t know if I would do that. AGM batteries are meant to be sealed. The glass mat absorbs the gasses keeping them inside the battery. If a fault happens or over charging occurs the vent opens. Once the vent is open plan on your battery life going to crap fast.


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[stamp11127]

AGM batteries are designed to be pressurized, do not open them. Leave it alone. I about batteries in the diesel course - or did before the virus hit.

 

[bushpilot]

I don’t know if I would do that. AGM batteries are meant to be sealed. The glass mat absorbs the gasses keeping them inside the battery. If a fault happens or over charging occurs the vent opens. Once the vent is open plan on your battery life going to crap fast.


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agm batteries are lead acid batteries...that have glass mat (aka absorbent fiberglass) between the plates to hold the liquid - theyre not magic.

my expy battery has caps on them it is not sealed.

 

[bushpilot]

I don’t know if I would do that. AGM batteries are meant to be sealed. The glass mat absorbs the gasses keeping them inside the battery. If a fault happens or over charging occurs the vent opens. Once the vent is open plan on your battery life going to crap fast. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

im not necessarily recommending it - but suggesting thats the only thing you COULD do.
The RV industry has been using glass mat batteries for year - many owners top them up (where they have access) and get 7-10 yrs out of them.

I might open mine just for the hell of it....I didn't see where the tops do say "sealed" do not open...and what the hell im under 12/12 warranty

 

[Fozzy]

im not necessarily recommending it - but suggesting thats the only thing you COULD do.
The RV industry has been using glass mat batteries for year - many owners top them up (where they have access) and get 7-10 yrs out of them.

I might open mine just for the hell of it....I didn't see where the tops do say "sealed" do not open...and what the hell im under 12/12 warranty

A true AGM battery has to be sealed. The gasses stay inside the glass mat. Not venting to the atmosphere. This is why you don’t have to add water and they can be mounted on their sides. This is not new tech like Lithium, just a new storage method if you even dare say 20 year tech as new. Some manufacturers don’t take the time to make a cool cover plate to hide the fill points. I have never seen a user serviceable AGM battery. Trojan, Northstar, Optima, Odyssey the list keeps going. If a AGM battery owner has to add water they have overcharged it and let the gasses out or some kind of physical damage has occurred. RVers adding water to an AGM battery is just stupid. They should save their money and buy the interstate green tops and keep filling them. More than likely they do not have their shore power or solar system set up for AGM battery maintenance.


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[bushpilot]

agree @Fozzy this is the 1st automotive AGM ive ever seen w/ caps...all the others have once piece top.

 

[rjdelp7]

Harley Davidson use the AGM. They appear sealed, but if you remove the plastic cover, is there is rubber caps. My regular Group65 from AAA, is sealed. But I found a way to remove the cover also. It was real low on water(cell by neg terminal was the worst). I topped it off(distilled) and that was a couple of years ago. Manufactures want to sell batteries. The 'maintenance free' thing, benefits them.

 

[Eddie Hudson]

I have to be missing something here. Where did the OP say he had an AGM? What is the make and model of the battery he does have?

 

[rjdelp7]

I have to be missing something here. Where did the OP say he had an AGM? What is the make and model of the battery he does have?

He owns a 2018, they come with the OEM $200+ AGM batteries. I heard they put them in there, for the auto start heavy use. If you disable the Auto start, you can probably use a regular battery, down the road.

 

[Gumby]

Interesting as I just changed out the OE battery on my wife's 2014 Lincoln MKT. It had two lids that you could open (I didn't try to) but you could see some fluid or something had leaked out at some point. The new battery I bought was a full AGM Eliminator from Canadian Tire. This one had no lids to open - it was completely sealed.

 

[bushpilot]

I have to be missing something here. Where did the OP say he had an AGM? What is the make and model of the battery he does have?

This is the battery in my 2020 Max....and no I did NOT peel the sticker...it was like that from the dealer....

 

[Fozzy]

This is the battery in my 2020 Max....and no I did NOT peel the sticker...it was like that from the dealer....

View attachment 35610

Take a good look at the caps. They are not meant to be unscrewed. They are built like a tamperproof screw you see in restrooms.


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