[Arun Venugopal]

My battery just packed up on Diwali night. What battery would be apt, exude or Amaron? It presently has an Exide matrix in it. My car is a 2006 S MT.

Thanks in advance for the help.

[vigsom]

I'd recommend an Amaron anyday.

The model no. of the battery is 55B24LS.

[manim]

Originally Posted by Arun Venugopal

My battery just packed up on Diwali night. What battery would be apt, exude or Amaron? It presently has an Exide matrix in it. My car is a 2006 S MT.

My OEM died in 2 years and 9 months.
Fitted Amaron Pro 55B24LS on Feb 2010, going strong so far.

[sgiitk]

I always consider battery life to be about 2 years (maybe 2.5 with the newer ones). After that you are on borrowed time. I have an even bigger problem, both my cars are AT so push starting is out. Have to be jumpered to start.

Once the battery starts running out the self discharge becomes large, and it will not hold a charge for long. This is assuming it does not die on you.

Also, I found the four year battery to be a bit of a problem. I bought one (Amaron) for my Santro AT. Since the warranty is MRP based, after 38 months when it conked out, it was cheaper to go for a replacement with a three year battery than to claim residual warranty on it. So a longer warranty may not necessarily be better.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I always consider battery life to be about 2 years

None of my OE fitted batteries lasted less than 4 years and most of them were Exide. I have had 2 bad experiences with retro-fitted Amaron's on first change and I would gladly stick to the Exide's anyday.

[ramanak]

Originally Posted by manim

My Exide OEM Battery lasted only 2.8 years, since yours is already 3 years old dump it and get a new one.

My new one is Amaron 55B24LS. Hopefully this will last longer.

Hi Manim,

Honda service recommends a Battery change for my 2010 Civic.Wanted to check if you got the battery installed by Honda Service or Did the Amaron guys do it for you?If I remember, you got it replaced during a Highway trip -right?Would you suggest I go for Amaron FLO or PRO should be just fine.

Thanks.

[manim]

Originally Posted by ramanak

Honda service recommends a Battery change for my 2010 Civic.Wanted to check if you got the battery installed by Honda Service or Did the Amaron guys do it for you?If I remember, you got it replaced during a Highway trip -right?Would you suggest I go for Amaron FLO or PRO should be just fine.

I was stranded on the highway near Tirunelveli, and drove straight to the Amaron shop in Tirunelveli after jump-starting.
So, It was replaced at the Amaron-shop.

I have had previous good experience with Amaron in other cars, so went for it.
Satisfied so far after 2.8 years and 64,000 kms.

It is an Amaron-PRO 55B24LS, Rs.4,950 minus Rs.400 for the dead one.
This was in Feb 2010.

[Derezzed]

The Amaron Pro finally gave way yesterday night as a result of some 'stress testing' on the Civic. It was over 3 years old and I decided to go for a new battery instead of recharging the Amaron. Mine is an AT so don't want to tun the risk of getting stranded.

Got an Exide Matrix (truly maintenance free/sealed) installed for Rs.6200/- (MRP 7000-800 for the old battery) from the nearby Exide authorized store.

The 'stress testing' went like this: I turned on the blowers at medium speed, played a CD, turned on 2 cabin lights, charged my phone through the car charger, turned on my high beams (for a few seconds only though) and engaged all the four power windows at once simultaneously without starting the engine.

Result after 15 mins? The car will not crank as all the remaining juice in the Amaron was drained away.

I did this because I was noticing signs of a weakening battery and wanted to prove my hypothesis:

1. Remote lock and the blinker indicator working intermittently during lock/unlock
2. CD player refuses to load/play CDs. Buttons on head unit became unresponsive sometimes. Even changing radio stations or selecting AM/FM/CD was iffy on when it was running on battery only
3. The red blinking light on the speedo console(alarm system) had a mind of its own.

The Exide was recommended to me by the Honda Service Advisor. Also not so sterling reviews about Amaron Pro had me lean towards the Exide. Let's see how this Matrix performs.

[manim]

Originally Posted by Derezzed

The Amaron Pro finally gave way yesterday night as a result of some 'stress testing' on the Civic. It was over 3 years old and I decided to go for a new battery instead of recharging the Amaron. Mine is an AT so don't want to tun the risk of getting stranded.

I thought the Amaron-Pro will last four to five years.
Mine is now at 3 years four months and still going strong.

At any sign of weakness I will replace it since mine is also an AT.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by Derezzed

The Amaron Pro finally gave way yesterday night as a result of some 'stress testing' on the Civic

I really don't know if that is the right way of testing a battery. IMO, any battery would give up after a few minutes with so much load & consumption. Also, I have used Exide Matrix. Its a good battery IMO. It has visual charge level, and is truly maintenance free - Sealed for life! It was going strong even after 3 years in my car, when it was stolen. I think I purchased it for about 5K in 2006-07. It was stolen in 2009.

Now since, you have mentioned operating all 4 power windows simultaneously, it has got me in some doubt. This happened once to me, and only last week. There were 4 of us travelling in my car, with windows open. Suddenly there was a dusty diversion which we had to cross. Everyone started rolling up the power windows simultaneously. This in turn blew up the 15Amp PW fuse Later I changed the fuse and it came back to normal, but since then I thought to avoid using all power windows simultaneously. What do you guys think, is it normal? Or should I change the 15A fuse to say 20 A?

Thanks,
Saket

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by saket77

I really don't know if that is the right way of testing a battery. ...

Correct, and neither were the indications a pointer to failing battery health.

[Derezzed]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Correct, and neither were the indications a pointer to failing battery health.

In fact as I have already stated before I had the following warning signs along with a 'not so healthy' indicator on the Amaron Pro.

1. Remote lock and the blinker indicator working intermittently during lock/unlock
(this with a month old battery in the remote key fob)
2. CD player refuses to load/play CDs. Buttons on head unit became unresponsive sometimes. Even changing radio stations or selecting AM/FM/CD was iffy on when it was running on battery only
3. The red blinking light on the speedo console(alarm system) had a mind of its own.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by Derezzed

In fact as I have already stated before I had the following warning signs along with a 'not so healthy' indicator on the Amaron Pro.

1. Remote lock and the blinker indicator working intermittently during lock/unlock
(this with a month old battery in the remote key fob)
2. CD player refuses to load/play CDs. Buttons on head unit became unresponsive sometimes. Even changing radio stations or selecting AM/FM/CD was iffy on when it was running on battery only
3. The red blinking light on the speedo console(alarm system) had a mind of its own.

Were you able to crank your car? I think yes, because you were able to use the battery for so many things for 15 long minutes without the engine running. Where as all the above systems do not require too much power from the battery. So if the car was cranking, then a change was not required and the problem might be somewhere else, like a lose/ dirty contact, etc. You should have turned on the headlights, then tried to crank the car. If the headlights went dim, with just a cut-cut sound from the starter motor, it would have been a better indicator of a weak/ discharged battery.

However, I must add, that the method you followed is not recommended. You quite some lot of load on the electrical system & wires when the engine is not running.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by Derezzed

... 1. Remote lock and the blinker indicator working intermittently during lock/unlock
(this with a month old battery in the remote key fob)
2. CD player refuses to load/play CDs. Buttons on head unit became unresponsive sometimes. Even changing radio stations or selecting AM/FM/CD was iffy on when it was running on battery only
3. The red blinking light on the speedo console(alarm system) had a mind of its own.

I had referred to the same as not being indicators of battery health. Intermittent or unpredictable operation *may* happen when battery voltage is less than 9.6V, but a battery showing 9.6V with small loads will not be able crank the engine. In your case you were able to, right? The reliable indication of a weak battery is increased crank time to start, often with a very laboured sound.

[ST7677]

Please take the battery warranties with a huge pinch of salt. They are not worth the paper they are printed on. Check out my experience with Amaron batteries here

Even though third party testing proved the battery to be defective, Amaron dealer never accepted the same. Their corporate office never bothered to take any action either inspite of acknowledging the complaint. If you search, there are too many people facing issues with Amaron batteries. I just do not recommend Amaron battery.