What battery is in your Sprinter?

There doesn't appear to be a good starter battery recommendation thread within the last eight years so I thought it would be a good idea for an updated battery thread. I am in the market for a solid AGM battery and I don't want to spend a ton of money on a dud.

Please post:

1) Battery brand and model
2) How long you have had it
3) If it replaced a poor performing battery, name that battery too.



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Motomaster Eliminator purchased from Canadian Tire
Two years old

This battery was in when I purchased the van two years ago but it doesn't want to hold a charge for very long. I've had some draining issues so this may not be a bad battery but may just have been through a lot of draining and recharging.

My Sprinter's A Lemon said:

There doesn't appear to be a good battery recommendation thread so I thought it would be a good idea to create one as I am in the market for a solid AGM battery and I don't want to spend a ton of money on a dud.

Please post:

1) Battery Brand and model
2) How long you have had it
3) If it replaced a poor performing battery, name that battery too.



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Motomaster Exterminator purchased from Canadian Tire
Two years old
This battery is normally $269 but is sometimes on sale for $189

This battery had been installed when I purchased the van two years ago but it doesn't want to hold a charge for very long. I've had some draining issues so this may not be a bad battery but may just have been through a lot of draining and recharging.

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I assume this is for the vehicle starting battery. Coach batteries are Lifeblue Lithiums but I have not had them long.

Starting battery:

1) I have a NAPA The Legend Premium AGM Battery
2) I've had it for two years
3) Previous battery was unknown but failed when it was run down.

This battery has been run down to nothing (<8V) three times (not intentionally but sometimes the vehicle has sat for more than a month and ran down the battery) and has been recharged and came back to life each time. So far it is still good.

Regards,

Mark

I didn't think a T1N was ever sold with an AGM starter battery as standard so will not be optimised for one.

Secondly, after experience with numerous BMW cars with AGM starter batteries my experience is that they are nothing but a pain in the backside! If they ever go, ever so slightly flat they are finished!!! I changed several on one to two year old cars because we slightly mistreated them and killed them. We never had any problem with any other car with FLA batteries.

My advice buy the best FLA you can and fit and forget it.

Keith.

Autocraft Gold H5 650CCA from Advance auto with 3yr free replacement warranty. Previous battery was a DEKA Gold that came with the van and lasted 6 yrs based on the manuf date on the battery. Although my van wasn't used for quite a while in those 6 years due to engine work and trying to get it running (purchased as a non-running van).

I normally shy away from the big box auto stores because they're overpriced for generic parts, but when it comes to batteries, I find that they always honor their warranty and will typically offer discount coupons bringing their price back down. With the coupon, I got this one for $140 after tax. If it doesn't last 3 yrs, it gets a free replacement. If it lasts more than 3 yrs, great, I'll just buy another one. Cheap batteries with a warranty tend to still be a lower long term investment (i.e. I could buy two of them to get me to 6+ years compared to just 1 high priced battery that probably still wouldn't last 6 years).

I’m only heading into my third winter, but...

I replaced a “March 2014” Motomaster Eliminator H8 in October 2018.
So it outlasted it’s 4-year warranty period by six months.
It wasn’t holding its voltage and was sagging badly during pre-glow (<10 volts) in fall weather, so I swapped it out.

I stayed on the cheaper end, but since I do use some power when parked (Espar parking heater, inside lighting, radio) and can run short errands, I went with a Motomaster Eliminator Ultra AGM (H8 size), choosing an AGM to improve the cycle capacity and recharge rate.

I have seen AGM banks that boiled dry in marine service with the wrong charge regulators so had questions, but Canadian Tire’s product support line assured me that this battery will happily float at 14.1 volts. I’ve saved that email, but after twelve months/20,000 miles in service, including many long days of continuous driving/floating the battery appears to be very strong.

Carries a 5-year warranty, so still VERY early days, but so far I’m happy with it.

-dave

Nautamaran said:

I’m only heading into my third winter, but...

I replaced a “March 2014” Motomaster Eliminator H8 in October 2018.

-dave

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The problem with Canadian Tire batteries is that they do their "overpriced-then-crazy-sale scheme". I am reluctant to purchase a $269.99 Eliminator when I know it will eventually go on sale for $189.99.

I hear ya... I lurked then pounced on their sale price. I do the same at their engine oil shelf, usually finding 5L jugs of 0w40 Euro Car on sale for about $25, not their $49 regular price.

-dave

Flooded lead. One with a vent tube to reduce corrosion is best

We have Group 49 that’s labeled AAA. It was in the van when we bought it and our best guess it’s about 3.5 year’s old.

In the past I have had very good results/longevity with Interstate batteries. My van came with one, drained completely and left drained for 6+months...I charged it up overnight and then some, expected to have to replace it and got 2 winters more out of it. It is now retired as running the 4 ways engine off for 10 mins (or the Espar for 5) kills it. My experience has been that Interstate batteries have a longer service life than Motormaster. CT has those batteries down to a science, they always fail within 3-6 months off warranty, not matter how well I treat them, kind of impressive in an obnoxious way.
If only CT would use its super powers for good instead of evil.
That being said I bought an Motormaster battery cause I was in a rush and could not afford a no start last week, it will last 4 years and 3-6 months no doubt. SO reliably disappointing, but reliable.
BTW I have noticed that OEM batteries seem to last about 8-10 years, Mitsubishi/Subaru/Volvo, not sure how they do that. All the above info is specific to Montreal weather and driving which is fairly harsh, months of sub zero as well as a good hot spell every summer to help kill the cells.

“SO reliably disappointing”
Totally.

If I thought the body would last another ten years I would shop the upper scale batteries, but $1.00/week for a reliable battery seems reasonable.

-dave

Cheyenne said:

I didn't think a T1N was ever sold with an AGM starter battery as standard so will not be optimised for one.

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You're correct about "as standard", but MB did offer AGMs as options for the T1N.
You could (optionally) order an AGM as the starter battery.

If you ordered an Auxiliary battery and either one was specified as AGM, MB made the other battery AGM also ... which hints to me that the alternator's regulator (or the Instrument Cluster's alternator control "logic") was tweaked for AGM.

My bought-new T1N came with a Varta flooded lead acid ... it's perhaps the best FLA battery i've ever owned ... despite being flattened one winter's day (down to about 10v.. long unattended story), after recharging it continued to work fine for another 4 years (total: 8) ... until i decided "it must be time" (it was still holding 12.4 v after weeks of inactivity) ... and every battery i've had since got down to that 12.4 level within two years.

Looking at a collection of datacards, i'm only seeing two applicable option codes:
E21 HEAVY-DUTY BATTERY/BATTERIES
EE8 12V BATTERY 100 AH
... but since i'm working from "found data", i don't seem to have any that included a factory auxiliary battery.
My Varta was an "EE8" (which seems to be the "common option" for US Sprinters)

--dick

Bump...I was hoping to get more responses.

It us just not that critical a part. They work when new, then start to fail over time. Kept properly charged and rarely if ever fully discharged most batteries give min 4 years of service. $200 at CT for a battery over 4 years, like Nauterman said aprix $1 a day. The CT AGM costs 75 $ more and has one year less in the guarantee (why anyone is buying that is beyond me).

Canadian Tire's reviews for their batteries indicate about 1/3 are not happy, hence, my inquiry.

A significant number of people replacing a battery have a system malfunction that caused the battery failure. Phantom drain, corrosion, charging system issue. So some bad reviews are part for the course.

Sounds good. I'll let this thread fade into obscurity.

I have a 6+ year old NAPA gold AGM in my van (previous owner purchased). Its obviously marginal, and has been for at least 2 years. When I lived in the northern USA (where winter temps were sub zero F), I generally only got 3-4 years from any starter battery. The normal capacity loss usually made them marginal by the 3rd year, and the 4th they needed replaced. The only exception was a walmart special in my Toyota DX pickup. I got 10 years on that one, and then a corroded cable killed it.

Typically when choosing a battery, go for the heaviest one. (bathroom scale?). Heavier means more lead, which means more robust.

Midwestdrifter said:

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Typically when choosing a battery, go for the heaviest one. (bathroom scale?). Heavier means more lead, which means more robust.

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Yep. The OEM Varta batteries are noticeably heavier when they are lifted out of the vehicle vs most replacement batteries.

vic

Battery in my van is a Napa Legend #7593. NAPA batteries are made by East Penn Manufacturing, a highly-regarded manufacturer. Current price is $145. But it doesn't seem like the correct model, which is listed as 7549. The 7543 is a Group 93, about 5/8" lower than the proper Group 49. Going to have to check into it as not sure how that will hold up to NH cold.

CCA @ 0 800A, CA @32F 985 which is less than the 7549. Weight of that battery is 52.5 lbs. Replacement warrantyt is only 18 months. The AGM model for Sprinter is 58 lbs.

Haven't found the date code yet but it at least a couple years old.

Best Battery You've Experienced with your Sprinter