Alan Gunn wrote: Wed Mar 11, 2026 6:19 am
You say "500 charge cycles" but the battery is getting charged every time you start the car so i admit i don't understand that part at all.
Ah yes! I didn't understand this concept myself when I read it during my investigation.
So much I can say but let me curb my enthusiasm and get right to the heart of the matter.
1st my knowledge about car batteries was outdated if not obsolete.
2The notion of maintenance free is very much an outright miscommunication or misconception and misrepresentation! Me putting the battery on the charger at the start of every month is an example of maintenance! One only looses charge everyday the alternator never fully charged the battery especially on the BMW car...so over time the battery wears down.
3Car batteries (especially AGM) can and should be maintained through charging: fast charging, slow charge, deep charging, auto shut off, trickle charging...or charge cycles. Most of these concepts can help, maintain or extend the life of the battery. But can hurt the battery if done at the inappropriate time...one can overcharge a battery. And correctly stated previously allowing the battery to go flat without charging is taboo. AGM shouldn't go below 50%.
The AGM battery I have a Titanic of a battery H8 group 49 1000 CCA can take the reconditioning of 500 charge cycles over its life... meaning the battery can be discharged then brought back to full charge again this is 1 cycle!
Now tell me when does the average guy intentionally does this! Heck we are told the car battery is "maintenance free"!
Sure the battery last 5 to 7 years but that's without maintenance...just every day driving maybe several long trips on "Holiday"... always wanted to say that...
Bottom line we are killing good batteries by not maintaining them resulting in more money out of our pockets. I was at Sam's the other day AGM car battery that fits the BMW e83 m54b30 $150 - $200.
My neighbor didn't know how much of a favor he was doing me when he gave me that AGM battery over 7 years ago.
There's so much more I could say...Cheers!
