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Start-Stop Batteries: Advantages and Safety Measures

Start-Stop Batteries: Advantages and Safety Measures

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An increasing number of vehicles are fitted with engine start stop battery systems. Unlike regular batteries, the ones needed for this have a longer lifespan and higher price tag.

Ordinary conventional batteries cannot be used in automobiles with a start-stop battery because their service life is short, and they have a low tolerance for charging currents significantly higher than the average. Exide, an American business, ran a test imitating city driving conditions and found that standard batteries can be charged between 20,000 and 25,000 times, while the special batteries mentioned above may be charged 60,000 times.

Especially in models with intelligent generator control, where charging occurs during acceleration and deceleration, ordinary batteries are not up to the task because the battery current is higher.

Various Battery Forms

Vehicles with start-stop functionality often employ one of two battery types:

  1. An EFB Battery
  2. Battery with an Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM)

The first type of battery has numerous refinements over standard batteries, and the second type is more advanced. Although the plates themselves are not submerged in the electrolyte (diluent sulfuric acid), the porous glass fiber separator does absorb a significant amount of the electrolyte. Furthermore, the battery is totally sealed, allowing for installation in the cab, and chemical reactions will attract the gas released during the charging process.

But there are some drawbacks to AGM batteries as well. You should only put them away from the engine since they can’t handle the heat, and if you must, make sure they have plenty of vents as the MINI does.

Vehicles like the Fiat 500 and the Alpha have a start-stop system that can benefit from the EFB battery because they lack intelligent charging control. An AGM battery is recommended due to the Romeo Giulietta’s clever generator management technology (like BMW Efficient Dynamics).

Specific insulating equipment, thinner mesh width, and a special combination contained in the electrode plate, etc., allow for higher charging currents to be tolerated by the battery without overheating the battery due to lower internal resistance. Furthermore, an AGM battery’s single material compresses before entering the electrolytic cell, making it more resilient to stress than conventional batteries.

Because EFB batteries need to resist high-intensity charging, manufacturers have incorporated these technologies to lengthen the timeframes it takes to charge and discharge the batteries. Unfortunately, it is still inferior to AGM batteries.

Conclusion

In summary, designers of conventional cars, as well as electric and hybrid ones, are again giving serious consideration to start stop battery. Lead-acid batteries have been the focus of our discussion up until now, but this new battery presents a considerably more nuanced set of challenges. While charging the battery has always been trouble-free, you must now exercise caution to avoid damaging the device.

How To Light Up An AGM or EFB Battery.

How To Light Up An AGM or EFB Battery.

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The resistance of AGM and EFB batteries to deep discharges is the ability to fully charge after them without losing their previous capacity. What does not make a deep (or even full) discharge impossible is that it will not work to deceive physics.

What to do if the battery is completely discharged? There are different opinions on whether it is possible to “light up” an AGM Battery. Someone is sure that it is absolutely impossible, others believe that nothing terrible will happen. It is wiser to proceed from a specific situation: if there is some current left in the battery, but it is not enough to start the engine, it is quite acceptable to help it with a “light” if you do everything right and use high-quality starting wires . If the battery is set “to zero” – do not torment the equipment. A discharged battery must be removed and fully charged using an external charger. This applies not only to AGM, but also to EFBs and conventional wet batteries.

If the battery is set to “zero” – do not torment the equipment. The battery must be removed and fully charged.

Charging EFB And AGM Batteries

How to charge EFB and AGM batteries with an external charger? EFB batteries are no different from conventional batteries in terms of charging, since they also use a liquid electrolyte. The battery is charged with a current equal to 10% of the nominal capacity and a voltage not exceeding 14.8 V. On the digital charger for charging the EFB battery, select the mode for liquid batteries (WET or SLI). Temperature compensation (snowflake icon on charger) is not required for EFB.

With AGM batteries, things are a little more complicated due to their greater sensitivity to overcharging: the voltage should not exceed 14.4 V. To properly charge an AGM battery, it is better to use an electronic charger with a microprocessor that supports AGM charging mode and temperature compensation. When manually charging with a conventional transformer “charger”, there is a high risk of overheating the glass mats of the battery.

As for charging directly in the car, you should not worry: the generator of a modern car, especially a “green” one, will successfully cope with any type of battery.

Which Is Better: AGM or EFB?

Directly comparing EFB and AGM batteries is not entirely correct. Both types of batteries perform well in “green” cars with a “start-stop” system, but they are made using different technologies and for different tasks. AGM is an uncompromising solution capable of operating in extreme conditions, with strong vibrations and large rolls, delivering stable voltage without dropouts and quickly replenishing the charge. For this, they are respected by jeepers using powerful electric winches, and lovers of high-quality car audio. The high cost of AGM batteries is quite consistent with their level.

EFB batteries are an intermediate step between AGM and a conventional wet battery, they can be called a good compromise. Being structurally closer to the “classics”, EFB is not much inferior to AGM in terms of deep discharge resistance and charging speed. This solution is for those who are not ready to overpay for the extreme capabilities of AGM batteries, but simply want to ensure the normal operation of the start-stop system. In this case, buying an EFB battery is a smart choice.