So one day the battery is fine and the next day she is sounding alarms and cursing in Italian. I call my tech and he says change the battery - its only from 2019 but I'm a soldier and do what I'm told. I pick up a new interstate battery from my 'guy' - everyone has a guy, and I say "this is the right one, right? "Yes sir, yes it is!" I run home, remove the old battery and install the new one. As I am ready to close her up, I notice that its an AGM battery... Are these cars compatible with an AGM battery? I did notice that the charger says lead acid battery charger. Good ? Bad ? Do over? Walk of shame...??? Thanks for the input vdm
There weren't really AGM when this car came out so the charger were for lead acid. AGM has come out since and is great. Generally the original charger is ok but I wouldn't keep one plugged in to an AGM for long periods. Run the AGM battery but get a new charger that supports AGM.
Not sure what size . Its an interstate It had slightly more cca and such than what was in there. Same size . I will check tomorrow for the size. Thank you for the reply vdm
This is incorrect information. AGM batteries have been around for at least 25 years. 430 Scuderias for the North American market came standard with Optima Red Top AGM batteries installed. Ferrari provided the same Ctek battery tender they always did...which did not have an AGM setting. AGM batteries do not require a charger with an AGM specific setting, though there an be some benefit to using one with such a setting. Here is the recommendations from Optima Batteries who only offer AGM batteries: "Low and slow is best. A low-amp charger (one to 12 amps) is generally the best choice for charging any lead-acid battery. It's quicker to charge at higher amperage, but it also can generate a lot of heat, which reduces the life of a battery, just like the heat of summer. Under normal conditions, most 12-volt automatic battery chargers will work on an AGM battery. Many newer battery chargers have settings specifically for AGM batteries" If you have a microprocessor controlled battery tender, it should work fine with your Interstate AGM battery. There should be no need to immediately run out and buy a new battery tender with an AGM specific setting.
Careful now: OP is asking about a 360 so way before the 430 Scud. In fact battery selection for the 360 will date back at least 23 years and probably more. I didn't say that AGM "requires" a special charger. In fact I said "Generally the original charger is ok" and then added in some information that will help avoid some of the issues with using older style chargers on AGM. Last, I made a recommendation to use AGM. So what exactly is it that I said incorrectly?
Thank you all for your response, expertise, facts, and opinions. I have always found Fchat to be a great community of information exchange and friendship. vdm