Century Batteries

XB GS 351 Coupe · 29-06-2022, 11:18 AM

Sorry if this is in the wrong section, but could not see anywhere else to put this.

Question is : Has anyone had issues with Century Batteries lately?

That ^^^^^ is the question if you do not want to read the whole back story I have below.

I purchased a Century Extra Heavy Duty Battery (67EF MF) two years ago almost to the day, replacing my original Motorcraft battery that was fitted to my BF GT when I purchased it new from Ford. So I got a great run out of that, the GT is always hooked up to a Trickle charger, a CTEK XS 0.8 (12V 800mA) Battery Charger, which I am sure contributed to the battery long life.

I have had bike batteries in my Harley last 10 years and my other classic car batteries usually last between 6-8 years using a number of these chargers (I have one for each car/bike).

About 10 months into the new battery it died, it would not start the car, would not hold or accept charge when driving, even refused to charge from my CTEK MXS 5.0 12V 5A Battery Charger that I use to charge flat or weak batteries I also tried the reconditioning function which did nothing.

Returned it to Supercheap, they wanted to keep it for 24 hours, they called me the following day stating the battery is dead and to come pick up a new one, which I did.

About a week ago (roughly 13-14 months later) the above scenarios repeated, battery died and left me stranded 500km from home. Went to Supercheap who said they need the battery for 24 hours to charge and test blaming my car, I did not have time for that so I bought a jump starter pack instead (Been wanting one for a while so I went that way) which got me home the next day.

Dropped the battery off at my local Supercheap yesterday and was told that the battery was dead and they would give me a replacement, but said that this would be the last one. I did not bother arguing about hypothetical scenarios so I took my new battery and left. I am going to contact Century batteries in writing in relation to this. I also checked online reviews and there seem to be countless stories like mine.

I thought I check here what peoples experiences are, I have used Century batteries since the 80's and never had these issues.

Also if you are still with me what would an alternative battery be that people would recommend? Was thinking about contacting Ford to see if they still sell Motorcraft batteries for these cars.

Tassie f100 · 29-06-2022, 11:26 AM

I have a Century deep cycle which seems to have a half dead cell (if that is possible) drops to about 11.2v from about 14v on charge.It seems to hold that for a while then drops to about 11 which is the voltage the Waeco shuts itself off.Battery us only about 18-20 months old but has only 12mths warranty so I haven't tried to take it back

Citroënbender · 29-06-2022, 11:29 AM

I have a two year old Century (57EF MF, 660CCA) in the Territory, that should be load tested. It’s showing signs of an issue - charge indicator stuck on “charging necessary” regardless of whether charged in driving, with a dumb charger or a smart charger.

Franco Cozzo · 29-06-2022, 11:47 AM

I think they've made some cuts in the last few years to the Brisbane factory and there's more being done overseas, its a shame because they used to be top notch, I was their biggest reseller in the Central VIC region in 2015/2016 and I wouldn't put something in someone elses car unless I'd use it in my own and it wasn't like I'd make the most GP on their products either so it wasn't just the most profitable product for me to be reselling either.

Even their customer service has gone to ****, contacted them via their Facebook page to ask some technical advice on using their industrial range in a 48V battery bank and pulling 30-50A from it.

They basically told me to call their battery tech phoneline - how about you do your ****ing job and pass my enquiry up to the people who actually know **** from clay then when they respond pass it back down to me? What use are you? So I asked for their tech's email address so I could send diagram and nope, call their battery tech line.

So I suggested someone elses stuff, I'm not going to **** around on the phone on hold where they'll give me their email address so I can send a diagram because its easier to put it into text and images then tell someone over the phone.

Oh well, I guess the bean counters want to ruin their reputation - my next preference would be Bond Batteries Ultimate range:

https://www.bondbatteries.com.au/products/car-batteries

Easily one of the best products on the market, this was the other brand I'd resell - may be hard to get a hold on outside of VIC, I'm not sure about their reseller network interstate I think they're based out of Ballarat.

Alternatively ACDelco is MVP for price and longevity, or Supercharge Gold series are also good.

Franco Cozzo · 29-06-2022, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XB GS 351 Coupe

Sorry if this is in the wrong section, but could not see anywhere else to put this.

Question is : Has anyone had issues with Century Batteries lately?

That ^^^^^ is the question if you do not want to read the whole back story I have below.

I purchased a Century Extra Heavy Duty Battery (67EF MF) two years ago almost to the day, replacing my original Motorcraft battery that was fitted to my BF GT when I purchased it new from Ford. So I got a great run out of that, the GT is always hooked up to a Trickle charger, a CTEK XS 0.8 (12V 800mA) Battery Charger, which I am sure contributed to the battery long life.

I can't edit my last post as it timed out, just noticed this part I've bolded

Century is the manufacturer of the Motorcraft brand of batteries too, did it happen to have the maintenance style case with the removable caps to check the electrolyte level?

Something you should be aware of is lead acid batteries have issues with being on constant float charging, Worksafe Victoria released a safety alert about this where it had caused some battery explosions on 'maintenance free' type lead acid batteries (which is what Century moved to about 5 or so years ago).

Quote:

ABIA advises automotive type batteries are not designed for applications that involve continuous float (trickle) charge as is almost always the case in diesel engine powered back-up applications.

When subjected to constant charging, the usual benign end of working life and failure modes experienced by automotive type batteries on trucks etc are replaced by an increased risk of explosion due to internal changes in the battery, largely related to placing such batteries under continuous charging

https://www.centurybatteries.com.au/...plosionsv3.pdf

It references diesel generators and trucks, but you are doing the same thing as what they are talking about.

That could explain the short lifespan, you might be better off moving to an AGM battery in your application, just don't use the Optima D34, Deka Intimidator 9A34 or 9A34R (can't remember which has the right post orientation for Falcon) is way better and priced around the same, it puts up with higher ambient temperatures than the Optima D34.

GT450 · 29-06-2022, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XB GS 351 Coupe

Sorry if this is in the wrong section, but could not see anywhere else to put this.

Question is : Has anyone had issues with Century Batteries lately?

That ^^^^^ is the question if you do not want to read the whole back story I have below.

I purchased a Century Extra Heavy Duty Battery (67EF MF) two years ago almost to the day, replacing my original Motorcraft battery that was fitted to my BF GT when I purchased it new from Ford. So I got a great run out of that, the GT is always hooked up to a Trickle charger, a CTEK XS 0.8 (12V 800mA) Battery Charger, which I am sure contributed to the battery long life.

I have had bike batteries in my Harley last 10 years and my other classic car batteries usually last between 6-8 years using a number of these chargers (I have one for each car/bike).

About 10 months into the new battery it died, it would not start the car, would not hold or accept charge when driving, even refused to charge from my CTEK MXS 5.0 12V 5A Battery Charger that I use to charge flat or weak batteries I also tried the reconditioning function which did nothing.

Returned it to Supercheap, they wanted to keep it for 24 hours, they called me the following day stating the battery is dead and to come pick up a new one, which I did.

About a week ago (roughly 13-14 months later) the above scenarios repeated, battery died and left me stranded 500km from home. Went to Supercheap who said they need the battery for 24 hours to charge and test blaming my car, I did not have time for that so I bought a jump starter pack instead (Been wanting one for a while so I went that way) which got me home the next day.

Dropped the battery off at my local Supercheap yesterday and was told that the battery was dead and they would give me a replacement, but said that this would be the last one. I did not bother arguing about hypothetical scenarios so I took my new battery and left. I am going to contact Century batteries in writing in relation to this. I also checked online reviews and there seem to be countless stories like mine.

I thought I check here what peoples experiences are, I have used Century batteries since the 80's and never had these issues.

Also if you are still with me what would an alternative battery be that people would recommend? Was thinking about contacting Ford to see if they still sell Motorcraft batteries for these cars.

I used (use ) a projecta 1.6ma trickle charger on my BF GT after the OE battery failed and i changed it for a Supercharge battery. Would have been 8 years and still going strong when i sold it to buy the mustang on which i use the same charger to keep it going too.
I have used Supercharge on a few applications in my Fords with great results.
Steve

Franco Cozzo · 29-06-2022, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GT450

I used (use ) a projecta 1.6ma trickle charger on my BF GT after the OE battery failed and i changed it for a Supercharge battery. Would have been 8 years and still going strong when i sold it to buy the mustang on which i use the same charger to keep it going too.
I have used Supercharge on a few applications in my Fords with great results.
Steve

My ute had an 11 year old Supercharge battery in it when I got it last year:

Certainly can go the distance.

**PG2** · 29-06-2022, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XB GS 351 Coupe

Sorry if this is in the wrong section, but could not see anywhere else to put this.

Question is : Has anyone had issues with Century Batteries lately?

That ^^^^^ is the question if you do not want to read the whole back story I have below.

...

Short answer: Yeah, I was thinking about this recently when I had to replace two batteries (in two different cars) within a week of each other.

I initially bought Century batteries on the advice of a ethnic furniture salesman.

The first couple I bought (FG MKII and AU ute) were really good. I don't know if they are still working as I no longer have those cars.

Over the last 4 years or so, I have bought Century batteries for the 3 AUs that I have.

The one in the XR8 lasted just on 3 years. I can't be too critical of it as it is not a daily driver and don't have a charger for it.

The one in the XR6 ute lasted about the same time though. While the car is not daily driven, it is used at least once a week.

The one in the wagon has been in there for about 2 years and is starting to get a little lazy particularly at 4am on a cold morning. This car is the daily and does about 30,000k a year.

Just thinking out loud - is quality suffering so that supercheap can keep selling them at a price?

Franco Cozzo · 29-06-2022, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PG2

Short answer: Yeah, I was thinking about this recently when I had to replace two batteries (in two different cars) within a week of each other.

I initially bought Century batteries on the advice of a ethnic furniture salesman.

I give **** advice but at least its free

Quote:

Originally Posted by PG2

Just thinking out loud - is quality suffering so that supercheap can keep selling them at a price?

The thing is, they're not that cheap though, its still priced as a premium product.

GT450 · 29-06-2022, 02:12 PM

Agreed century are not cheap, the supercharge ones i have had were not expensive and certainly better quality .

Franco Cozzo · 29-06-2022, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GT450

Agreed century are not cheap, the supercharge ones i have had were not expensive and certainly better quality .

Picked up a N70ZZ sized battery in Supercharge Gold for my ute, was only $220 from my local independent parts shop.

From memory I think in 2016 it was costing me $113 to buy a 67EF MF from Century and I was spending about $5000/month with them.

Plenty of cheaper options around I could have been buying and selling for the same price.

One would hazard guess SCA is buying them cheaper, they'd have contract prices given their national volume.

Once you've decided on a battery brand its also worth checking their distributor list on their website, you'll probably find your local auto electrical workshop may be a distributor and they will sell it to you cheaper than the big parts resellers, they'll probably even fit it too

You're also supporting a local family owned business rather than some corporate group.

SCA lists $250 for a 67EF MF - highway robbery.

EBSXR6 · 29-06-2022, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Picked up a N70ZZ sized battery in
One would hazard guess SCA is buying them cheaper, they'd have contract prices given their national volume.

They may also be built to a price for SCA.
It is like that big hardware store they often have name brands, it is a slightly different product and can be very hard to get parts to repair the products.

burnz · 29-06-2022, 04:29 PM

i assume my battery is AC delco as it's OEM, 5+ yrs now..

danzvtil · 29-06-2022, 04:33 PM

I’ve bought century exclusively for 10 years with no issues. I put one in a Camry wagon which was dailied for 12 months then parked. It’s now been parked for a further 18 months with only a monthly start up, no trickle charging, no problems.

arm79 · 29-06-2022, 04:51 PM

Best batteries my family ever found were made by a friend who owned Moon Batteries on Mt Alexander Rd in Ascot Vale I think it was.

You'd ring him up and he'd assemble a battery for you or there'd be one fresh in the shelf he made within the previous few days. So you always got a very fresh battery with a 7 to 9 year life. Locals were very stunned seeing the battery they were replacing in Mum's car was 9 years old once.

I moved to Bosch after he shut down. They were very good but pricey and lasted on average 5 to 6 years.

Makes me sad to read about the quality of Century stuff. Specially since I just put a few of their batteries into our UPSsssss's. Might explain why their prices had dropped so much. They were $15 to $20 down compared to last time I looked, where I went with R&J stuff. Trying to be competitive.

I always avoided their auto batteries because they were unnecessarily expensive in comparison.

I've always wondered how much of modern battery problems are caused by variable computer controlled alternators. That they don't charge them at constant high voltages anymore.

Although happy to have been pointed to Supercharge batteries, because Dad's car needs a new one and Autobarn has them 25% off.

https://autobarn.com.au/ab/Autobarn-...tery/p/EL03486

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

or Supercharge Gold series are also good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

I give **** advice but at least its free

I appreciate the free advice and will report back down the track whether it was sh*t or not.

XB GS 351 Coupe · 29-06-2022, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

I have a two year old Century (57EF MF, 660CCA) in the Territory, that should be load tested. It’s showing signs of an issue - charge indicator stuck on “charging necessary” regardless of whether charged in driving, with a dumb charger or a smart charger.

That is exactly what mine did, before failing altogether.

Take it back ASAP before your warranty expires, and get a new one.

XB GS 351 Coupe · 29-06-2022, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

I have a Century deep cycle which seems to have a half dead cell (if that is possible) drops to about 11.2v from about 14v on charge.It seems to hold that for a while then drops to about 11 which is the voltage the Waeco shuts itself off.Battery us only about 18-20 months old but has only 12mths warranty so I haven't tried to take it back

That seems rough, only a 12 months warranty. I doubt they will do anything about this, but might be worth a try.

XB GS 351 Coupe · 29-06-2022, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

I can't edit my last post as it timed out, just noticed this part I've bolded

Century is the manufacturer of the Motorcraft brand of batteries too, did it happen to have the maintenance style case with the removable caps to check the electrolyte level?

Something you should be aware of is lead acid batteries have issues with being on constant float charging, Worksafe Victoria released a safety alert about this where it had caused some battery explosions on 'maintenance free' type lead acid batteries (which is what Century moved to about 5 or so years ago).

https://www.centurybatteries.com.au/...plosionsv3.pdf

It references diesel generators and trucks, but you are doing the same thing as what they are talking about.

That could explain the short lifespan, you might be better off moving to an AGM battery in your application, just don't use the Optima D34, Deka Intimidator 9A34 or 9A34R (can't remember which has the right post orientation for Falcon) is way better and priced around the same, it puts up with higher ambient temperatures than the Optima D34.

Both Century batteries that failed were sealed, so is the new one I picked up this morning free of charge, the original Motorcraft battery that was in the GT up until two years ago had the removable yellow caps so you could top up the water etc. I almost feel like I should have kept that battery and had it reconditioned if such a thing can be done.

The CTEK Charger is a smart charger and will turn off as required , it does not constantly charge. When it does charge it only charges at 800mA or 0.8 of an amp. Never really had any issues with the charger I have been using them on all my batteries without problems. My ride on Mower battery is 5 years old and the mower is always hooked up unless it's mowing, My last bike battery lasted 10 years always hooked up unless I was riding the bike.

In saying that I will certainly take this into consideration and I will certainly investigate this further as I have never had such issues in my 35 years of driving and owning cars.

XB GS 351 Coupe · 29-06-2022, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PG2

[B]Just thinking out loud - is quality suffering so that supercheap can keep selling them at a price?

They are selling these at a premium, I bought the battery because it was the most expensive one with the best specs for my car.

These are $250 a pop. which is a lot of $$ for a Falcon Battery considering other brands can be had for about 2/3rd that. I feel like they may be cutting corners to maximise profits, but hard to prove I guess.

https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/...=en_AU&start=1

XB GS 351 Coupe · 29-06-2022, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Picked up a N70ZZ sized battery in Supercharge Gold for my ute, was only $220 from my local independent parts shop.

From memory I think in 2016 it was costing me $113 to buy a 67EF MF from Century and I was spending about $5000/month with them.

Plenty of cheaper options around I could have been buying and selling for the same price.

One would hazard guess SCA is buying them cheaper, they'd have contract prices given their national volume.

Once you've decided on a battery brand its also worth checking their distributor list on their website, you'll probably find your local auto electrical workshop may be a distributor and they will sell it to you cheaper than the big parts resellers, they'll probably even fit it too

You're also supporting a local family owned business rather than some corporate group.

SCA lists $250 for a 67EF MF - highway robbery.

Agree with all of that, I paid the $250 thinking I am getting the best money can buy in a sense. But clearly that is not the case.

XB GS 351 Coupe · 29-06-2022, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EBSXR6

They may also be built to a price for SCA.
It is like that big hardware store they often have name brands, it is a slightly different product and can be very hard to get parts to repair the products.

This could well be the case, Supercheap may well get different batteries made just for them.

LG17 · 29-06-2022, 06:09 PM

Is it the Aussie made battery or the one made overseas?
There is a marked difference.

Franco Cozzo · 29-06-2022, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LG17

Is it the Aussie made battery or the one made overseas?
There is a marked difference.

Anything with a blue and yellow case is made in the Brisbane factory, all the DIN stuff with the black case is made overseas with the exception being the Diesel Territory battery, I think DIN65LH from memory.

But the problems have only been occurring recently with this product, as in getting worse over the last maybe 5 years, I'm curious as to the reason, I believe there has been some changes with the Brisbane production but I'm going on second hand information.

Franco Cozzo · 29-06-2022, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arm79

Best batteries my family ever found were made by a friend who owned Moon Batteries on Mt Alexander Rd in Ascot Vale I think it was.

You'd ring him up and he'd assemble a battery for you or there'd be one fresh in the shelf he made within the previous few days. So you always got a very fresh battery with a 7 to 9 year life. Locals were very stunned seeing the battery they were replacing in Mum's car was 9 years old once.

I moved to Bosch after he shut down. They were very good but pricey and lasted on average 5 to 6 years.

Ariel Batteries in the SE Suburbs of Melbourne is this old bloke who literally manufacturers batteries out of his workshop, these days mostly doing stuff for vintage restoration vehicles.

Once he dies his knowledge goes with him.

https://www.arielbatteries.com.au/

ford man xf · 29-06-2022, 06:28 PM

Exactly same issue on a not even year old century battery dying in a 1993 corolla, alternator works fine and was definitely charging the battery too.

Franco Cozzo · 29-06-2022, 06:38 PM

Bit of a disaster in the ranks for this one, I wonder if they're getting feedback from their reseller network because even just here on AFF there's a lot of bad taste in everyones mouth even from devotees to the brand.

There's no point paying Australian-made prices if you're getting Chinese quality product.

If you had half a brain you'd be keeping an eye on your warranty return rates and have some poindexter handy with excel make a nice graph to present to the alphabet people showing a problem, surely people like SCA/Burson who are huge resellers would be returning these things back to manufacturer for warranty at a rate of knots.

ford man xf · 29-06-2022, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Bit of a disaster in the ranks for this one, I wonder if they're getting feedback from their reseller network because even just here on AFF there's a lot of bad taste in everyones mouth even from devotees to the brand.

There's no point paying Australian-made prices if you're getting Chinese quality product.

If you had half a brain you'd be keeping an eye on your warranty return rates and have some poindexter handy with excel make a nice graph to present to the alphabet people showing a problem, surely people like SCA/Burson who are huge resellers would be returning these things back to manufacturer for warranty at a rate of knots.

I just emailed them then letting them know of this particular thread and if they wanted to join the discussion, I always think its fair to give a business the right of reply in regards to customer feedback and bad experiences.

ford man xf · 29-06-2022, 06:45 PM

And yeh definitely make sure you get that warranty printout or keep your receipt if you buy a century battery.

Franco Cozzo · 29-06-2022, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ford man xf

I just emailed them then letting them know of this particular thread and if they wanted to join the discussion, I always think its fair to give a business the right of reply in regards to customer feedback and bad experiences.

Curious to see if they respond, be interesting to hear it from their mouth.

Itsme · 29-06-2022, 08:48 PM

XB GS 351 Coupe
Never like the idea of keeping a lead acid battery on constant trickle or float charge unless the battery charger circuit has a built in discharge mode in the charge cycle.
Most lead acid batteries are designed to be worked not sitting in a constant full charged state.
This is what I was taught many moons ago in the trade.
Cheers