There was a very impressive turnout for all of the AGM/EFB battery training nights, organised by Somora in conjunction with Yuasa Batteries, which were held in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Monaghan recently.

At each training evening, a highly informative presentation was given by Ian Newham, the head of Yuasa Europe’s Training Division and focused on AGM and EFB, Stop / Start batteries, explaining the technology, its background, how it has developed and what the future holds in this fast moving sector. Ian also demonstrated how support tools provided by Yuasa can save time and money and boost a garage’s business.

Ian explained how the origins of start /stop technology were driven by the need for car makers to reduce emissions and how AGM batteries were initially developed to meet this demand. He then explained how emission reduction technology had now moved on, with many models now featuring kinetic energy recovery and an increasing number reversible restart alternators. The latest development now impacting on the aftermarket is mild hybrid PHEV systems, which provide an electrical boost for the engine and allow manufacturers to downsize engine capacity but retain the same power. Each of these technologies requires specialist AGM or EFB batteries for the vehicle to function correctly.

Ian then explained the major differences between conventional batteries which are designed to provide 20-50,000 starts and AGM batteries which are designed to cope some 360,000 starts, hence the price differential. He pointed out that although a conventional battery and an AGM or EFB battery may be dimensionally the same, the similarities end there. Conventional lead acid batteries do not have the recovery and recharge capacity to cope with start / stop functions and if fitted will generally fail completely within six weeks. He also pointed out that AGM and EFB batteries cannot be charged with older equipment and need intelligent battery maintenance tools.

Ian then demonstrated the Yuasa battery look-up tool, which features an Irish registration search facility as well as fitting times, battery locations, which can be increasingly hard to find on a vehicle, coding requirements and fitting instructions. He explained how on many vehicles it is now essential to code the battery in when fitted. If this is not done then there is a risk of overcharging and non essential functions may develop issues, such as low power air-con or electric windows failing. To make this process quick and easy Yuasa have developed its YU-FIT OBD plug in tool.

Lastly, Ian touched on the increasing trend toward on vehicle battery management systems, which constantly adapt battery charging strategy and feature components such as intelligent alternators. He explained that cars fitted with such systems needed more advanced oscilloscope based diagnostic tools and that technicians need to take extreme care with such systems to avoid costly component replacement.