Defective Interstate Batteries Anyone??? - Montana Owners Club

bobsals · 01-18-2013, 11:01 PM

Greetings, I have a couple things to talk about for those of us that live in a cold climate area, and who's RV sits in the yard or storage 1/2 of the year. Normally at the end of the camping year I have been taking my battery out of the Monty, putting it on my workbench and hooking it up to the battery charger a couple times over the winter. Have not had a problem doing that for over ten years. This year, I took the battery out of the RV around the end of October, put it on the bench and hooked it up to the charger. I have one of those smart chargers and it came up with an error code that the battery was sulfated. I did notice at the end of the year that the slides were a little sluggish operating especially without shore power connected. The battery is only three years old. Anyone else have this problem with an Interstate Battery? I will probably get a new one but just wanted to get opinions here on a good brand of battery to replace my Interstate battery with.
Second thing, this is not my first problem with Interstate. Two years ago I had my Daughter and Son-in-laws camper battery here on the bench with mine. About half way through the winter I thought I would charge both batteries. I charged mine (from my old camper) and then theirs. Got a big surprise when I went to hook up the charging wires. A big spark! Knowing that was not normal, I got out my volt meter and found that the positive and negative terminals were backwards. Yes, the large terminal with the plus sign was actually the negative. The battery was only a year old, so I took it to a local Interstate Battery Factory franchise to see what they said about it. The guy there was very beligerant insisting that I must have done something stupid to the battery and that is impossible for the battery to just change polarity. He said it was my fault and would not warrany the battery. So,, I left there and went back to the RV dealer and they gladly exchanged it for me. Sorry for this being so long, but just want to see if anyone else had experienced these problems.
Thanks

1retired06 · 01-19-2013, 02:36 AM

We have used interstate batteries in the RVs and boats for years, and have never had a problem. I would guess 4 years is the average life we have experienced with them. Sounds like you have not had the same luck. That polarity issue is a new one!

illapah · 01-19-2013, 03:41 AM

batteries can be reverse charged. Not a good thing to do.

bobsals · 01-19-2013, 04:38 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by illapah

batteries can be reverse charged. Not a good thing to do.

Yes, and that is exactly what the guy at Interstate was accusing me of.
He said that I must have completely drained the battery, and then intentionally charged in the reverse direction. After arguing with him to no avail, I came home, hooked up a 12v bulb for over 24 hours, and completely drained the battery. Then connected the charger in the normal direction and wouldn't do anything. Hooked it up backwards and it started charging. Total mystery. That is when i took it to the RV dealer..

c214dick · 01-19-2013, 12:41 PM

I had one problem with Interstate and it was mine not their's. I have 2 in my Dodge diesel and 1 in the RV. When I was with a major automotive parts distributor our biggest competitor was Interstate. All those auto dealers can't be wrong. It sounds like a freak occurance. As long as your dealer made good on it I would stick with Interstate.

scductman · 01-19-2013, 02:27 PM

The interstate in my montana was installed in june of 05 still works good. the first 2 in my 96 dodge lasted about 8 yrs so I put 2 new ones in it and they only lasted 3 yrs and failed to crank the truck a couple of times over that time if left sitting for 2 or 3 wks. that said I do like interstate batterys. JMHO
Bobby

**DQDick** · 01-19-2013, 05:07 PM

Always had good luck with Interstates.

bobsals · 01-19-2013, 11:32 PM

Thanks for the replies guys.
Sound like I may be just one of the few that has had some bad luck with Interstate.

Gkerlin · 01-20-2013, 02:20 AM

A sulfated battery isn't defective. Sulfation is a normal occurrence and is produced during the battery discharge cycle. It just needs to be equalized and could possibly be good as new.

If you google "lead acid battery equalization" there's a wealth of info on the subject.

Art-n-Marge · 01-20-2013, 06:00 AM

Besides recharging I use a trickle charger that also works on sulfate prevention and I have used this mode. I have Interstate batteries and one finally failed after almost 5 years, but I won't necessarily run out and change brands. Since changing to 6v is my future plan I'm not sure what brand I'll use since I've read that there are other popular brands for the 6v solution (like Trojan).

Interstate is a pretty good brand according to many and is what I have been using for trailers. I have also used Bosch and Sears Diehard and think that luck has a little to do with batteries. When I purchase a new vehicle, sometimes I can't tell what brand the battery.

That is a wierd occurrence on that one battery and I'm glad you were able to get it exchanged, but when I think about it all brands have had some issues and I don't remember enough to want to change from Interstate for now.

CamillaMichael · 01-21-2013, 08:28 AM

Happy to say our Interstates have served us well.

RonD · 01-26-2013, 05:02 PM

I have had many Interstate Batterys, never a problem, Interstate's are made by Johnston Controls, as are Sears, most of the other big brands, Costco, and Sam's club, it is stamped on the case in small print, they make a good battery

Tom S. · 01-27-2013, 01:44 AM

I believe Sears are now being made by Odyssey - at least that is what I read about the Die Hard Platinum line. Unless Odyssey is made by J.C.?

Marty79 · 03-11-2013, 02:18 AM

Funny you brought this topic up I had an Interstate Battery fail after one year. It would not hold a charge even though I would remove the battery after each trip and service it and put it on a battery maintainer (the same one I use for years on my airplane's battery.) But the silly thing would not hold a charge after 9 - 10 months. That was the first interstate that I ever had go bad. Go figure.

H. John Kohl · 03-11-2013, 03:56 AM

While in Yuma I talked with the solar guy downtown Starlight Solar. They asked what battery I was using and when I said Interstate they rolled their eyes. They asked what color top I had and Green was the answer. Note: this is on my Six Volt Golf Cart batteries by Interstate. They produce a piece of paper, they wrote and signed with reference to conversations with Interstate, stating the standard charge level for these new batteries is higher than the old level. Greg and I discussed this and have a little concern about the high levels, for that reason I am not posting it. I feel Starlight Solar is competent based on my dealing and DO recommend them.
What I pulled from the Interstate conversation is they were sold around two years ago and the newer batteries may not be up to the quality of the older (different color top) batteries.
If I have to replace my batteries I will spend the extra money and go with Trojan.
My message is partly rumor control but as I stated I trust Starlight Solar.

You may also like: