12V battery in Corolla. What type of battery is it?

[nielshm]

I tried to charge my Battery yesterday since tempratures have dropped, and I wanted to top up the charge.

I have a smart charger, plugged it in a turned on. The display turned red, green color seems to be normal. 

So maybe the Battery and charger is'nt compatible?? The charger can handle lead/acid and AGM. 

[Roy124]

Not quite sure what you are saying.  Red suggests the Battery is not fully charged and is accepting power from the charger.  Green indicates the Battery is charged and the charger is in float mode just topping up as needed. 

Your car, a 2.0, with the Battery in the boot, will have an AGM battery.  A smart charger will work with that. 

What charger do you have? 

[nielshm]

1 hour ago, Roy124 said:

Not quite sure what you are saying.  Red suggests the battery is not fully charged and is accepting power from the charger.  Green indicates the battery is charged and the charger is in float mode just topping up as needed. 

Your car, a 2.0, with the battery in the boot, will have an AGM battery.  A smart charger will work with that. 

What charger do you have? 

I charged my wifes Aygo the other day. A 7 years old Battery that could need a little care.

The chargers display was green, even during the charge process. I my opinion, red indicates some kind of warning, but I'm not sure why.

The charger is some kind of CTek look-a-like, cheaper, but maybe not compatible with all kind of batterys. 

[Trewithy]

Your first port of call is the instructions that came with the charger.  If you haven't got them look for them on the internet. If the charger is of a reputable make the model number will be printed on it somewhere. You say your charger is a CTEK look-a-like, I would advise you  to get a genuine CTEK.  I have one and it gets regular use in the winter when I tend to do shorter journeys, so far I've never had a Battery problem.

[Ian.S]

“Your car, a 2.0, with the Battery in the boot, will have an AGM Battery.  A smart charger will work with that.”

 

please be careful with such bold statements, my 2.0lt TS has a normal lead acid Battery in the boot. 

[Red_Corolla]

55 minutes ago, Ian.S said:

“Your car, a 2.0, with the battery in the boot, will have an AGM battery.  A smart charger will work with that.”

 

please be careful with such bold statements, my 2.0lt TS has a normal lead acid battery in the boot. 

I'd be curious to know how one can tell the difference? An AGM Battery is, of course, still lead-acid, albeit with glass mats between the plates. Sometimes (not always) they have the letters AGM somewhere on the label, but there's no other difference on the outside, at least not to my untrained eye.

[Catlover]

If the 12v Battery is within the passenger area of a car ie hatch, I would definitely want an AGM Battery. There is no liquid acid in an AGM Battery to spill in case of leakage ie car accident, the acid in an AGM battery is absorbed into the glass mat, therefore cannot spill. Having said that, AGM batteries should not be confused with Gel batteries.
AGM batteries can be used if the battery is stored elsewhere, for example, under the bonnet. Vehicles fitted with stop/start benefit from AGM batteries. It is advised AGM batteries should be charged long and low. Normal chargers are not advised to be used, modern quality smart chargers, CTEK being one, are well suited to AGM. Recognised as one of the best AGM batteries is the Optima Yellow Top. Optima only produce AGM batteries.               
AGM batteries are generally more expensive then normal lead acid batteries, but production costs are higher due to technology. Longevity is one of the advantages of AGM, so that offsets some of the extra purchase price.

[Ian.S]

16 hours ago, Red_Corolla said:

I'd be curious to know how one can tell the difference? An AGM battery is, of course, still lead-acid, albeit with glass mats between the plates. Sometimes (not always) they have the letters AGM somewhere on the label, but there's no other difference on the outside, at least not to my untrained eye.

Check the Battery model number against the spec on the manufacturer’s web site. I cannot see any reason to put an AGM Battery in a Corolla as it is not used to start the engine. I agree with Catlover, What I referred to as normal lead acid is in fact a gel Battery. The days of topping up with deionised water in most modern car battery’s are long gone. The battery in my Mini is obviously an AGM type as it says so on it. 

[forkingabout]

The 2 litre hybrid Corolla 12 volt Battery lives in the boot under the floor so it's advisable to use an AGM Battery.

[Corollanutter]

If a lead acid Battery is fitted inside the passenger compartment (and that includes the luggage area), then an AGM Battery is fitted as a matter of safety. An overturned car, or a rear impact could release acid from a non-AGM Battery straight onto the passengers. It is nothing to do with starting performance (which is not needed on a hybrid) but everything to do with safety.

 

[Red_Corolla]

17 hours ago, Ian.S said:

Check the Battery model number against the spec on the manufacturer’s web site. I cannot see any reason to put an AGM Battery in a Corolla as it is not used to start the engine. I agree with Catlover, What I referred to as normal lead acid is in fact a gel Battery. The days of topping up with deionised water in most modern car battery’s are long gone. The battery in my Mini is obviously an AGM type as it says so on it. 

I tried, but I couldn't find any reference to it except where someone has quoted it in an old post on this forum. It doesn't say AGM anywhere and it has the letters 'MF' for maintenance free, so I'm inclined to agree that it's a standard sealed Battery as you stated.

On 11/26/2021 at 6:06 AM, Catlover said:

Normal chargers are not advised to be used, modern quality smart chargers, CTEK being one, are well suited to AGM. Recognised as one of the best AGM batteries is the Optima Yellow Top. Optima only produce AGM batteries.

I have a CTEK charger that's about 12 years old and has 3 charging modes: Motorcycle (low current), car (normal current) and the last setting, which is marked with a snowflake, is for AGM OR normal batteries in low ambient temperatures. From this, I would assume that an AGM compatible charger also has benefits for normal batteries in situations where the cold has affected the internal resistance.