- The code is usually printed on the battery tag placed on top of your ACDelco battery. The date code can be a bit hard to find especially when other codes such as model and serial numbers also printed on the battery tag.
- Whether the application is automotive, industrial, marine, or recreational, we have a battery to meet virtually any need. Laboratory-tested, field-proven, and backed by GM with outstanding limited-warranty coverage, ACDelco Gold (Professional) and Silver (Advantage) Batteries set.
- Purchaser for 18 months from the date of purchase. Should the battery fail to hold a charge due to a defect in material or workmanship during the Standard Warranty period, it will be replaced at no charge with a new ACDelco battery of comparable performance. Battery Part Number Standard Warranty (No Charge Period) C24MF, M24MF, M27MF, M29MF, M31MF.
I often get calls from golf car owners that bought a used golf car from a “guy on craigslist” or from a neighbor, or someone that sells golf cars out of their garage… The conversation usually goes something like this,
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“Hey Paul, I bought this golf car from “a guy” and got a really great deal, but now it won’t run. I think my batteries are dead.” This person is about to have a bad day.
Normally I ask, “what year are the batteries?” There is often a long pause on the other end of the phone.
The usual reply is, “I don’t know. He said they were a couple of years old. How do I check that?”
This post will quickly explain how you can determine the age of a Trojan battery by reading its date code.
Knowing this information should arm you with enough knowledge to determine if the “great deal” is actually “great” or if you’ll need to figure the replacement costs of a new set of batteries.
Additionally, the current retail Trojan warranty as of this writing, 2/2020, is 18 months, which is another valuable reason to know the age of your batteries.
Where can you find the Trojan Battery date code?
Trojan etches or stamps a “date code” into the posts of the battery. Trojan has decided that the code they provide will reflect the shipping date of the battery, not the manufacturing date.
Here are the steps:
- Locate the Negative terminal of one of the batteries.
- Next to the terminal post connection you should be able to see a code etched into the lead.
Sometimes the date code is obscured by a red residue. The picture on the right shows a small amount of this residue on the wire and terminal connector.
Many manufacturers will apply a small amount of an anti-corrosion spray or gel that helps prevent the terminals from corrosion, and can usually be wiped away enough to read the code.
Over time, and with years of use, dirt and corrosion will obscure the etching which can sometimes make determining the date difficult.
If you have a lot of corrosion on the post of a battery, you may not be able to read the date code and will have to try and find another battery post to read.
The code here indicates the month and year when the battery was shipped out of the Trojan factory. The code consists of a Letter, which represents the month, A – L (A=January, B=February, C=March, thru L=December). The second character is a Number, which represents the last digit of the year.
In the picture here, a battery with “C8” on the negative terminal means the battery was shipped from the factory around March 2018.
One thing that can get confusing is that the “8” in this example could also possibly indicate a battery from 2008. So you do have to make a judgement call on whether the battery is over 10 years old or newer.
Update – 3/10/2020
I noticed the other day while checking the year of a set of batteries that Trojan seems to have changed their placement of the date code.
It appears that as of September 2019, they do not etch the posts on the battery any longer. Instead, the date code is stamped (or written) on the battery casing as illustrated in the picture.
Summary
That’s it. You now have enough information to determine the age of the batteries. This should be one of the first pieces of information you collect when evaluating the life expectancy of a used set of batteries.
- Find the negative post
- Read the date code
- Interpret the month and year that Trojan shipped the battery from the facility.
Saw codes on my OEM mercedes benz starter battery. Will give a list. Which one is the code? What is the date according to this code?1) RA 00 932 2172) 875 500 4013) 122035014) 535 106 0525) 00 978 8966) 00 915 664For the auxiliary battery (the one in the boot) i also have some codes. Which one is the date code? What is the date?1) 16 015 2 22) 15 18 6 1277 S3) 122 035014) 568 599 RANotice the RA in number 1 on the starter battery and number 4 of the auxiliary battery do they have anything in common?Believe i was sold an expired battery. Dates were written on the terminal heads on both batteries. The date show 12th month of 2015 for aux battery and 6th month of 2017 for starter. But i crank engine and get nothing but a sign on dashboard saying 'Battery Visit Workshop!' in red. I jump start and ride for 15 - 20 mins and the sign goes, i stop and try to start and get nothing but the sign again. Jump start and Repeat. Pls answer all questions. Have been on this for long. TIA.
My car has an automatic transmission.
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According to the local Mercedes Benz dealer, the dates stamped on the terminals represent the month and year the batteries were manufactured. Generally, advice in the industry (this is not from MB) is don’t buy a battery if the DOM (date of manufacture) exceeds 6 months prior to your purchase. The other numbers are not relevant to the date of manufacture. As far as your present circumstance where the vehicle will not start and you are receiving a dashboard warning light, that will be resolved if you request a no start diagnostic. If you have further questions or concerns, do not hesitate to re-contact YourMechanic as we are always here to help you.
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