DieHard 71326 6/12V Gold Shelf Smart Battery Charger and 12/80A Engine Starter Black

This item exceeded my expectations. I had purchased and returned two other because one had clamps too small to fit on my cars battery cables and the other because the clamps were too small and the wire was too short to reach the outlet (3 feet away) and the clamp wires were very short as well. This item is a dream. The indicator turns green when fully charged and then converts to a trickle charger.

This review is for the DieHard 71326 6/12V Gold Shelf Charger. I saved 2 batteries from being recycled. Both came up with SUL readings when first hooked up. I let the charger cycle from the 2AMP setting for a bit on and off for a couple days and poof they started to take a charge. Both checked BAD with a load test, and neither had more than a 3volt reading. Had both, 1 is a AGM and the other regular lead acid, checked out great with a load test at the auto shop.

Good:+Relatively compact unit. I wanted a charger in a more shelf-friendly form factor to place in the top compartment of my toolbox. I didn’t like the idea of stuffing it in a drawer or leaving on the shelf I keep my chemicals/fluids on, and this fits great in my 61” Husky.+Simple enough to use my wife or a child could operate it without worries. I’ve seen people cook batteries with those old manual chargers. Seems all chargers are automatic these days but I feel the buttons and selections are pretty self explanatory.+Has all the bells and whistles, though I’ll touch on that in a bit.Bad:-Cable loom on the rear isn’t even big enough to wrap the charge cables around properly. Not a huge deal but it might be better just to use some velcro cable straps to keep everything tidy.-Charges much slower than the manual claims. The manual references a 4 to 10 hour charge time on batteries up to 1000CCA. It took probably 20 hours to bring a 650CCA battery to a full charge from 11.6V.-Charging cables are a bit short. They were just barely long enough to set the charger on the ground while connected to the battery inside a compact crossover SUV while performing an alternator test. Might have been fine to rest it on the ledge of the engine compartment but I was worried about the fans that for some reason extend past the shroud in Volkswagens.-Clamps and cables are pretty meh quality. They’re not bad enough to make me worry, but they leave a lot to be desired.Other:I was interested in the alternator test function, thinking it could reveal something about your charging system a typical multimeter might not. This is not the case, as it’s pretty much just a voltmeter that also gives a percentage between 13.2 and 14.6V. Nothing you couldn’t do with any old multimeter. The percentage could also be a bit misleading to someone who doesn’t understand what the Voltages mean.The manual references a desulfation mode but not a single listing online references this as an official feature. It’s also not noted on the box. The manual itself is pretty much generic and most of its contents seem to be mirrored across almost all Shumacher and Diehard products. There’s no way to force this mode and if this unit actually does feature one, I’m not entirely sure how it decides it’s needed or not.There’s no active cooling inside the unit. The bulk of its internals are dedicated to a rather large transformer. You might think this is great and that it suggests the transformer must be of high quality but in reality it appears to be a rather low buck item. All regulation components are integrated on the front PCB along with the display and buttons. I didn’t bother to take it apart but through the ventilation holes the components don’t appear to be anything special.I’ve noticed a lot of reviews on these automatic units complaining that they won’t charge a battery below a certain voltage. This doesn’t surprise me, as forcing a charge on a battery that has been excessively discharged can be potentially dangerous and these products have to cater to the lowest common denominator. If you’re looking for something modern that is both automatic and features a force mode, Noco offers a variety of compact chargers that achieve just that.All together I’m satisfied with this charger. I wanted something compact that could both charge and give a jump if ever needed. I had hopes that the alternator tester would be more sophisticated but it’s not a deal breaker. In hindsight I wish I would have gotten something with a dedicated desulfator mode but I’m kind of tempted to pick up a Noco Genius5 to keep my project car charged in storage anyway.

Works great, I hope this will be the last battery charger that I own.

Using as a trickle charger on a vehicle that does not get used in the winter. Plenty of power 80 amps is sweet.

Bought this as I needed 6V option. Diehard was once known as being good. Went to use it day 1 it wont do anything. Wont light up, wont charge- it doesn't work brand new. I was a week past Amazon's return date. Diehard customer service wont answer the phone. Left a message, after being on hold for 40 minutes. Really? This product is junk, I want a refund. Amazon-you should step up and take it back as it's a defective product, and I don't really want to try another one as reading the reviews, it seems I'm not alone.

Needed a battery charger for lead / acid and AGM batteries. This charger has a selector for the type of battery being charged. Selectable charging rates. Digital meter shows battery voltage and comes with heavy duty battery clamps.

Had my last one stolen; so had to buy a replacement. Multiple uses; slow charge, battery booster, jump starter, automatic trickle feed, etc. Paid about $25 more thru Amazon; but was too lazy to drive to my local Sears🤷🏾‍♂️