Odyssey Battery Life: Grassroots Motorsports forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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Dec. 29, 2011 5:31 p.m. Hasbro Dork

My 680 kicked the bucket after only two years. PPS (Portable Power Systems) The car is driven once every day or two, no radio, lights are rarely used, ac used a little but never when stopped, only when in full motion, total mileage about 5k a year. I have their Ultimizer charger, which is pretty neat. From what I've read it should go another year or two. It worked great for 1 1/2 -1 3/4 years. I'm in Tucson so the summers are pretty brutal but it is garaged, which gets above 100 degrees. Any other suggestions to prolong it's life?

Also, is it ok to charge in the car with the positive cable on? They said it was ok but still uncertain. It's an 04 Civic.
Dec. 29, 2011 9:38 p.m. todd900ss New Reader

In reply to Hasbro:

That's surprising I had one that sat for two years and still showed 11 volts. This was a few years ago. You may have just got a bad one. Is your charging system operating as it should?

Yes ok to charge with the cables conected.
Dec. 29, 2011 9:45 p.m. Woody SuperDork

Heat kills batteries.
Dec. 30, 2011 7:37 a.m. Dr. Hess SuperDork

HD went to glass mat batteries, rumored to be made by Deka. A bill and a half for a motorcycle battery. It lasted 1 year. I'm not buying one again. Cheap Walmart batteries last me 1 year and cost like $40 or so. The upgraded sealed lead acid batteries cost $75 and last me 2 years.
Dec. 30, 2011 7:43 a.m. wclark New Reader

In reply to Hasbro:

I have used a 680 in my race car for abut 3 seasons now.

I think the Ultimizer charger is a key to long battery life as it periodically cycles the battery charge to peak and that helps reduce the tendency for sulfating (undercharging) or overheating (overcharging) that occurs when no supplemental charging is done or a cheap "trickle" charger is used. As far as I can tell the Ultimizer handles itself and the battery pretty well when connected to the battery while the battery is connected to the vehicle and its normal "Off" loads.

According to the Odyssey literature you are within the acceptable operating and storage temps for the battery. However it notes the storage life duration between charges is halved between abut 75 and about 100 degrees (2 years to 1 year).

I think, that despite me taking as many precautions with my battery to keep it properly charged as possible and cool (it is mounted inside the cabin rather than in the engine compartment) that its cranking capability has dropped some, and it is especially noticeable then things are hot - I frequency cannot turn over the engine in my car with the 680 right after completing a run that usually involves 1-2 starts during staging, about 10 minutes of engine operation including about 3 at high RPM and a minute or 2 cool down. If I let it sit 10-20 minutes or so giving both the engine and battery a chance to cool some it will restart.
Dec. 30, 2011 9:38 a.m. Keith SuperDork

I run a 680 in the Locost. It sees long periods of inactivity and has a fairly high compression engine to deal with. I also ran one in the Targa Miata for about 3-4 years, also high compression but generally more frequent use. Never had a problem with either. I replaced the one in the Targa car due to the heavy demands of the big engine.

In both cases, I have a battery cutoff so there is zero drain on the battery. No other special care or charging.
Dec. 30, 2011 1:12 p.m. Autolex HalfDork

I had a 680 in my 90 miata in the PPS folded aluminum mount just bolted to the floor (no charging/disconnect mods)...it worked just fine for like 4+ years of cold st. louis winters and hot summers...
Dec. 30, 2011 4:29 p.m. Hasbro Dork

Keith, i'd use a cutoff but then the computer has to start all over every time.
Feb. 17, 2012 8:05 p.m. Hasbro Dork

Update:

The new (free) replacement is working fine. Was checking every day and might have a slight drain on it when the hatch is left open? No lights were on. Could this be possible?

I used to leave the doors open overnight also in the heat to cool the car down. All the lights were off.
Feb. 17, 2012 9:29 p.m. mad_machine SuperDork

I was not aware it was heat that killed these batteries. I was going to install a 680 in my saab to give me more clearance around the turbo.. I may need to rethink that mounting position