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Lightweight batteries


slngsht

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Just returned from Batteries Plus. I bought a MJ680 for my Stalker last March. It sat until October when I finally fired it up for the first time. After a short jaunt around the neighborhood, the battery would be dead the next day. After jumping it and charging it for several months, I gave up. Today, Batteries Plus checked it out, said it was bad, and gave me a new one. No charge. According to the web site there is a 4 yr. warranty. Jimmydz Naples, Fl.

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I had the 680 for about a year, and it had plenty of power to crank over my V8, but it did not like sitting around much. I guess my electronics drew it down too much, resulting in frequent jumps. It eventually gave up the ghost. I now have a 920 in there. We'll see how it goes.

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I swapped my 625 Odyssey by mistake because I thought it might have been responsible for the starting problems (but it was the starter motor...). After sitting on the shelf for a while I installed the swapped-out battery (now 7 or 8 years old) last April in my trailer for lighting and the winch. I have not charged it since but it still lights the light and cranks the winch when needed. These are pretty tough batteries, but obviously they will drain to death if there is an ongoing load from some computerized gadgets.

 

Gert

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Birkin .

My First PC680 lasted 8 months.

 

The second PC680 died last fall after 8 years.

It caused some unusual charging behaviour from the alternator before it was apparent that it, and not the charging system was the culprit.

 

m

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Yeah, $1,215 for a new battery is a bit steep! Especially since the small lead acid battery I run only weighs about 12 lbs, just 8 lbs more than this one. Maybe it would be worth it if I were racing my car and every pound was critical?

 

I am on my second battery. The first one lasted 10 years & 22K miles, so longevity isn't an issue. (I dont know what it is, except both were supplied by Sevens and Elans). It's small enough to be mounted down by the oil filter, so it's both fairly light and low.

 

Cost $178.

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Should this not be listed under the General Tech section;

I see you are very quick to edit and move any listings not of your own or your "friends".

 

pfffft

 

http://pics.bikerag.com/Uploads/data/500/258Troll_spray.jpg

 

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Well, maybe I should be more specific......

 

So far I appreciated this forum because unlike some other typical Porsche, Atom, BMW you name it this was very civilized (and mostly it still is). That means for me you can voice your opinion, have controversies etc but all about subject matter. Very rarely it got personal. Occasionally the brand issue reared its ugly head but quickly put down or maybe the orthodox brand fanatics just left.

 

Lately I see some posts that challenge people (about their profession or how they run this web site). I suggest for such posters just to leave and find another playground. But then, maybe I am just to old to cope with such typical modern Internet crap behavior. Hope I did not start another flaming competition and I guess I just fell victim to the troll :jester: .

 

Gert

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In case someone is wondering where their post went... time to dust off the rules again - new one just added

 

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=2173

 

:leaving:

 

So just apply the same rules to all.

How many rules and regulations do we need by the way ?

 

Oh, I see now, I have studied "New Rule Number 6" Oh Grand Master.

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I sent a message to Odyssey about my PC680 failure. This is the response. I do have a battery cutoff switch and a charger that I used sporatically.

 

It looks like you left the battery connected in the engine compartment when you put the car in storage in Oct 2007. If so, the battery was subjected to a very small parasitic drain and over time it completely drained the battery to the point where it is today, probably with an open circuit voltage under 6V.

 

This battery has only about 17-18 amp-hours and it does not take long for even a few milliamps of current to completely drain the battery. As shown in Table 2 on page 11 of the attached Odyssey application manual, the PC680 will get to a fully discharged condition in 41 days with only an 18 milliamp current draw.

 

Since the battery has been sitting in an overdischarged state for so long it has most likely suffered severe permanent damage and your best option is to replace the battery. I would advise you, however to do one of two things to avoid this type of situation in the future. The first option is to physically disconnect the battery when you are not driving the car for more than a couple of days.

 

A better option is to use a trickle charger that puts out a steady 13.5-13.8V to keep the battery in a fully charged state, regardless of the duration of the storage. Our Odyssey Ultimizer charger (model OMAX-6A-1B; please see attached brochure) is specifically designed for Odyssey batteries and it has a regulated maintenance charge mode at 13.6V, so you can keep the battery connected indefinitely and not worry about the battery losing its charge due to extended non-use.

 

Thanks.

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FWIW, in the interests of "adding lightness", I've used a lawn tractor battery from sears in all my 7's, about half the sizer of a normal car battery.

 

Most people don't realize that that the 750 or so cranking amps of the big batteries are there to crank over big engines at stupidly low ambient temperatures....

 

.... which my Caterham never sees.

 

Sixty bucks, lasts for years. (Your mileage may vary.....)

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