Alternatives to Standard Car Battery

[DBMaster]

Originally Posted By: SHOZ
I ran this battery in my Taurus for a couple of years. Bought it used off ebay. It was a backup battery for cash registers and was made in 1983. I still have it but no longer use it in the car. Maybe if the AGM battery in my lawn mower ever goes kaput I'll move it there. the lawn mower battery is 14 years old and doesn't even need a boost in the spring.


Why did you stop using it in the car? Did it work well for you with no issues?

 

[SHOZ]

Originally Posted By: DBMaster
Originally Posted By: SHOZ
I ran this battery in my Taurus for a couple of years. Bought it used off ebay. It was a backup battery for cash registers and was made in 1983. I still have it but no longer use it in the car. Maybe if the AGM battery in my lawn mower ever goes kaput I'll move it there. the lawn mower battery is 14 years old and doesn't even need a boost in the spring.


Why did you stop using it in the car? Did it work well for you with no issues?
It was too small unless used every day. The standard discharge rate would drag it down after two or three days.

I also used this with a alternator vacuum signal cut out switch at WOT and at the same time the alternator was off a single 2V cell was put in line.

Just too complicated. But when it work it worked great.

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: SHOZ
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
Originally Posted By: SHOZ
I ran this battery in my Taurus for a couple of years. Bought it used off ebay. It was a backup battery for cash registers and was made in 1983. I still have it but no longer use it in the car. Maybe if the AGM battery in my lawn mower ever goes kaput I'll move it there. the lawn mower battery is 14 years old and doesn't even need a boost in the spring.


Why did you stop using it in the car? Did it work well for you with no issues?
It was too small unless used every day. The standard discharge rate would drag it down after two or three days.

I also used this with a alternator vacuum signal cut out switch at WOT and at the same time the alternator was off a single 2V cell was put in line.

Just too complicated. But when it work it worked great.


I'd guess this was for racing/track days, to save weight?

 

[SHOZ]

Originally Posted By: Ducked


I'd guess this was for racing/track days, to save weight?
Yes I use to road race the Taurus. The ultimate problem was keeping the single 2v cell charged.

 

[xfactor9]

Lithium starter batteries have been available for cars for a few years. Some exotic car owners have switched to them for the weight savings. Porsche has an option for them on new 911s. I don't know about their longevity versus lead-acid, especially in hot weather, since they're relatively new. Bare in mind that most exotics have the battery in the trunk where it's cool. I would not put a lithium battery next to an engine... it probably wouldn't last very long

 

[DBMaster]

Sequel to the story. The reason I started thinking about all this was that my OEM battery is 4.5 years old and the cranking speed has dropped quite a bit recently. I'm going to take the battery in for load testing at Batteries Plus, where I can get a Duracell (East Penn) battery. My voltmeter test showed a drop to 6V when cranking so I'm pretty sure it's ready to be replaced. But, I want a real load test to be sure.

 

[SHOZ]

Originally Posted By: DBMaster
Sequel to the story. The reason I started thinking about all this was that my OEM battery is 4.5 years old and the cranking speed has dropped quite a bit recently. I'm going to take the battery in for load testing at Batteries Plus, where I can get a Duracell (East Penn) battery. My voltmeter test showed a drop to 6V when cranking so I'm pretty sure it's ready to be replaced. But, I want a real load test to be sure.
HA, modern cars will not start if the voltage drops under 10vs or so. The control relays drop out due to low voltage.

 

[DBMaster]

Well, I ordered my group 35 Duracell Ultra battery online from Batteries Plus because there was a 10% off promo when ordering online and picking up in the store (which is just a couple of miles away). I still had them test my old battery (Panasonic). It was putting out 160 amps. Factory spec is 525. So it was getting close to the point of not being able to start the car. This is the first time in my life that I read the signs right and replaced the battery before I ended up needing a jump start. I guess four and a half years is not bad service from a flooded cell battery.

 

[DBMaster]

Originally Posted By: SHOZ
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
Sequel to the story. The reason I started thinking about all this was that my OEM battery is 4.5 years old and the cranking speed has dropped quite a bit recently. I'm going to take the battery in for load testing at Batteries Plus, where I can get a Duracell (East Penn) battery. My voltmeter test showed a drop to 6V when cranking so I'm pretty sure it's ready to be replaced. But, I want a real load test to be sure.
HA, modern cars will not start if the voltage drops under 10vs or so. The control relays drop out due to low voltage.


I was using a digital multimeter so it's possible that the drop was just momentary. If the car wasn't so good about starting right up with barely a crank I imagine it would not have started the car. I have a modified surplus computer power supply that I use as a 12V bench supply. I connected it to the battery cables while I had the battery out and all of my settings on the radio were retained. Oddly, though, I had to reset the clock.

 

[edhackett]

Originally Posted By: SHOZ
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
Sequel to the story. The reason I started thinking about all this was that my OEM battery is 4.5 years old and the cranking speed has dropped quite a bit recently. I'm going to take the battery in for load testing at Batteries Plus, where I can get a Duracell (East Penn) battery. My voltmeter test showed a drop to 6V when cranking so I'm pretty sure it's ready to be replaced. But, I want a real load test to be sure.
HA, modern cars will not start if the voltage drops under 10vs or so. The control relays drop out due to low voltage.


That's what is going to prevent LiFePO4 batteries from being mainstream for automotive use. They don't perform well at cold temperatures. They are done at 0F. Your 12.8V LiFe battery drops to 10V at that temperature just due to chemistry. They produce no power and can't accept a charge below 0F. Don't believe the CCA values for LiFe batteries, as they are not comparable. CCA for a lead acid battery is measured at 0F. A LiFe is "dead" at 0F. The CCA is measured at higher temps and adjusted by the marketing department.

A couple of friends have installed LIFePO4 batteries in their street/track bikes and even here in our relatively mild PNW winters have noticed a marked decrease in cold weather starting ability. They won't use one for a street bike again. LiFe batteries are a good option for track only bikes and fair weather driven exotic cars. They don't make sense for a daily driver in cold climates.

Ed

 

[DBMaster]

Ed, that explains why Scotty Kilmer was so effusive about them. He's in Houston. It's a pretty rare event there to even drop to 32. I have been getting an education on the meaning of Ah, CA, and CCA doing all this battery research. I had been a big fan of Optima red top batteries, but all the disapproval of the current ones made in Mexico deterred me (the one I had great success with was 2002 vintage). Besides, the battery in my Mazda does not experience the level of heat that the battery in my Accord did.

I just like being different sometimes.