74_5.0L_Z Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 I was browsing the web for lightweight batteries, and I came across the brailleauto web-site. They have a couple of batteries that are extremely small and light (11.5 lbs for their race version and 15 lbs for their street version). http://www.brailleauto.com/ Has anyone had experience with these? Will it be compatable with my PowerMaster 100 amp 1 wire alternator? They seem like an extremely good way to shed 30+ pounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaysZ Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 i've heard those are good, but why not get an Odyssey PC680 for less? thats what i run and its a damn good battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74_5.0L_Z Posted April 8, 2006 Author Share Posted April 8, 2006 Thanks for the reply. The Odyssey PC680 is a definite possibility. Is the car that you use it in a daily driver? Is it race only? How long have you had the Odyssey PC680 battery? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaysZ Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 the car will eventually be a weekend and/or track car only. i've had the battery for just 3 months and have had no problems at all so far. my friend has one in his NSX, which is his daily, and has been using it for many years with no problems either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie-GNZ Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 I run an Optima red top and while it lighter than standard batteries, it is heavy compared to these in the post. Being a street car 1st, my concern would be the CCA rating of these batteries, especially the Odyssey which has a rating of only 220. Cant scoff at the price though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie-GNZ Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Any battery experts out there have any comments on my response regarding CCA ratings? I am interested in this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Well I am no battery expert, but I have played one on TV. That is a small battery. You can probably get away with it if you don't try and start a high compression engine in cold weather. The reserve capacticy of that PC680 is only 24 minutes. The reserve capacity of a typical size 24F battery is 120 minutes. That means the conventional battery stores about 5 times as much energy as the PC680 http://www.batterymart.com/pdf_files/odyssey_guide.pdf http://www.exideworld.com/pdf/exide_specs_april_2003.pdf But I am not familiar with that type of battery. They claim it has better cold weather capabilities than a conventional lead-acid design. They also claim it can more easily deliver short bursts of energy. So maybe if your car starts easily, doesn't see bad weather, is a track only car or if you replace the battery every couple of years. You would probably not want to use an alternator cut off switch on a battery with that little capacity. Guess I would want to hear from someone who runs one in the same conditions that I would use one. I like big batteries on my daily drivers. Leave your lights on with that thing and you will be stranded in short order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonfly Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 I am not a battery expert either but what I can tell you is that the CCR (cold cranking amps) only has value when you are talking about starting the car (no alternator providing power), what you need to be concerned with when the car is running and the alternator is working is the batteries AH (amp hour rating). The greater the AH rating the better your charging system will be able to handle the electrical draws it has been tasked with. As an analogy imagine an air tank/compressor, the tank would be your battery and the compressor your alternator... your engine turns the compressor fast enough that you do not need the tank, but when you have something with a larger draw you are now taxing the compressor so with the tank you reduce the amount of stress on the compressor and the larger the tank the less stress you will have on the compressor. The point of all this is that you need to consider what it takes to start the car, and what the typical loads will be and what the max load will be then size your capacities accordingly ie CCA, HA, size, weight, and alternator amperage. Dragonfly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evildky Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 I have the pc680, have had it for a bit over a year, but it's a race only car, and it managed to start the car in winter and has always held a charge, the only time I killed it I was running hiot and left the fans on for too long and it just didn't have enough left over to start, I just don't leave the fans on after a run and everything works fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaysZ Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 ok, i've just recently been having problems starting the car with my PC680. i suspect the alternator may be bad (will switch out tuesday). anything else i should look out for? i'm installing a battery cut off in case there is somehow an amperage draw somewhere in the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clifton Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 ok, i've just recently been having problems starting the car with my PC680. i suspect the alternator may be bad (will switch out tuesday). anything else i should look out for? i'm installing a battery cut off in case there is somehow an amperage draw somewhere in the system. I would check the voltage with the engine running and off. It would be quicker than swapping an alternator and narrow down the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaysZ Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 I would check the voltage with the engine running and off. It would be quicker than swapping an alternator and narrow down the problem. the voltage meter on mine reads at a 16+ when the motor is running. the other day i tried to crank the car and eventually wouldnt turn over anymore. i removed the spark plugs and the car turned over again (then the battery lost juice again). did the battery regain some power as it sat for a few minutes or is the battery really my problem or is there something else i should be concerned with? should i look into a gear reduction starter to improve start up? i've got a rebuilt alternator waiting to go in regardless, but i want to take care of the problem all together if possible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonfly Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 the voltage meter on mine reads at a 16+ when the motor is running. the other day i tried to crank the car and eventually wouldnt turn over anymore. i removed the spark plugs and the car turned over again (then the battery lost juice again). did the battery regain some power as it sat for a few minutes or is the battery really my problem or is there something else i should be concerned with? should i look into a gear reduction starter to improve start up? i've got a rebuilt alternator waiting to go in regardless' date=' but i want to take care of the problem all together if possible [/quote'] Looks to me like your voltage regulator is bad and if you have an internaly regulated alternator it should be changed, the high voltage from the altrernator could definately cause problems with your battery. The battery regaining some charge while sitting is called 'flash charge' and is for all practical purposes useless. Take the battery somewhere and have it tested. If you were able to start your engine with no problem before then getting a gear reduction starter will not make any real diferance. Dragonfly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaysZ Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Looks to me like your voltage regulator is bad and if you have an internaly regulated alternator it should be changed' date=' the high voltage from the altrernator could definately cause problems with your battery. The battery regaining some charge while sitting is called 'flash charge' and is for all practical purposes useless. Take the battery somewhere and have it tested. If you were able to start your engine with no problem before then getting a gear reduction starter will not make any real diferance. Dragonfly[/quote'] thanks for your reply. i do have another rebuilt alternator that is internally regulated. i think it is a Hitachi. should I do the GM delco alternator route or try this one to see if i have any improvements? my friend also suggested getting a battery tender to make sure it stays charged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clifton Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 The internally regulated Hitachi is an easy swap. You could have a dead cell though too. But a voltmeter on the battery, It should be atleast 12.5 + with the engine off. Watch the voltage when you try to crank it. It shouldn't drop much. Same with turning the headlights on. I pulled my hair out once with a battery that would take a charge but not start the car. Voltage was always good until I checked when cranking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 the voltage meter on mine reads at a 16+ when the motor is running. the other day i tried to crank the car and eventually wouldnt turn over anymore. i removed the spark plugs and the car turned over again (then the battery lost juice again). did the battery regain some power as it sat for a few minutes or is the battery really my problem or is there something else i should be concerned with? should i look into a gear reduction starter to improve start up? i've got a rebuilt alternator waiting to go in regardless' date=' but i want to take care of the problem all together if possible [/quote'] Removing the spark plugs removed the compression braking load on the engine. You could probably spin the engine by hand with the plugs out. That test is meaningless. If your alternator is maintaining 16 volts with the engine running, then it is not the problem. Replacing it will do nothing but waste time and money. If your battery cranks the engine for awhile, but only a little while, then you need a bigger battery. Simple as that. Batteries lose their ability to hold energy as they age. Bigger batteries seem to live longer than smaller ones because they have more reserve capcity that they can afford to lose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SR240Z Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 http://www.bakerprecision.com/battery.htm also makes lightweight race batteries. We have one in our car, and after having the car sit for about 5 months doin upgrades, it still started right up no problem, we have the 15lb battery, no radio or anything like that though, just the standard electrical with gauges and whatnot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonfly Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 thanks for your reply. i do have another rebuilt alternator that is internally regulated. i think it is a Hitachi. should I do the GM delco alternator route or try this one to see if i have any improvements? my friend also suggested getting a battery tender to make sure it stays charged. It does not matter what alternator, voltage regulator, battery you run as long as the system works... Which means that the battery should read aprox. 14 volts with no load and the engine off, when you start the engine the battery should not drop below 12 volts. With the engine running the alternator should supply 12 to 14 volts to the battery and when you turn on your headlights (with engine running) the alternator output should never drop below 12 volts, if it does not read in the 12 to 14 volt range your voltage regulator is not working properly (16 volts is to high). The amount of amps the alternator puts out is determined by the electrical loads it has to feed. Use whatever you want just make sure they pass the above test, also if you do not have enough load capacity in your car to use more than 60 to 65 amps there is no need to run a higher amp alternator, anything above what you can draw is never used. By the way you can get all of the above items tested at most any auto parts store for free (they will load test your battery and it WILL smoke but if it is good it will not be damaged). Dragonfly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaysZ Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 what i'm trying to figure out is why my system doesnt work. the battery is brand new. when i first installed it, the first 10 times it started up instantly. now, i need to have it jump started every time. i've got a new alternator installed... but the battery still isn't getting charged. is there anything i should be looking for? i'm sure getting a new battery will eventually give me the same results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonfly Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 what i'm trying to figure out is why my system doesnt work. the battery is brand new. when i first installed it, the first 10 times it started up instantly. now, i need to have it jump started every time. i've got a new alternator installed... but the battery still isn't getting charged. is there anything i should be looking for? i'm sure getting a new battery will eventually give me the same results. I would take the car to an auto parts store and have everything tested, there is a possibility that the new battery is bad. Call the parts store first to make sure they do the testing and to insure there is no charge (Pep Boys charges you but they will test everything for you). Dragonfly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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