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Odyssey Batteries going on us???

LifeofReiley

Well Known Member
Odyssey Batteries going South on us???

My last Odyssey Battery was 7 years old, replaced it just because. The replacement is 19 months old and is being a real pain. Since, I've found out my partner has two Odyssey batteries that are not even 1.5 years old and are crapped out. Is Odessy going down hill? Do we have a clone being sold? I was a true Odyssey fan. :mad:
 
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What

That really sucks been seeing that posted here with the newer batteries. Mine is seven yrs old also. I guess I'll keep it til it dies. Do they have a warrenty?
 
Well, this is indeed interesting. I got a new one 1.5 years ago, and it seems to be cranking very slowly the last couple months. Last one was 6ish years old before it sounded weak like this one. Maybe a crummy batch of them?
 
Battery shows a full charge, just no CCA's at all... and I have not changed my maintenance schedule at all. Checked all and EVERY connection.
 
More info?

It might be interesting if those of you with early-failures on your batteries would share a bit more info. Such as, how do you treat your battery? Do you basically ignore it, or do you always hook it up to a maintainer, etc.

I have a suspicion that constantly leaving a battery on ANY maintainer might, maybe, (who knows) lead to an early demise.

Yep, I know what the maintainer mfg's say. My experience is different. On three different aircraft, I rarely charge my batteries other than flying the plane. I have a 6-year old inexpensive Tempest battery, still going well. Wouldn't use it for IFR, for sure, but it still works. Only charge it up about once a month if not flown. (Non-electrically-dependent, VFR airplane)

Flame Suit fully zipped up! :D
 
I too replaced mine after 7 years, just because I figured it didn't owe me anything. Been 1.5 years and number two is running fine. Now that I said that, it is probably self districting as we speak. On a positive note, I sold my 7 year old battery for $40 ! :D
 
I've always used a Battery Tender Junior, even switched to another unit. They do work... 7 years it worked just fine. Even following the Manufacture charge instructions on this battery and nothing seems to work for this battery. Seems very strange to me, my Oydssey always was faithful until this new one. :mad:

Yes they have a pro-rated warranty, you pay shipping costs.
 
It might be interesting if those of you with early-failures on your batteries would share a bit more info. Such as, how do you treat your battery? Do you basically ignore it, or do you always hook it up to a maintainer, etc.

I have a suspicion that constantly leaving a battery on ANY maintainer might, maybe, (who knows) lead to an early demise.

Yep, I know what the maintainer mfg's say. My experience is different. On three different aircraft, I rarely charge my batteries other than flying the plane. I have a 6-year old inexpensive Tempest battery, still going well. Wouldn't use it for IFR, for sure, but it still works. Only charge it up about once a month if not flown. (Non-electrically-dependent, VFR airplane)

Flame Suit fully zipped up! :D

Flame Suit fully zipped up! :D Rake it off...
 
It might be interesting if those of you with early-failures on your batteries would share a bit more info. Such as, how do you treat your battery? Do you basically ignore it, or do you always hook it up to a maintainer, etc.

I have a suspicion that constantly leaving a battery on ANY maintainer might, maybe, (who knows) lead to an early demise.

Yep, I know what the maintainer mfg's say. My experience is different. On three different aircraft, I rarely charge my batteries other than flying the plane. I have a 6-year old inexpensive Tempest battery, still going well. Wouldn't use it for IFR, for sure, but it still works. Only charge it up about once a month if not flown. (Non-electrically-dependent, VFR airplane)

Flame Suit fully zipped up! :D

I don't do anything in the way of a tender or charger. I rarely go 3 weeks without flying. Last time flying it had been two weeks, and I wasn't sure it was going to start. Charging voltage indicates ~14 to 14.2, but I need to independently verify with my multimeter. I'm also going to measure voltage before I turn anything on.
 
my first 625 lasted 1 1/2 yrs before it wouldn't hold a charge over 12 volts. i did keep a schumacher maintainer on 24/7. my new battery has been in service 2 yrs now. again i am using the maintainer.
seems like a common scenario here.
 
7 years here

My PC680 is still holding up after approx 7 years sitting in my -7.
No charger or maintenace done, except in 2008: I charged it before the very first start.

Oh; and I also charged it a couple of years ago; when the plane had been sitting on the ground for about 6 weeks due to a snag.
I usually fly at once every week or every two weeks.

I always preheat the IO-360 engine during winter (when OAT's is below +5*C). Since the preheater warms up the entire engine compartment inluding the battery, the engine has never been cold-started.

A 60A Plane Power alternator is installed.

The battery still spins the engine nice and fast during start. It starts on the second or third blade. (love those P-mags!)

After start, the amp shows 8-10 for a few minutes, the goes back down to +1/+2 and 14,2-14.4V.

Love that battery!
 
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Charger

My seven yr old battery has only had a charger on it maybe 6 or 7 times for maybe 30 mins. each time. Sounds like I'll be keeping it till it dies.
 
Battery shows a full charge, just no CCA's at all... and I have not changed my maintenance schedule at all. Checked all and EVERY connection.

Reilly,

If you have time, follow the proceedure in this post and you most likely wil be able to restore the battery to a usable state:


http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showpost.php?p=773537&postcount=46

The issue is sufidation from storing the battery on something less than a full charge. I killed 2 of em before learning this.

The problem is that the smart chargers are not that smart. The Odyssee battery will never be fully charged unless it gets soaked for the proper time at the proper voltage. These smart chargers switch to trickle too soon if the battery has not been discharged enough and the trickle voltage is not enough to fully soak charge the battery. Does fine for maintaining just not fully charging.

If you always make a habit to discharge your battery a good amount before putting it on the smart charger, most likely your battery will last a long time.

This is all from the Odysee customer service people after they analyzed my dead batteries.
 
There was a long discussion of these batteries and some problems people were having at the AeroElectric-List forum on matronics. (Sorry to plug the competitor, Doug.) http://forums.matronics.com/viewforum.php?f=3

I think people were putting them on battery maintainers and causing trouble with capacity.

I've had a PC 680 in my 8 for 4 years now without problems. I left the master switch on once a year ago when I was updating the SkyView software and ran the battery down. I used a normal battery charger which tripped off on high current a couple of times before staying on charge. The battery came back up to voltage just fine and it has started the engine normally ever since.
 
A Trend

My current PC680, purchased in early 2013, died this month.

I am on my third (soon to be fourth) Odyssey since 2006. The first was purchased in 2005 while I was finishing up my RV9a (first flight 3-06). The battery sat on the firewall with no charger for a year prior to first flight. I used it to test the flaps, the avionics, and flew with it for three years with no problem. The unit was replaced only because I was getting nervous about the age (all electric/IFR airplane) since my only experience at that time had been with lead acid batteries. I bought a new one in 2008 and gave the old one to a buddy who used it to test his flaps, avionics, etc on his RV7 and then flew with it for another two years--total life about 6 yrs.

My second battery was used for over four years before I replaced it--again not because it was no longer useable, but because of its age.

This last 680, purchased in early 2013 lasted less than a year. I have tried to rejuvenate it using the Odyssey procedure (6 cycles) and an Odyssey battery charger, to no avail--it will show full charge but when you hit the starter--no cranking amps. I contacted the vendor from which the battery was purchased, they gave me an RMA #, and it was returned. I expect they will test, find what I found, and send me a new battery since it had a two year warranty.

The first two batteries gave excellent service. However, it appears we may have a bad trend here on PC680s purchased in the last year or so.

BTW, the alternator does now and has always put out 14.2 volts.


Cheers,

db
 
Reilly,

If you have time, follow the proceedure in this post and you most likely wil be able to restore the battery to a usable state:


http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showpost.php?p=773537&postcount=46

The issue is sufidation from storing the battery on something less than a full charge. I killed 2 of em before learning this.

I'm on my 4th Odyssey battery in 2.5 years. The first two I killed by running them down starting (before I learned how to hot start an IO-360). One just quit with no reason and would not recharge.

Interestingly, the battery before that would hold a charge but not CCA, so I used it for a year running a low amp sprayer on my tractor. I recharged it between uses with the Odyssey charger. While I was waiting for my latest battery to come via UPS, I put that one in the plane, and it has worked fine for over a month. My guess is that I unknowingly went through the reconstitution process by using it on the sprayer. I'll use it (with the new battery in the pickup) until I go cross country and then carry it as a backup.

BTW, I believe that Odyssey is telling the truth about using the proper charger. I used a no name charger on the first battery and it died. YMMV.

-John
 
I googled "CCA" and still don't know what it is. :confused: maybe, "Cold Cranking Amperes?"

That is its usual usage in dealing with batteries----------probably a bad use for this discussion, as it is a rating of amps/time-----one hour as I recall. It is the total output, not the current flow at a specific time.

Correct for this thread would be what amperage the battery could put out while under load---------and due to the time factor in the equation, the amp flow can be much higher than the rated CCA.
 
Hardly scientific but..

Not using an Odyssy battery but I have noticed the complaints in this forum as well as around the airport from people having batteries die on them way too early and for no "apparent" reason.
These problems seem to show up with other batteries as well.
I belief the culprit is the now widely used trickle chargers, something only a very few people used just 10 years ago.
I bought one too but I don't use it any more after having seen my hangar neighbor go from using his battery 6 or 7 years. Now he needs to replace it less than 2 years old after religiously plugging in the trickle charger every time before he goes home. He never had a trickle charger before getting his new batteries.
My cheap Panasonic batteries have given me 5 years of service and now 10 years later still work in my tow vehicle and other non essential applications.
The batteries still worked but at less than 50 bucks at the local ACE harware store I too felt it didn't owe me anymore service.
All this is just anecdotal evidence but I for one ditched the trickle charger.
 
It depends on the charger.
I use a Battery Tender 1.25 Amp Smart Charger on most everything. My battery budget has gone way down.
My RV-8 has a PC680, which is at least 6 years old. It's still OK. It's seen periodic float charges, but also gets charged & neglected. If I see the at rest voltage getting low, I'll put the charger on for a few hours or days.
I'm not very conscientious about it, but my batteries that don't last are the ones that never get a stint on a smart charger.
 
Not using an Odyssy battery but I have noticed the complaints in this forum as well as around the airport from people having batteries die on them way too early and for no "apparent" reason.
These problems seem to show up with other batteries as well.
I belief the culprit is the now widely used trickle chargers, something only a very few people used just 10 years ago.
I bought one too but I don't use it any more after having seen my hangar neighbor go from using his battery 6 or 7 years. Now he needs to replace it less than 2 years old after religiously plugging in the trickle charger every time before he goes home. He never had a trickle charger before getting his new batteries.
My cheap Panasonic batteries have given me 5 years of service and now 10 years later still work in my tow vehicle and other non essential applications.
The batteries still worked but at less than 50 bucks at the local ACE harware store I too felt it didn't owe me anymore service.
All this is just anecdotal evidence but I for one ditched the trickle charger.

Perhaps, I wouldn't know as I have never used a trickle charger. But what several of us on this thread have said is that we had good life with Odyssey batteries in the past, and quite different experience with those purchased recently, as in 2012, with nothing else being changed. I suspect if I put my old (8 years) one in, it might work better than the new one is.
 
Reilly,

If you have time, follow the proceedure in this post and you most likely wil be able to restore the battery to a usable state:


http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showpost.php?p=773537&postcount=46

The issue is sufidation from storing the battery on something less than a full charge. I killed 2 of em before learning this.

The problem is that the smart chargers are not that smart. The Odyssee battery will never be fully charged unless it gets soaked for the proper time at the proper voltage. These smart chargers switch to trickle too soon if the battery has not been discharged enough and the trickle voltage is not enough to fully soak charge the battery. Does fine for maintaining just not fully charging.

If you always make a habit to discharge your battery a good amount before putting it on the smart charger, most likely your battery will last a long time.

This is all from the Odysee customer service people after they analyzed my dead batteries.

Same theory here I take:

BATTERY RECONDITION MODE
BATTERY RECONDITION MODE should only be used with 10 amp hour (Ah) or larger capacity lead-acid batteries.
Charge the battery to be treated for up to 20 minutes, before using RECONDITION Mode. Observe the Digital Display
for any codes that may be indicated during this period. This initial charge will check the battery for shorted cells (F01),
open cells or battery too low (or overcharged) to accept a charge (F02), and to ensure the battery can take a charge. If
code F03 is displayed, change to the BATTERY RECONDITION MODE.
Whenever a lead acid battery begins to discharge, lead sulfate, an insulator, begins to build up on the battery?s internal
plates. This reduces the ability of the battery to hold a full charge. When that battery has an immediate charge, most of
the lead sulfate is dissolved and the plates are free of this insulation. If a battery remains in a discharged condition over
a longer period of time, the lead sulfate changes to a hard crystalline form, making a full charge difficult to achieve.
The BATTERY RECONDITION mode sends a sequence of electronic pulses into the serviceable battery (over 24 hour
period), enabling the sulfates to once again accept and release energy so the battery will perform at a greater capacity.
Battery Recondition mode automatically operates and then "times out" after 24 hours. When a smaller battery is treated,
Battery Recondition mode can be manually stopped after 12 hours of treatment.
1) START the Battery Recondition function by pressing the Battery Recondition switch button.
2) The first 5 seconds the display will show ?des? then change to moving bars for the remainder of the timing period.
3) After 24 hours the timer will stop the operation. The digital display will show the circulating pattern
4) If the battery is NOT fully charged, you should charge the battery until ?FUL? is displayed on the digital display.
NOTE: BATTERY RECONDITION function does not charge any battery. Charging is a separate function. The battery
being serviced does not have to be installed in a vehicle. Follow the instructions for Connecting If Battery
is Outside of Vehicle.
NOTE: The Battery Recondition function is ideal to use on a regularly scheduled maintenance basis to keep batteries
in top performing condition.
NOTE: If the battery still fails to take a charge after the first 24 hour period, then repeat for one more full charging
cycle.
 
Yeah however there are those that claim these "reconditioning or desulfidation" modes on some chargers don't work.

I don't know if they do or not but the method provided to me by Odyssey did work.

So... I have the battery hooked up to a 2.5 amp boat bilge pump just recirculating water. We'll see if it can bring the battery back to life after 3-4 cycles. :)
 
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So... I have the battery hooked up to a 2.5 amp boat bilge pump just recirculating water. We see if it can bring the battery back to life after 3-4 cycles. :)

It should start taking long and longer each cycle to both discharge and to recharge till the Odyssey Ultimizer goes into trickle mode. Thats how you will know it is working... Make sure you run it down until 10V open circuit..
 
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Update

Cycle 1 completed 50 Minutes to 10 Volts then recharge @ 6 amps 1.5 Hours
Cycle 2 completed 2.5 Hours to 10 Volts then recharge @ 6 amps 2.75 Hours

On Cycle 3 now. I also change to draw to a trailer tail light assemby using the stop light function for draw. I sure hope this solves the problem. :)
 
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Cycle 1 completed 50 Minutes to 10 Volts then recharge @ 6 amps 1.5 Hours
Cycle 2 completed 2.5 Hours to 10 Volts then recharge @ 6 amps 2.75 Hours

On Cycle 3 now. I'm also change to draw to a trailer tail light assemby using the stop light function for draw. I sure hope this solves the problem. :)

I suggest you keep going until the times don't keep increasing. Then you will know it is as good as it is going to get...
 
Thanks Brian... I think the thread you referred me to with the refurb details should be a Maintenance Sticky for easy reference to all. :)
 
That is its usual usage in dealing with batteries----------probably a bad use for this discussion, as it is a rating of amps/time-----one hour as I recall. It is the total output, not the current flow at a specific time.

Correct for this thread would be what amperage the battery could put out while under load---------and due to the time factor in the equation, the amp flow can be much higher than the rated CCA.

Mike, I believe that CCA, cold cranking amps (there are different versions of this at different conditions) is indeed what this thread is about. It is the current the battery can put out for short length of time (30 seconds?), at some temperature and min voltage. The ampere-hour rating is a measure of total energy deliverable from the battery, which would be at a much reduced current and for a longer time. So, the CCA is an indication of how well the battery will crank the engine, while the AH rating is an indication of how long it will run the avionics, for example, if the alternator dies.
 
I have a question, I didn't see it being ask already. Were the batteries that are dying prematurely purchased at a 'bargin' price? I have seen post where the PC680 were found at a 'good' deal with low or free shipping. Just curious if there is a connection between the price and length of service.
 
I have a question, I didn't see it being ask already. Were the batteries that are dying prematurely purchased at a 'bargin' price? I have seen post where the PC680 were found at a 'good' deal with low or free shipping. Just curious if there is a connection between the price and length of service.

Mine were both purchased at BatteryMart.com

Their price is not the cheapest but it is not the highest. Odyssey confirmed them as a high volume dealer.
 
I have a question, I didn't see it being ask already. Were the batteries that are dying prematurely purchased at a 'bargin' price? I have seen post where the PC680 were found at a 'good' deal with low or free shipping. Just curious if there is a connection between the price and length of service.

I bought mine from Bohannon Battery, $115 shipped. Manufacture date 02/12, install date 03/12, my issue started 11/13.
 
Brian... 3rd draw cycle is at 4 hours and hanging at 11.54 volts. I think we have a winner. :)

I revived my first one that sat in the garage almost dead for well over a year to about 75% original capacity using this procedure. If I had tried it sooner, I think it would have been more like 95%. I use it for a utility battery now.
 
B&C battery

I purchase my battery from B&C part #BC116-1 (same as PC680 I believe) Oct 2009 for $125, first flight Aug 2010. Fly at least one a week, never use a charger and this morning Jan 1st it still is starting good @ 27degrees without supplemental heat.
 
I purchase my battery from B&C part #BC116-1 (same as PC680 I believe) Oct 2009 for $125, first flight Aug 2010. Fly at least one a week, never use a charger and this morning Jan 1st it still is starting good @ 27degrees without supplemental heat.

Same battery, re-labeled for B&C produced by Odyssey.
 
Same here

Bought a new PC680 last year (2013). It was getting weaker each time I went to fly, so I began to use the trickle charger more and more. As of this morning, the battery wouldn't turn the prop at all. It shows plenty of voltage, but won't put out the amperage - sounds familiar.

I'm going to try and do the battery recovery procedure outlined in the other Odyssey post. Right now, my biggest problem is that I can't figure out what to use to pull 3A off my 12V battery. I don't have anything laying around. I tried getting a power inverter to just plug in a floor lamp, but that inverter stops working at about 11V, so I can't get it pulled down to 10V. Still thinking...
 
The last cycle took 7.5 hrs to draw the battery down with the trailer brake light hooked up to brake light mode. Charging took about 1.5 hours to full @ 6 amps. I put the light on dual mode... brake and running light mode and have started another cycle. :)
 
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