Just wondering how the Hawker Odyssey PC680 battery is supposed to perform in Cold weather and driving short distances. Seems like whenever the weather gets really cold, battery drags *** the next morn. before starting. I JUST noticed this a few morns. after really cold nights. BTW, the battery is brand new. TIA for any info.

 

I live in San Francisco, it never gets that cold here. It seems like my battery is weak on cold mornings too. It's also new. I do know that if my car sits in the garage for a long weekend(4days), the battery is also pretty weak. I wonder why that is. Anyone?

 

Is it possible that there is too much of a charge from the alternator to this battery ?? The chart below is directly from the Hawker website.

6A charger PC 625 / >>>>PC680<<<<<
15A charger PC 925 or smaller battery
PC 925 / PC 1200 or smaller battery
20A charger Use on PC 1700 or smaller battery

 

After researching it, I saw too many people having troubles with the little PC680, so I went the 51R route. TurboJeff occassionally sells a nice battery tray/holddown kit for a reasonable price. I also got my 84-month warrantied 51R battery for a whopping $40 at Costco, which is about $60 less than the PC680.

Unless you need a PC680 (I know you do John, because of your large SMIC), I would just go the 51R route -- cheaper, almost as light, battery is available anywhere (standard Honda Civic battery), and the battery has a lot more juice than the PC680.

 

I had similar issues with that battery, especially if it was near freezing temps and the car was not started for 5+ days. Didn't make me feel comfortable so I went the Optima route and put it in a back bin.

 

the pc680 sucks IMO. i rerely drive my car, but every single time i go to drive it, i walk up to the car w/ jumpers in hand KNOWING it needs it. cold out? forget it! go back in the house....

 

The PC680 on has like 280 cold cranking amps. When you look at the specs that show all those high cranking amp numbers, look at the volts those numbers are rater for haha. Nevermind, I'll save you the trouble....those specs are rated for a 7volt system, not a 12v. When you push 12v thru it those specs fall thru the floor.

If your car doesnt start right up its probably going to kill the battery. And in the winter good luck starting it right up. I had to charge mine up numberous times before it started leaving me stranded and I said forget it and bought a Yellow Top 51R.

 

http://www.1st-optima-batteries.com/

 

The PC680 is a great battery if you KNOW how to use it properly! Been using them for over 4 years without any problems. Of course Houston winters are short with the normal coldest temps being around 30F. Heat is the killer here.

It was not made to handle large loads or sit for days being drained by the car's alarm system. It is good for dayly driving which keeps the battery fully charged.


Since my car is no longer a dayly driver, whenever it is parked in my garage, I place a small charger on it. This charger is only 2amps and will switch to trickle charge mode after the battery is fully charged. Works great.

 

Well, winter in New Orleans isn't all that brutal. A few really cold days here and there. So, I'll stick it out with this battery since it should warm up soon. Although, this morning was probably the weakest the battery has been.

 

How would a battery cut-off switch work out if you're planning on parking it...?

 

If you park it outside, I hear one of those solar recharge panels works great to keep the alarm powered and keep voltage moving in the PC680

 

Sorry man, but I dont want a battery that I have to keep on a trickle charger all the time.

Also, its not really that great for a daily driver if you make short trips here and there. My drive to work and to lunch was only 5 miles each. It would take so much of the battery to crank the car that my short commute wasnt enough to charge it back up and after going to work, then to lunch and back, then home it wouldnt crank up after about 3 days unless I put it on a charger everynight after work. In addition over the weekend it would die just from my stock alarm system.

Once I got pulled over and turned off the engine but left the key on aux to roll the windows up and down. That along with my head lights being on for around 5 minutes killed the battery and the officer had to jump me off.

Sorry I just dont want a battery that is so weak that it only stays alive cause I keep it on a charger every night.

I mean damn, it only has like 280 cranking amps, the battery is NOT designed to be in cars. Its for motorcycles and jet skies that have 7 volt systems not 12 volt

STEPHEN

 

I agree Stephen, that's why I went with the 51R battery instead. It's still 10-12 lbs lighter than stock, allows more room in the engine compartment than stock, and only costs $40 from Costco. It's still a maintenance-free battery, so I'm not worried about leaks or whatnot.

 

This sucks because I have this battery on the way... I wish I would have seen this a month ago when I ordered my battery. Looks like I'll be upgrading to a battery in the rear bin...

 

Newbie ?....Why wouldn't mazda go with a lighter weight battery if they were trying to save weight originally ? why would the miata use a smaller battery

 

Mazda specs a 400CCA min batery for the FD and in the late 80's when the FD was being designed, Group 51 size batteries w/ 400CCA were very (and still are somewhat) rare, the Miata Spec only calls for 320CCA iirc, so a 350CCA Group 51 battery (common for Group 51) was a good choice.

FWIW Batery SIZE Groups refer Primarly to the CASE size & Terminal Locations, and only have limited correlation to Cranking Power & Reserve Capacity

PS I went with a Sears Die Hard Gold 51r with 410CCA b/k I decided a PC680 just was not big enough to be reliable, and a PC 925 did not offer enough weight or space savings to justify its much higher cost and lower cranking/reserve power vs the 51r