[dant98]

I've been having some minor electrical problems that I'm starting to think is cause by my battery. It will be four years old in april next year and is the original stock battery. I'm having problems where if I'm playing the radio loud with the subs turned up, sometimes, usually when I'm not going fast (i.e. little power from the alternator), the radio will reset itself to level 3 volume. This is normal behavior if I turn off the car and turn it back on with the radio running, but shouldn't happen randomly as I'm using it.

I was told to look for an Optima battery, so I e-mailed optima. Although thier Red Top series of starting batteries is availble for the Taurus (Model 34R), the Yellow Top deep discharge series that is made specificlly for high draw audio applications is not avalable.

Do you think the Red Top would be sufficient (Can get off eBay for $120 shipped), or does someone suggest a different manufacturer?

-Dan

 

[sixfofalcon]

Odyssey all the way. That's one of my Christmas presents to the SHO.

 

[dant98]

Which Odyssey battery do I get? Will it fit in the stock mount?

-Dan

 

[mth676]

i bought an optima yellow top and installed it in my trunk. This was i have my starting battery and my deep cycle. I draw quite a bit of power with my system also, so i bought the biggest one they had. This with a 6 farad capacitor seem to be working pretty good.

 

[tmonster]

They even have fancy batteries now....

I always went Diehard Gold, but I suppose if your running audio equipment you'd need more...

*ponders*

I dont even know what the hell battery is in my car....

 

[dant98]

Originally posted by mth676@Dec 28 2003, 05:19 PM
i bought an optima yellow top and installed it in my trunk. This was i have my starting battery and my deep cycle. I draw quite a bit of power with my system also, so i bought the biggest one they had. This with a 6 farad capacitor seem to be working pretty good.

Do you think a good idea might be to get the Redtop and if I still need more juice get a yellow top for the trunk?

-Dan

 

[silvapain]

Unless you are doing some serious thumping, a red top will be more than sufficient. I would look into upgrading the wiring all-around if your'e having that kind of electrical trouble. Run a new ground from the battery, a new alt.-battery line. That should help the system in general.

 

[Twilight]

Who cares about the stock mount? My battery is just sitting there with a vinyl strap around it. Never had a problem.

 

[silvapain]

....and it doubles as the passenger seat, thereby saving 50lbs.

 

[zeptoplix]

Hmm You don't have a short in the wiring for your radio by chance do you? Because it seems more like the radio is resetting itself because there is something internal wrong with the radio. Just my opinion. In my case with my old wiring setup, (i guess this will be like comparing apples to oranges since you have a Gen Iv but.. ) I successfully? lol discharged my system all the way down to 10.5 or 10.3 volts sometimes, and I never had any electronics decide to reset. The battery I was using was easily at least 5 years old as well, if your starter still spins strong I doubt the battery is the main culprit. One thing as well with my car ( a lill more bump than your system) but when I had my system cranked up it would vibrate one of my speakers and eventually it wore a groove in the wire insulation and would short out, intermittedly, at high volumes. Just my two cents, good luck.

 

[dant98]

The only way the radio itself could have wiring problemjs is if something had worn itself loose. The head unit and speakers are stock. I'm just using and aftermarket amp and subs. I used to have problems where the system wouldn't turn on unless the system was on before you started the car. I ended up getting an RCA adapter to fix that (converted the speaker level inputs to RCA). Another possibility is that I didn't really fix the problem, only made it better?

I may also want to check my battery wiring. I've got 4 guage wiring comming off my battery to my amp, but I think the stock ground from the car to the battery is smaller then that.

-Dan

 

[sixfofalcon]

FWIW, I have an Optima red top which has worked great for me for many years. I had a serious amp running in my car, too, and I never had a problem. However, the Optima is no match for the Odyssey PC1200. The Odyssey has better deep discharge performance than the Yellow Top, and better cranking/starting performance than the Red Top. The Odyssey was recommended to me by Paul Nimz, who is more of an expert on batteries than anyone I've met. These are the links he gave me:

Odyssey specs

Buy Odyssey batteries here

 

[dant98]

Is it good to get the one with the metle jacket?

QUOTE

Heavy duty, w/metal jacket & SAE universal brass terminal - 1200ca (PC1200T) = $127.96 [/b]

or

QUOTE

Heavy duty, w/brass SAE universal terminals but no metal jacket - 1200ca = $118.08 (PC1200MJT) [/b]

Also, they list them with female terminals too... What applications use batteries with female terminals? Is this so you can install your own terminals or something? Gold plated terminals would be cool.

-Dan

 

[sixfofalcon]

I would go with the second one you quoted there. The metal jacket is for durability, and seeing as how none of the competing batteries have it, there is probably no need for it. It's just an extra pound of metal, IMO.

The female terminals are the ones you've seen in some GM vehicles (I think.) They are basically a screw-hole on the side of the battery, instead of a post on the top. Some of the Optimas have both the male and female terminals.

The Odyssey will not develop corrosion on the terminals the way a conventional lead-acid battery will, so the gold plating would not be very helpful.

One other thing... I did some Googling and I was able to find a few local Odyssey distributors. This could save me a few bucks on shipping.

 

[dant98]

You have yours relocated. Does that mean it doesn't fit in the stock mount? I really don't feel like doing a battery relocation (using a lot of room in my trunk as it is).

-Dan

 

[sixfofalcon]

Originally posted by dant98@Dec 29 2003, 11:09 AM
You have yours relocated.  Does that mean it doesn't fit in the stock mount?  I really don't feel like doing a battery relocation (using a lot of room in my trunk as it is).

-Dan

You'll have to measure your stock battery and compare. My SHO had a huge battery in there, which I'm pretty sure is a different size than the non-SHO. The Optima DID fit in the SHO stock location, but having the battery up there doesn't make any sense. The heat and vibration from the engine shortens the battery lifespan. Plus, if you have a serious system, it makes more sense to have the power source closer to the main power draw. It makes CAI and/or blower projects easier, too.

At any rate, the Odyssey PC1200 seems to be the about the same size footprint as my Optima 800U battery, but the Odyssey is a little shorter. I don't see how it could be too big, but double-check that before you order. Keep in mind you can safely turn it on its side with no detriment to performance.

*edit* typo

 

[zeptoplix]

I still think that there is a problem with your system, not your battery/alternator. I can't see you being able to drop the voltage of your system enough to reset your stock radio. I still think you have a loose connection somewhere.

 

[shoz123]

I doubt if corrosion would ever be a problem. This comes from a poor seal at the post, the Odysseys have an epoxy seal here. I use the female terminals but I also make my own cables. You can get the bolt on normal terminals. These are just added to the female post batteries.

I use the PC 925 battery which is less than half the size of my OEM battery.