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I have 4 cars and a truck, two old tractors, a quad, a Gator and a
riding lawnmower; I spend quite a bit of time dealing with batteries and
electrical systems. Modern batteries, say, those built in the last 20
years or so, aren't generally built to last. Most of them are made by
only a couple of companies, Johnson Controls being the largest, and most
are now constructed in Mexico (I use a shop owned by a Hispanic man to
rebuild my Britcar batteries and starters, and he told me Mexican
batteries are 'crap;' he used to recommend Optima, but they were bought
by JC (I think) and he quit recommending them). My '08 Mustang GT had
two batteries die, with no warning, at almost exactly 3 years; both were
'Motorcraft' brand, but if you look close you could see 'Johnson
Controls.' Besides failing with no warning, which I attribute to
internal shorting as someone suggested, I have lots of issues with
leaking, causing the terminals to corrode and a mess in your engine
compartment. I think the poor quality is due to thinner lead plates--a
rule-of-thumb I use is the heavier the battery the better the
battery--and cases are flimsier and they just don't bother to get good
seals around the terminals. I shudder to think of what the Mexican
battery factories look like.
The one battery brand that makes consistently good batteries is Deka,
built by East Penn manufacturing in Pennsylvania (NFI). They source some
of the common brands, like Duracell I think, and they seem to last. But,
be careful, Napa, for instance, claims to get theirs from East Penn, but
I bought one for my '19 Mustang the other day--yep, the OEM 'Motorcraft'
leaked at 4 years, and I had to pull the whole box to clean it up--and
the Napa had a 'Made in Korea' sticker on it; I'm not sure what to think
(there is a Deka dealer on the far side of town; next time I make the
drive). For the non-autos, I bought deep-cycle and starting
batteries--both SLA--off Amazon with the brand 'Weizen;' they were among
the cheapest but both have performed well and held up. I bought an 'X2
Power' AGM for one of the Healeys and it's been nails for over 6 years.
Some of my vehicles have to sit for long periods; if so, I put them on a
'smart' charger (I like BatteryMinder, I've heard good things about
BatteryTender). These will not only keep your battery topped-up without
overcharging, but claim to perform a 'desulfation' cycle periodically,
which I believe involves pulsing the battery with a higher voltage (I
got one specifically for AGMs for the Healey battery; at $300+ I want it
to last and not fail in the middle of nowhere).
To answer OPs question, most dealers and shops these days use a battery
tester in lieu of a load tester; they give a lot more info. I bought an
even cheaper version of this one, but this one looks to have good
quality clamps:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z67MMGC/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=A3EMYY4GBP2W2D&psc=1
Bob
On 1/10/2024 5:19 AM, Ronnie Day wrote:
> We have a '15 Odyssey EX-L that we bought used about 4 years ago and I
> just had to replace the battery in it for the second time. This time I
> went with a Duracell AGM ($150, IIRC) from Sam's, The previous battery
> was an old style lead acid from Wally World, bought because that was
> pretty much all that was available in the small town where we were at
> the time it quit on us. We live about 35 miles NW of Bryan/College
> Station in Central Texas and have only just begun to get
> occasional sub freezing weather, The old battery didn't give much
> indication that it was on the way out before it quit, and due to the
> battery location it's not easy to use a load tester to check it. As
> you discovered it's risky to sit and listen to the radio without the
> motor running. Been there...!
>
> As nice a vehicle as the Odyssey is, IMO it's too maintenance critical
> much beyond 100K. At least Honda uses a larger 24F battery in it
> instead of the smaller batteries we had in our Accords. It draws a
> LOT of power. The vehicle is basically a computer with wheels and a
> motor, seriously! And you have to be careful with maintenance on that
> motor. If you go past the 105K timing belt replacement recommendation,
> there's a very real risk of lunching the motor due to a broken belt.
> The cylinder deactivation setup, designed and included primarily to
> get that V-6 through the required emissions period from new, is known
> to probably cause excessive oil consumption on engines much past the
> 105K unless it's deactivated. Honda dealers get around $2500 to do the
> timing belt service, and then get another $500 to swap in new spark
> plugs! I also feel the vehicle is relatively hard on tires, even
> though I religiously have the tires rotated every 5K and keep a close
> eye on the air pressure.
>
> We bought the Odyssey instead of a CR-V for a couple reasons, but we
> haven't really needed the extra seats as often as we did when our
> grandkids were younger. Next summer we're planning to buy a used Civic
> (manual trans) or a Mazda 3 (manual or A/T) for use when it's just the
> two of us. I don't like CVTs, Mazda doesn't use them at all. Either
> car gets far better mileage than the low/mid 20s we get with the
> Odyssey, and this will extend the useful life of the Odyssey considerably.
>
> This info may not help other than to let you know your
> experience isn't unusual.
>
> RD
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jan 10, 2024 at 12:54â?¯AM Dwade Reinsch <dreinsch@swbell.net>
> wrote:
>
> This afternoon I was sitting in the 2016 Honda Odyssey van waiting
> for granddaughter to finish a theater activity and I went to sleep
> in the front seat. Had the radio and inside lights on. When she
> finished and came out, car would not start. Completely dead.
> Electric seat would not come back to driving position, etc.
>
> Here's the question:Â In the old days a weak battery would give
> notice by cranking slowly, etc., before failing. This is the car
> I drive regularly and it gave NO warning. Luckily, I could call
> son-in-law and he came to help. Would not start with good set of
> booster cables. Would not start with 15 minutes of charging on
> cables before attempting to start. So in the morning I'll take
> pickup and tools and pull battery, get a replacement, and move the
> van home.
>
> Does anyone have a suggestion for identifying a failing battery
> before being stranded? (Battery is about 4 years old.)
>
> Thanks,
> Dwade
>
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I have 4 cars and a truck, two old tractors, a quad, a Gator and a
riding lawnmower; I spend quite a bit of time dealing with batteries
and electrical systems. Modern batteries, say, those built in the
last 20 years or so, aren't generally built to last. Most of them
are made by only a couple of companies, Johnson Controls being the
largest, and most are now constructed in Mexico (I use a shop owned
by a Hispanic man to rebuild my Britcar batteries and starters, and
he told me Mexican batteries are 'crap;' he used to recommend
Optima, but they were bought by JC (I think) and he quit
recommending them). My '08 Mustang GT had two batteries die, with no
warning, at almost exactly 3 years; both were 'Motorcraft' brand,
but if you look close you could see 'Johnson Controls.' Besides
failing with no warning, which I attribute to internal shorting as
someone suggested, I have lots of issues with leaking, causing the
terminals to corrode and a mess in your engine compartment. I think
the poor quality is due to thinner lead plates--a rule-of-thumb I
use is the heavier the battery the better the battery--and cases are
flimsier and they just don't bother to get good seals around the
terminals. I shudder to think of what the Mexican battery factories
look like.<br>
<br>
The one battery brand that makes consistently good batteries is
Deka, built by East Penn manufacturing in Pennsylvania (NFI). They
source some of the common brands, like Duracell I think, and they
seem to last. But, be careful, Napa, for instance, claims to get
theirs from East Penn, but I bought one for my '19 Mustang the other
day--yep, the OEM 'Motorcraft' leaked at 4 years, and I had to pull
the whole box to clean it up--and the Napa had a 'Made in Korea'
sticker on it; I'm not sure what to think (there is a Deka dealer on
the far side of town; next time I make the drive). For the
non-autos, I bought deep-cycle and starting batteries--both SLA--off
Amazon with the brand 'Weizen;' they were among the cheapest but
both have performed well and held up. I bought an 'X2 Power' AGM for
one of the Healeys and it's been nails for over 6 years.<br>
<br>
Some of my vehicles have to sit for long periods; if so, I put them
on a 'smart' charger (I like BatteryMinder, I've heard good things
about BatteryTender). These will not only keep your battery
topped-up without overcharging, but claim to perform a 'desulfation'
cycle periodically, which I believe involves pulsing the battery
with a higher voltage (I got one specifically for AGMs for the
Healey battery; at $300+ I want it to last and not fail in the
middle of nowhere).<br>
<br>
To answer OPs question, most dealers and shops these days use a
battery tester in lieu of a load tester; they give a lot more info.
I bought an even cheaper version of this one, but this one looks to
have good quality clamps:<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z67MMGC/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=A3EMYY4GBP2W2D&psc=1";>https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z67MMGC/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=A3EMYY4GBP2W2D&psc=1</a><br>
<br>
Bob<br>
<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 1/10/2024 5:19 AM, Ronnie Day wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:CAMHhs6fLVy=O9pWSEFkOZVS9xp4SYWrFN8XuYqgnJ6wq_nq6gQ@mail.gmail.com">
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<div dir="ltr">We have a '15 Odyssey EX-L that we bought used
about 4 years ago and I just had to replace the battery in it
for the second time. This time I went with a Duracell AGM ($150,
IIRC) from Sam's, The previous battery was an old style lead
acid from Wally World, bought because that was pretty much all
that was available in the small town where we were at the time
it quit on us. We live about 35 miles NW of Bryan/College
Station in Central Texas and have only just begun to get
occasional sub freezing weather, The old battery didn't give
much indication that it was on the way out before it quit, and
due to the battery location it's not easy to use a load tester
to check it. As you discovered it's risky to sit and listen to
the radio without the motor running. Been there...!
<div><br>
</div>
<div>As nice a vehicle as the Odyssey is, IMO it's too
maintenance critical much beyond 100K. At least Honda uses a
larger 24F battery in it instead of the smaller batteries we
had in our Accords. It draws a LOT of power. The vehicle is
basically a computer with wheels and a motor, seriously! And
you have to be careful with maintenance on that motor. If you
go past the 105K timing belt replacement recommendation,
there's a very real risk of lunching the motor due to a broken
belt. The cylinder deactivation setup, designed and included
primarily to get that V-6 through the
required emissions period from new, is known to probably cause
excessive oil consumption on engines much past the 105K unless
it's deactivated. Honda dealers get around $2500 to do the
timing belt service, and then get another $500 to swap in new
spark plugs! I also feel the vehicle is relatively hard on
tires, even though I religiously have the tires rotated every
5K and keep a close eye on the air pressure.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>We bought the Odyssey instead of a CR-V for a couple
reasons, but we haven't really needed the extra seats as often
as we did when our grandkids were younger. Next summer we're
planning to buy a used Civic (manual trans) or a Mazda 3
(manual or A/T) for use when it's just the two of us. I don't
like CVTs, Mazda doesn't use them at all. Either car gets far
better mileage than the low/mid 20s we get with the Odyssey,
and this will extend the useful life of the Odyssey
considerably.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>This info may not help other than to let you know your
experience isn't unusual. <br>
<br>
RD</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Wed, Jan 10, 2024 at
12:54â?¯AM Dwade Reinsch <<a
href="mailto:dreinsch@swbell.net"; moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">dreinsch@swbell.net</a>>
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote"
style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid
rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div>
<div
style="font-family:"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<div dir="ltr">This afternoon I was sitting in the 2016
Honda Odyssey van waiting for granddaughter to finish a
theater activity and I went to sleep in the front seat.Â
Had the radio and inside lights on. When she finished
and came out, car would not start. Completely dead.Â
Electric seat would not come back to driving position,
etc.</div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">Here's the question:Â In the old days a
weak battery would give notice by cranking slowly, etc.,
before failing. This is the car I drive regularly and
it gave NO warning. Luckily, I could call son-in-law
and he came to help. Would not start with good set of
booster cables. Would not start with 15 minutes of
charging on cables before attempting to start. So in
the morning I'll take pickup and tools and pull battery,
get a replacement, and move the van home.</div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">Does anyone have a suggestion for
identifying a failing battery before being stranded?Â
(Battery is about 4 years old.)</div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">Thanks,</div>
<div dir="ltr">Dwade</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
</blockquote>
</div>
</blockquote>
</body>
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