Anyone using a deep cycle start battery ?

[Ean Austral]

Gday All,


Was just wondering if anyone was using a deep cycle battery , Optima or similar as the main starter battery ?


I know they are used as 2nd batteries but I used 1 deep cycle start battery in my D2 and wondered if its possible with the D3 / D4 .


If so what sort and CCA did you go for.


Cheers Ean

[Fluids]

Hi Ean.

D2a ... Optima D31 as my starter (75A/Hr / 900cca) ... Also have the Traxide USI-160 with an Optima D34 against the firewall next to turbo. Both batteries are almost 5yrs old and going strong.

The D31 is only 75A/Hr. I know I could have gone to a different brand and got more A/Hr capacity, but I chose the Optima D31 due to its ability to accept charge quickly. When touring, and doing lots of stop/start during the day I figured arriving with a 100% charged 75A/Hr battery was as good as a 75% charged 100A/Hr battery ... if you see my logic ?

Cheers

[Ean Austral]

Hi Ean.

D2a ... Optima D31 as my starter (75A/Hr / 900cca) ... Also have the Traxide USI-160 with an Optima D34 against the firewall next to turbo. Both batteries are almost 5yrs old and going strong.

The D31 is only 75A/Hr. I know I could have gone to a different brand and got more A/Hr capacity, but I chose the Optima D31 due to its ability to accept charge quickly. When touring, and doing lots of stop/start during the day I figured arriving with a 100% charged 75A/Hr battery was as good as a 75% charged 100A/Hr battery ... if you see my logic ?

Cheers


Yeh , I was thinking along those same lines. My start battery in the D3 is 900cca but I bet your optima is a far better battery. I just wondered how the electrics on these models go with a deep cycle style battery. Would most likely be better for them due to a far quicker charge, and if you need to keep cranking to start you have far bigger issue's than a battery.


Cheers Ean

[Tombie]

They're not a deep cycle Ean, they're a SLA [emoji6]

Odyssey PC1350 will be perfect in your application... huge pulse current, quick recovery and plenty in reserve..

[Fluids]

I will say this though ... On 2x occasions I've had the starter / auxiliary disconnected by the USI as the starter has fallen to 12v ... After a while it recovers back to around 12.2v ... But running the stereo for an extended period (connected to the starter) has pull the voltage down further to around 11.7-11.8v and the following morning the D31 has kicked the Td5 over without hesitation.

I think the Optimas have a decent reserve even at lower voltages. I don't normally allow the starter or aux to get that low.

[Tombie]

TD5s need a lot less than a TDV6 to kick...

[drivesafe]

TD5s need a lot less than a TDV6 to kick...

Hi Tombie, WHEN MY RR WAS RUNNING, on an number of occasions, during tests, I have started my TDV8 using a D34 ( 55Ah ) Optima, which I had deliberately discharged down to 11.6v and had no trouble starting the TDV8.

But at 11.3v, I could not turn the motor over, let alone start it.

[Ean Austral]

Just a follow up , load tested the battery and where the battery held good volts, as soon as it was loaded it dropped voltage very quickly.


To supercharger batteries credit they replaced the 6 month old battery no questions or hassle's. They told me they had a few of that batch of batteries returned with the same issue.


See how things go with a new pacemaker in the car.


Cheers Ean