Odyssey 40 battery and smart charges ''be warned''

[V8Dom]

i ve had a redtop battery on my car for nearly 8 years and 18 months ago I changed to an Odyssey 40 battery.
The car is usually stored in the garage on a ctek 3.6 smart charger over winter

After the winter i noticed the Odyssey had expanded and cracked at the end... The car wqas checked for over charging and everything fine so the battery was sent back to Odyssey who advised the plates were warped inside and so must have been over charged even though the charger was tested and the car..

Another battery was supplied and this week(8 moths later) the same thing has happened again.

So ive had a little chat with ctek whicjh i felt everyone should know. ..

The Odyssey isnt a gel battery.
It can not be connected on a smart charger over a long period of time on the normal settings.. because of its cranking amps the charger supplies the battery small amps over a long period of time and the odyssey battery doesnt like this, getts too hot and warps the plates,,then expands and cracks and leaks,
The way arround this is if you coonect your battery (only Odyssey) upto a smart charger put the charger on the * setting(3 settings, m/c + car + *). This increases amps and volts and charges quicker and shuts down for longer periods of time, then the battery isnt as hot..
Ctek are aware its only the odyssey batterys that are effected and have had alot of reports of battery failure.... Gel types and normal batteries seem to be ok.


So if you store your car with a smart charger please be aware of this,

Dom

[MarkWebb]

Hmm have been doing exactly that for 4 years with no problem so far. Going to check what my ctek is set on now!

[GTR-P]

I just repled my Odyssey 40 battery. Cracked end case exactly as described. I also use a CTEK charger (Model Milti US 250000).
The crack(s) are located on one end only (Battery + end). Yikes !!!

[Storer]

Dom

What made you change make of battery? 8 years is very good for a battery.

I have a Red Top 60 now and a C-tek charger with no problems.

Good advice though for those running Odyssey.

Paul

[V8Dom]

Storer said:

Dom

What made you change make of battery? 8 years is very good for a battery.

I have a Red Top 60 now and a C-tek charger with no problems.

Good advice though for those running Odyssey.

Paul

hi Paul


red top was not holding charge in the end as i forgot to charge it... Odyssey was the choice recommended,

Gone back to redtop 40. Feel it will last another 8 years now.. C-tek fine with redtops.

[spatz]

Opitma batteries nothing else, still wondering why anybody chooses any other battery

[spatz]

BTW i think this topic should go in the stickies, I am sure it will happen again and maybe the FRED can help to save future batteries.

[BogBeast]

I have had two red top 40's over the years and both perform flawlessly (the original is still a jump start battery for my other cars and still holds charge long enough to be kept in the car all winter)

[3Dee]

I have a yellow-top, and some Cteks like mine, have a heat sensor that is placed under the crock-clip on the +ve side, thus I presume, if the battery terminal gets hot, it will shut down the charge?

[ezakimak]

3Dee said:

I have a yellow-top, and some Cteks like mine, have a heat sensor that is placed under the crock-clip on the +ve side, thus I presume, if the battery terminal gets hot, it will shut down the charge?

This is what we do with the level crossing back up batteries on the train lines, small temp sensor directly on the positive terminal that then reduces the current to the batterie whilst on trickle charge.

[GTRMikie]

Storer said:

Dom

8 years is very good for a battery.

Paul

My Red Top is 13 years old now and still going strong. I connect it to an Optimate charger/conditioner whenever the car is not being used

[GTR-P]

The fancy C-TEK model that I have has the integrated temperature sensor on the +'ve clip. It did not make a difference in preventing the issue.

[davefiddes]

Hmm. Sounds like these C-TEK chargers are too smart for their own good...

I've ran an Odyssey PC625 for 9 years and when its capacity got too low for my ECU upgraded to an Odyssey Extreme 40. They are trickle charged by a cheap Clarke smart charger (http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/ac70-12v-battery-charger) with no ill effects so far.

[deadscoob]

Dom,

Exactly the same here, thanks for the heads up, wish it was a few months ago

Same charger, same crack. Very annoying, don't think there's anything in the maintenance to warn of this.

Something for Ultima to be aware of, may be worth them getting some stickers made up to go with the battery?

[tjlees]

Does this problem exist with optimate chargers? I have a optimate 6 that is specifically for gel type batteries and I have no problem with the odyssey 40 battery over the last year.

Technical Specifications
Recommended for:
AGM / MF, STD, GEL and spiral cell batteries up to 240Ah
Programme control:
ampmaticTM microprocessor
Input current max:
0.55A @ 230V
Typical annual energy cost:
less than £1.00 per year (continuous maintenance)
Reverse drain current:
less than 0.001A
Output current (bulk charge):
0.4A – 5.0A
Automatic desulphation:
multistage (high voltage, turbo and pulsed mode)
Charge time limit:
48 hours (maintenance time: unlimited)
Maintain / test cycles:
30 min/30 min (alternating hourly)
Charge retention test:
5 possible results from ‘good’ to ‘bad’
Size:
199 x 71 x 61mm
Weight:
740g
Enclosure classification:
IP54
Mounting:
easy direct wall mounting
Input cable length:
2m
Output cable length:
2m
Included Accessories:
TM-71 weatherproof eyelet lead; TM-74 clamps lead for bench charging
Operation temperature range:
-40°C / +50°C
Warranty:
3 years
Certification (230V model):
TUV/GS conformity

[Ult-Jim]

Very strange,you say a Ctek 3.6, I have a Ctek 5.00 model and an Odyssey battery which has been on trickle charge all winter, and I have no signs of cracking or warping. The factory recommended Ctek to me I believe. Now with warmer weather I only charge for 24 hours every couple of weeks or so, to just give it a top up. Ult-jim.

[tjlees]

As far as I can see from the ctek manual it pulses when in normal battery maintenance mode where as the optimate offers the battery charge alternate 30 minute periods. The optima 4, 5 and 6 are recommended for AGM batteries such as odyssey.

NB on the ctek manual it does recommend using the '*' cold winter setting for AGM batteries such as odyssey and optima batteries.

The may explain why the odyssey has a problem with the ctek on normal battery mode and not optimate. However from the odyssey website it does say ...

Constant voltage portable charger parameters:
Standby, per 12V battery 13.5-13.8V no current limit required
Cyclic, per 12V battery (16-hour recharge) 14.4-14.8V no current limit required
Typical service life at 25°C/77°F Medium to heavy duty usage – 3+ years
Light duty usage – 6+ years

[Storer]

Ult-Jim said:

Very strange,you say a Ctek 3.6, I have a Ctek 5.00 model and an Odyssey battery which has been on trickle charge all winter, and I have no signs of cracking or warping. The factory recommended Ctek to me I believe. Now with warmer weather I only charge for 24 hours every couple of weeks or so, to just give it a top up. Ult-jim.

Jim
You need to drive the car more. Mine is out at least twice a week now the weather is half good!

Never needs charging this time of year.


Paul

[JoulesCanAm]

I took an Odyssey battery back to Summit racing only a month ago, it was cracked and leaking. This thread just provided explanation why and fortunately I haven't installed the new one yet.

Julian

[tjlees]

Yep. I have realised my AGM Optima battery went the same way. I have taken the trickle charger off the optima battery that I have, and put on an optimate 6 - as per my AGM Odyssey. Shouldn't suffer the same fate again.

I suppose I could also put a timer on the trickle to switch it off every other 30 mins on the optima to copy optimate's charging cycle and stop it overheating ... or just use it!!