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2.5 year old Odyssey battery is dead

tasslehawf

New member
I am super disappointed. Bike has lived outside for a year and a half (it was garaged for year before that). Never went more than 2 weeks without being ridden. Last time I rode it was the Friday before xmas - no issues. The last issue I had with it was on a super cold day about a month ago, it simply wouldn't turn over.

Could extreme cold and heat (2 Texas summers) have simply severely shortened the life of the battery?

I am worried that the stator could have possibly gone bad or that something is vampiring the battery (although I don't know what).
 
In central Florida heat I see an average of 4 years for battery life so I would consider that a fail if it was properly maintained.
 
I would be very disappointed also.
This battery should last longer than 2 1/2 yrs

Did you keep it on a tender when not riding?

My cheap generic TLV12200 battery ($75 CDN) is still running fine after 5 yrs.
I always connect it on a tender every time I park the bike at home.

 
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i killed my OEM battery in December 2013 on my 13 RT bought in July 2013...replaced with PC680 and put it on a Battery Minder Aviation Battery Charger as recommended...nearly 5 years later i had a problem starting in high teens weather in Middlegate NV....replaced the 680 with another...the battery is kept on the charger when i'm not riding....

batteries are like tires...expendable....but 2-1/2 years is a bit short...

i now carry one of the Anti-Gravity Micro Starts....just in case...LOL

must my two cents...:)
 
I just checked and it's been just over 2 years!! :dunno

It sounds like I might have needed to keep it on a trickle charger... I contacted Odyssey to see if they have anything to say about it.

Just gonna order a new one for now I can I can get back on the road (and check for a bad stator).
 
currently have 4 different brand AGM batteries in vehicles

Westco - 5 yrs old
BigCrank - 5 yrs old
Odessey - 5 yrs old

all of the above are still working great. on maintainers regularly

Braille - 8 yrs old. regularly on maintainer. it just died. finally.

of note...the Westco, BigCrank and Braille are all the same battery, just rebranded.
 
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My Odyssey PC680 died on 12/31/18 after 9 years. On a trickle charger only during the last 6 months, since I noticed it was a little weak.
 
Battery life

I am super disappointed. Bike has lived outside for a year and a half (it was garaged for year before that). Never went more than 2 weeks without being ridden. Last time I rode it was the Friday before xmas - no issues. The last issue I had with it was on a super cold day about a month ago, it simply wouldn't turn over.

Could extreme cold and heat (2 Texas summers) have simply severely shortened the life of the battery?

I am worried that the stator could have possibly gone bad or that something is vampiring the battery (although I don't know what).

I, have 2013 26;000 mile RT original battery . Drove North in Oct from S Fl. 3,000 mile ride temp in the 40’s . No problems , Always on a tender when not being ridden .I, tried to buy a new battery before my ride up north no one had an OEM battery . Bike still on original battery no problems.Always lived in S Fl summer heat in the 90’s
 
Every now and again one of any brand can go poof early. You now have one data point, but not necessarily a meaningful conclusion about either the Odyssey brand, or how to care for it. You will find reports of batteries of all brands that have died young and lived long both with and without supplemental charging. You will hear comments like "mine lasted 8 years and was always left on a charger" with the implication that it lasted eight years BECAUSE it was left on a charger. I read an interesting study on car batteries that used enough data points to provide statistically meaningful conclusions. They concluded that the best battery brand for longevity varied by which size battery was being considered. Interstate might be better than EverStart in a size group 35, but the opposite would be true for a size group 24. So a discussion about whether Interstate was "better" than EverStart would be of no value without knowing what size group they were talking about.

There are some pretty well established best practices for each different battery chemistry. Rather than develop my own battery care protocol, I just use the well researched recommendations from the manufacturers. You might develop your own and beat the experts, but it isn't very likely. Right now I have a couple of EarthX lithiums; a Deka (they make batteries under many brand names); a Yuasa; and an Odyssey. All are currently giving good service, but any of them could die at any minute without necessarily meaning anything significant about the brand.

Beware the guy with a data point (or two) and a strongly held conclusion.

I could show you this picture of a WestCo battery that I found on the picnic table at a motorcycle campground, claim that it was mine, and say "whatever you do, don't get a WestCo - they blow up!"

westco-M.jpg
 
currently have 4 different brand AGM batteries in vehicles

Westco - 5 yrs old
BigCrank - 5 yrs old
Odessey - 5 yrs old

all of the above are still working great. on maintainers regularly

Braille - 8 yrs old. regularly on maintainer. it just died. finally.

of note...the Westco, BigCrank and Braille are all the same battery, just rebranded.

I would have to disagree with this. I do a lot of this in my job. The mold for the top is clearly different, look close. Widths of ribs, size of steps. Probably different factory's entirely.

Rod
 
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