TeamSwift

Hey, how is this going thur far? How is the charging rate and how much AMPs is your altenater? Does the battery pack gets really hot while charging?

Cheers

Working just like the stock battery did. It doesn't get hot, and has plenty of reserve to start the car a bunch of times in a row. So far OK down to 10 degrees C. We'll see how it works when it gets colder.

_________________
Contact 3tech: [email protected]

How would the 8 cell hold up against starting up 20-50 times a day? It would be run for about 15 minutes in between starts. Would the 12 cell be a better choice? I figure the weight difference between 8/12 is negligible due to the stock one weighing as much as it does.

It will be fine, I did a motorkhana last week, started the car 15 times, running for no more than 90 secs for each run and that was over a 3 hour period and I have the 8 cell equiv and didn't have any problems.

Thank you for that review.

The temp dropped to 0 one night last week. The car turned over a little slow, but it fired 3 times in a row without any problems. I've heard that they warm up with use in the cold weather, so they get better the more/longer you crank the starter. I'll keep driving it until the snow flies, so we'll see for sure how it works in the cold.

_________________
Contact 3tech: [email protected]

now that i have an alternator that doesn't charge at a deficit vs. load, i'd be interested in seeing whether or not i could blow one of those up.

_________________
1991 Blue Geo Metro Convertible highly modified 1.0L Turbo3 5 spd. - 1991 Red Geo Metro Convertible customized with a Twincam 5 spd.

My Turbo3 Project
My Cardomain Page -Ol' Blue
My YouTube Channel
My Photo Gallery
SAAB Sonett II

Bump. How are these working out now that its getting colder?

_________________
98 swift 1.6 16v swap
03 cobra bolt ons
97 3000gt vr4 e85, high comp, bolt ons
too many others to list

No problems. As cold as -10 and sitting for 3-5 days and it starts fine. Takes a few tries, and cranks a little slow, but it always fires. Keep in mind it's 12-1 compression.

_________________
Contact 3tech: [email protected]

Love the reviews.

I bought one! It gets down to 5-10 F here, but I don't usually need to drive in those temps. It's up to 20+ most of the time I need to drive.

Got mine installed today. Started the car just as fast as the lead acid battery, and weighs almost nothing. Just be sure to buy the one with the quick disconnect... lol

Hey, anybody left their lights on yet? I read that discharging below 8% will ruin the battery

Also, I read the jump-start procedure outlined by Superf1y and not sure if I am tracking--do you leave the battery connected? Would it work without damaging the battery? See above...

My fancy Braille battery I got on eBay for $100 looked like it had been stored in a wet vat of salt--it might have worked ok, but it also might have caught on fire as it deteriorated further and the seller refunded my money, no questions asked. Which leaves me free to pick up one of these A123 batteries, saving an additional 6.8 lbs of weight.

I'll probably get one even if I could ruin it by leaving my lights on all night (not easy to do, but I am sometimes spectacularly non-observant...) but I'd like to know...

Hello,
I run a ytz10s battery made by "volton" , it's starts the car several times in a row without issues , weight is 2.8 kg and it costs aprox 50$ over here.
I would have gone for the lithium a123 battery but i didn't have the money at the time .I'm sure the lithium battery is ok since it has more puch than a standard mf battery .
The ytz10s has 10amp and 180cca.
P.S: please mount the battery with a very short wire to the starter. My oem harness from 87 had issues when i installed it in the original battery terminals and wires.

_________________
G13B 1.3L 16v 115hp

I have left the amp on in my car by accident twice while working on it. The first time the battery went down to 3V, and I was able to charge it back no problem. The second time, I left the charger on too long, and one of the cells split. From what I've read, I'm lucky I didn't burn the car to the ground

Now I'm using the 4 cell from my bike and so far it's working. I imagine it won't once the weather cools down.

_________________
Contact 3tech: [email protected]

What kind of charger are you using? I emailed the Ebay seller and he said any car battery charger would work, but I'm dubious. I use this Diehard charger: http://www.sears.com/diehard-microproce ... ockType=G8

I ask because my '93 Metro has had a parasitic leak for some time. I hope to get it fixed before I install the battery, but I also just want to start driving the car again, after a year in the garage getting repainted.

Brian

_________________
'93 Geo Metro

Well, I don't even have one of these (yet) but I followed Superf1y's advice earlier in the thread and did some research here:

http://www.turntechbattery.com/TurnTech%20Battery/FAQ.html

I believe that vendor sells a product with similar LiFePo chemistry and limitations to the A123 batteries sold on ebay.

From the FAQ:



So your charger is fine in the 2ah trickle mode, but could damage the battery in the quick charge modes.

And:

_________________

Spanish Inquisition Racing chip burning service--build yourself a custom chip!
http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=57216

Yep agree with all above, these batteries are deadly and if they are discharged will suck up what ever current you give them so a current limited charger is a good idea, I found with mine that when it's fully charged after running in the car then it's voltage is well over 14v which is higher than the charging voltage of most chargers.

This is what I use, just requires a 17-18vac input and has current limiting 350mA or 700mA on the battery output, it also has a pot so I can wind up the voltage to 14.2v.

Honestly I think I have charged the battery using my charger once in the last two years, I also strongly recommend getting an under drive pully to slow down the alternator to prevent over charging.

A few things I noticed while recharging the batteries I've accidentally discharged.
I have 2 chargers. A plain 40 year old 6 amp charger and a fancy new electronic one.
The electronic one did not work. The old one did, but I left it a little too long the first time (which worked) and the battery was showing 18V. It worked fine after that until I discharged it again, and left the charger on long enough to burn the shrink wrap off, and split a cell. I wouldn't fool around with these batteries. If you think you have problems with your system, fix the problem first, before you toast an expensive battery.

_________________
Contact 3tech: [email protected]

I have a c-tek battery charger that has a recondition option for acid batteries.
No problems so far .

_________________
G13B 1.3L 16v 115hp

I have a very slightly electrical drain somewhere on my car. I have the 12 cell version of that battery and it drained it completely down two or three times. (when left for 48+ hours without being started)

Since then I have installed a battery isolator switch that I flip every time I plan to leave it for more than 24 hours.

To re-charge the battery I just jump started the car and ran it for my commute. (~1 hour at 55mph)

Car: 1993 Geo Metro w/ an underdrive pulley.

I'm on the bandwagon.

Just finished rigging up one of these:

_________________

Spanish Inquisition Racing chip burning service--build yourself a custom chip!
http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=57216

So if I have an under drive pulley and rarely go above 5,000 rpms, I'm not really risking too much?

There's no risk. I run mine in my GT with no underdrive and don't have any problems... that I don't create myself by leaving stuff on when I shouldn't.

_________________
Contact 3tech: [email protected]

I'd say you're not risking enough

I suppose hypermiling requires as much attention to weight savings as racing but otherwise there's no reason to try that hard.

I've had mine long enough to stop worrying about it though--so far there isn't any difference except a brighter dome light, faster cranking, and less weight.