Odyssey PC545 Battery conditioning

[toofat2fly]

I need a new battery too and there seems to be few different PC545 batteries?

 

PC 545

PC 545 AGM Extreme

PC 545 MJ

 

Of course, I cannot find much info from Odyssey. According to their website, they do not manufacture a battery for V11. Which is nonsense, since it has one in it right now. So does my Quota.

Any thoughts which one to buy??

Thanks!

[Kiwi_Roy]

PC545  Normal I think

PC545 AGM Extreme - probably similar

PC545 MJ for Metal Jacket - overkill

 

They are all AGM  Absorbed Glass Mat

[footgoose]

toofat, the mj is brass threaded with ss bolts. same battery otherwise. I put a plain 545 in 2 LM's recently. they fit just right.

[toofat2fly]

Perfect.

Thanks guys!

[docc]

My 5 1/2 year old *TestBed* PC545 held the Ultimizer charge 7 days at ~60ºF/15.5ºC until dropping to 12.66v.

 

Monitor your AGM and discharge/recharge with sufficient amperage before it drops below 12.65v . . .

 

(The one year old PC545 in the V11 is holding 12.83 after twelve days!)

[docc]

Lesson Next: temperature

 

I was pretty jazzed the one year old PC545 in the Sport was holding 12.80 v after 16 days charge from the Odyssey Omax. Then rolled it from almost 70ºF to 50ºF and the voltage dropped to 12.59v!  That was more than I expected, so I did a series of discharge /recharge cycles using a six amp charger, not exceeding 15v.

 

I'm sure it would have cranked right up, but I'm trying to learn all i can about this AGM charging business.

 

This lesson: a well charged battery will change significantly when the bike is rolled out of a heated garage into the cold.

 

**I wonder how much it would have changed simply turning the lights on for a few minutes and rechecking it. This simple procedure (initial discharge/battery warm-up) is giving me surprising results!

[Kiwi_Roy]

I can tell you at minus 40 the battery freezes and you lose all cranking power, when I lived up North I had a couple of feet of heat tape around the battery of the car.

 

 

Sent from my shoe phone!

[docc]

It's kinda scary, from here in the Deep South (USA), when someone from Canada says, " . . . when I lived up North . . ."

[Scud]

After getting the wrong charger twice (and returning it twice) via Amazon, I ordered from Northern Tool.  Along with the correct charger came a large and highly distracting tool catalog (I mean an actual paper catalog...).

 

I chose BatteryMinder 12248, because it is supposed to work on AGM, Gel, and Flooded batteries. I have a couple RV batteries for my trailer that have sat far too long - hoping this charger can make them useful again.

 

I have four old motorcycle batteries to experiment with, but will start with the PC545 that came with the wrecked LeMans I bought. Here's the battery's story as best as I can tell:

• Manufactured August 2011 (0811 on sticker)
• Sat in bike for an extended period after crash - exact time unknown, but likely over 1 year, and the guy I bought it from had charged it once.
• After I got it home, I charged it with a simple Battery Tender - then got the wreck started to be sure the engine was still good.
• After dismantling, the battery sat for several more months on a wood bench (never on concrete) - I think I connected it to battery tender once during that time.
• Today it produced 12.50 volts - which is about 50% capacity according to the BatteryMinder booklet.

With the charger:

• First connected charger to battery, then selected 2A and AGM, then plugged into A/C power. Note that it seems important to make the correct selections before plugging into A/C - the unit draws power from the battery to enable you to push the buttons to select battery type and charge rate.
• It started blinking (meaning fully charged) within 5 minutes.
• I disconnected and measured 12.69 volts.
• Then reconnected and will let it do its thing for about a week to see if it will restore the battery to 100% capacity.

Per the manual: "If voltage is 12.4V or higher, a full recovery can be expected, given sufficient time (average 1-2 weeks for batteries that are heavily sulfated)."

 

Ambient temperature: 

[docc]

One thing I've learned without fail is to first discharge before expecting a battery to do anything (start or charge). Especially if a known low battery goes to full charge very quickly, you must get deeper into the plates and saturate the electrolyte.

 

This can be as simple as recording the OCV (open current voltage or "static" voltage) then connecting a light bulb and letting it burn a few minutes while the voltage stabilizes (record that voltage).

 

Then charge. The last 20% to a full state of charge could certainly take days. Terminate the charge and wait 24 hours to record the OCV. Disharge for a few minutes and record the discharged voltage. (If your charge was effective it will be higher than the last time.) Wait a few minutes while the battery recovers on its own and note the voltage. If it is below 12.65 vDC, repeat  the charge procedure.

 

My experience is that the discharge/charge cycle repeated yields amazing results.

 

Always Discharge First!!

[docc]

Ouch: also, I noticed you started with 2 amps. Odyssey is ADAMANT that the PC545 will NOT charge on less than 6 amps.

 

Meaning, if the PC545 AGM is below 12.65v it will absolutely require a minimum of 6 amps to charge.

 

Do not exceed 15vDC.

[footgoose]

Ouch: also, I noticed you started with 2 amps. Odyssey is ADAMANT that the PC545 will NOT charge on less than 6 amps.

 

Meaning, if the AGM is below 12.65v it will absolutely require a minimum of 6 amps to charge.

 

Do not exceed 15vDC.

 

 

docc, what do you think is up when (as I have done many times) a 2a battery tender blinks like it's charging normally, then after several hours goes green like it's charged.. is the battery or the tender being tricked into thinking it's charged? I've never checked voltage.

[docc]

Voltage is the easiest (only?) way to check state of charge (SOC) on a sealed battery. But: it really takes a series of voltage readings to check the battery's "health."

 

Again, a PC545 AGM that is below 12.65 vDC is input under 6 amps. 

 

Best method: record the voltage after no input to the battery for at least 6 hours, discharge (lights on for two or three minutes) and note the voltage. Apply a minimum of 6 amps until the voltage reaches 14.7v (not to exceed15v) and terminate that charge.

 

"Float" or "trickle" a lower amperage (~2.0amps) at 13.5-13.8volts. 

(Typical chargers float at ~13.10 and will not fully charge [and WILL DAMAGE] your AGM).

 

Hey, I've nursed some of these AGM for nine or ten years never really getting them much above 82%. But, the difference using discharge first and higher amperage initially before correct voltage float is remarkable.

[Scud]

Batteries and chargers have always been a bit of a "black box" to me. So I'm jumping in to try to figure this out - which could end up saving a lot of money. Thanks, Docc, for the advice. I have taken the following steps:

1. Disconnected charger: battery at 13.4v immediately after disconnecting, but reading was dropping while I watched.
2. Ate dinner (ribs, asparagus, salad)
3. Opened a Goose IPA, by Goose Island - seemed thematically relevant
4. Enjoyed the "Bright citrus aromas and bold hop finish"
5. Tested battery: 12.85v
6. Ran Slime portable air compressor for three minutes - figured that would be about enough to inflate a tire.
7. Tested battery: 12.45v
8. Reconnected battery - selected AGM and 8 amps
9. Plugged in charger
10. Placed additional, room-temperature Goose IPA in freezer for "quick charging"

I feel that all of the above steps are essential (and that step 10 suggests an additional step). And here is the motorcycle battery "research environment" in my garage.

 

Batteries in bikes (all of which have recently run but none have been on charger since last running):

• LeMans' PC545 at 12.74 - bought new less than a year ago (installed without any attempt at conditioning). Occasional starting problems as Czakky described.
• Scura's Yausa at 12.65 - about a year and a half old. Starts brilliantly without any hesitation.
• K75s' Yuasa at 12.79 - starts like the sewing machine that inspired its design (easiest starting bike I have ever owned).
• Husqvarna's Yausa at 12.62 - starts easily, but also has a kicker.

Batteries on the bench:

• PC545 - subject of current test
• Three K75s batteries: an Odyssey PC680 at 5.98v, two Westcos at 12.72v and 10.47v

[docc]

Also note that AGM batteries have a different SOC scale. Some of your other batteries may be conventional wet cell, or "flooded," and are 100% at 12.65v @ 77ºF/25ºC (temperature affects voltage significantly - download a good table for reference). An AGM at 12.65 is about 85% and should be charged.

 

That PC680 might respond to the method of restoring a deeply discharged AGM posted above that begins with the method gstallons referenced using a known good battery to jumper together until they equalize.

 

Then again, it could be toast.