Continuing with my current, electrical bent, recently I was again reminded to take care of my batteries. In this case, my dead batteries were the result of a different sin; lack of use.
My poor old 1996 F350 needs love and TLC, and has been infrequently started or driven for the past few years. Until now, the dual Odyssey PC1750 batteries have been very tolerant of the lack of charging and occasional starting. While the batteries were too low to fire the big T444E (7.3L) Power Stroke engine, they still turned the motor ever so slowly, until almost grinding to a stop, but there was none of the typical solenoid clicking that one often hears from low batteries.
Copyright © 2012 James Langan
I’d recharge them and see if they still hold a charge for more than a day. If they do, then I’d say you’re good to go. If not, it’ll be time to bite the battery bullet and replace them…..
I agree James. Thus far the only recharging the dual Odysseys have received is from the engine running for about 45 minutes. I’m committed to some other projects for at least two weeks, so it will be a while before I can get that Power Stroke in my shop and connected to a good charger. I’d be willing to bet they will start when I ask for ignition in a couple weeks…we shall see.
Does Odyssey have a 4 year free replacement like the Sears Die-Hard Platinum? Will you recharge them and continue to use or will you replace them?
Here is a link to Odyssey’s (EnerSys Energy Products Inc.) written warranty. http://www.odysseybattery.com/warranty.html
It’s not as generous as Sears’ 4-year free replacement policy, though warranties are often about peace of mind, and I’d rather not need them.
If I wasn’t already running Odyssey branded batteries, I would not hesitate to buy one of the Sears DieHard Platinum batteries. I’m already past the four year mark, five years and counting.
I will continue to use these PC1750s and recharge them as needed, I have no plans to replace them. Not only do I hope they have lots of life remaining, I’d like to test the longevity potential…I believe Odyssey says the ‘design life’ is 8–12 years. In the case of the F350, the batteries are getting some extreme use. Not from experiencing many of the ‘up to’ 400 deep-cycles down to 20% capacity, but from the lack of use/charging. They have been holding their charge for more months than I care to admit.