optima yellow tip overrated?

Any life a 12 volt car battery has after 4 years is a bonus, in any car. I can post different battery choices for a Prius, but not better choices.

Optima DS46B24R Optima battery direct fit replacement for Prius 2004 + , Prius V & Plug-in Prius with Instructions

Exide AGM Car Battery (Group S46B24R)

Super Start® Platinum PRIUS - Battery | O'Reilly Auto Parts

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx/Battery-NAPA-Legend-75-Month/_/R-NBE9851P_0396636574

 

If it is causing any trouble, yes. A real world test is to try the power windows before you make the car READY

My Gen 2 Prius only charged at 13.7 volts, my newer Prius v charges at 14.4. I am not certain this is always so, but in some scenarios the Gen 2 may not be getting as charged as it needs to.

 

A good auto parts store should do a formal load test of the battery for free, but you would have to take it out and take it to them. That involves draining it with a known resistance and check the volts after they do it. Some trouble, but might be worth it in such a borderline case, however.

 

It may still be alright. How often is the car driven? If it's only driven on short trips or not very often, the aux battery may not be getting a very good charge. If you have a trickle or float charger, it might help to plug it in overnight sometime (you can charge via the jump-start terminal under the hood (make sure to use correct polarity). The voltage in ACC mode sounds okay.

I have a fairly new Yellow Top and the voltage after being parked, car off, is often around 12.3v.

 

If those readings were taken with the car in "ready" mode, then you have charging system or inverter problems because........any time the car is running, the inverter should keep the voltage AT LEAST 12.6 and more like 13.6.

IF......you are able to get all those things to run while NOT in the ready mode, then your numbers might be OK.

 

I wish someone here on the priuschat shop would make and sell short pigtails that we can install to the battery so we can quickly and easily trickle charge our batteries w/o having to remove a whole bunch of stuff to do so.

I know I can make it myself I just don't feel like it

 

The easy way is to plug your charger into the wall, set the charging current to 4A or less, and connect it to the Prius battery either at the battery itself or at the front jumpstart terminal and one of the nuts holding the front driver's side strut on. Then turn the charger on.

Make sure all cabin lights are off if you have the hatch open during this process. It would be better to run the charger AC cord out via an open window so all doors and the hatch can be shut.

 

BatteryMINDer charger/ desulfator/ maintainer is safe for sealed AGM batteries like in your Prius. It has a safe polarized plug in the charging cord so you can plug in the supplied battery clips, or plug in a cord with ring terminals and an inline fuse that is designed for permanent mounting to the battery terminals..
I have this optional harness on my Prius now for 3 years. If my Prius will not be used for a week or more,I lift the rear floor lid, plug in the BatteryMINDer to the battery mounted cord and maintain the battery at 100%. If I need to use the BatteryMINDer on another machine, I plug in the supplied cord with battery clips.
Check the accessories tab under the unit for this optional cord.
BatteryMINDer Charger/Maintainer/Desulfator — 1.3 Amp, 12 Volt, Model# 12117 | Battery Maintainers| Northern Tool + Equipment

 

optima's are okay, but sometimes come with low initial charge for some reason. maybe it's better for them when stored.

 

I too recommend what John suggested. I have the same Battery Minder. I use mine regularly to keep my battery fully charged. Keeping the battery fully charged will generally add to the overall life of your battery and also slow the process of sulfation.

Concerning the Optima Battery, if it is giving you trouble then it is time to replace it. Look at all sources before you buy the replacement battery. There are a lot of alternatives today in comparison to what there was a few years ago for the Prius and it's 12 volt battery. A fully charged AGM type battery should measure at the posts with no load a minimum of 12.9 volts or higher. Refer to the chart below for more information about voltage levels and SOC (state of charge)

Best of luck to you,
Ron (dorunron)

 

+2 to what Jon Hagen and DoRunRon have said re charging the 12V battery.

I'm amazed at how many people look at me as if I have just suggested I take their first-born from them when I suggest they might want to charge up their battery. It's like they actually believe a "maintenance free" battery is maintenance free.

I've noticed that my 12V will slowly drop voltage over time as it seems the car does not do a good job of keeping the 12V in premium condition and charged. I have a CTEK MXS 5.0 battery charger, which also has a plug on the end of wires with ring terminals (which CTEK call a Comfort Connector) that I have permanently connected. So it is really easy to connect to do an overnight top-up charge. Currently when fully charged, my battery maintains 13.2+ Volts after letting the surface charge dissipate. I normally charge when I notice that the sitting voltage has dropped to 12.5 V.