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Optima Battery

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by bernie3015, Apr 14, 2016.

  1. bernie3015

    bernie3015 Member

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    On the Prius (2015 and earlier) that 12 volt battery is not exposed to engine heat is toward the bottom of the car (2001 to 2009) so except for states like Arizona the battery should last a long time. The Toyota battery which is does not appear to be a deep discharge battery last 7 years or longer for many owners. However, when you discharge a battery you have to charge it. Just driving it is not always enough especially for a 30 to 45 minute drive. The Optimum battery in my Prius was 10 years old and I discharged it severely by charging up 7 hybrid battery modules. I then drove it about 45 minutes. A week later it died. If I had charged it right away it might have lasted a lot longer. This was a battery that had been deeply discharged at least three times, and had many many lights left on incidents and was ten years old. So how long a battery last has a lot to do with how it was used it and not giving up on a battery that appears to be bad that really only needs a good charging.

    On the Prius the 12 volt battery never cranks the engine. This is good and bad for the battery.The battery is subjected to far fewer discharge cycles and that extends the life. Also, a marginal battery can be used for years because engine does not have to crank the engine. But a marginal battery gives out when you leave the car parked longer than usual or in cold weather.

    However if the car is not used a lot; because the 12 volt battery never cranks the engine, the battery can be in a discharged state for a long time and you might not notice it. (Discharged lead acid batteries tend to get sulfur crystals on the plates from the sulfuric acid, charging tends to reverse this, de-sulfating charges more so. This is why leaving a lead acid battery in a discharged state is not a good idea.)

    Also, as far as the Optima batteries not being made as well any more I am not sure where that comes from I started selling them in 2007 and I am not getting a lot of repeat business. Yes I get some but not that much. I have sold thousands of Optima batteries over the years. It really is a good design. Because of the design, the lead is almost pure and it is the difference between the lead and the lead oxide that creates the energy. The alloys used to strengthen the lead add weight but not electrical capacity. The yellow top Optima (the only kind they make in the Prius size) is also a deep discharge battery and good for many more discharge cycles,. The competitors that I know of are not.

    As far as when to replace a battery. I have data here: Optima DS46B24R Optima battery direct fit replacement for Prius 2004 to 2015 , Prius v & Plug-in Prius with Instructions
     
    #1 bernie3015, Apr 14, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2016
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    do you know optima jim?
     
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  3. tv4fish

    tv4fish Member

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    On the Prius (2015 and earlier) that 12 volt battery is not exposed to engine heat is toward the bottom of the cabin so except for states like Arizona the battery should last a long time

    Both my 2005 and my 2010 had the 12V battery in the right rear of the trunk..............
     
  4. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    ?? It's tucked under the right rear corner of the cargo floor of the hatch. There's no trunk.
     
  5. rifis

    rifis Junior Member

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    bernie3015:

    The "cycle length vs. DOD for Optima batteries" graph in the link you provided above shows dramatically better cycle life for the Yellow Top than that of typical AGM batteries (like my Duracell branded Prius 12v) http://www.dekabatteries.com/assets/base/0139.pdf
    Especially in deep discharge applications. Quite impressive.

    I had looked for this same data at the Optima site, as I had seen it suggested here (on PC) that the Yellow Top has superior deep discharge characteristics compared to other Prius 12v batteries. But, I couldn't find it (the data, specifically the graph) at the Optima site. Now seeing the graph in your link, I think I must have missed it at the Optima website.

    Can you provide a link to this same data on the Optima website?

    Many thanks.
     
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    The Optima has much higher CCA. Not sure how much this'll contribute to lifespan, if at all. I put one in about 6 months back, will see how it goes.
     
  7. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    Some batteries sold as Prius batteries are essentially "regular" car batteries of the same physical dimensions, adapted for Prius duty only by substituting appropriate JIS terminals. That means they're designed primarily for high CCA, not for surviving deep discharge applications (like the Optima Yellow Top, for example). Those are conflicting demands; you can't have both. One requires numerous thin plates for large surface area, and the other requires fewer but thicker plates.
     
  8. bernie3015

    bernie3015 Member

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    The reason the Optima has a high CCA is the pure lead. Optima (Johnson Controls) states 99.9% lead. Because of the pure lead the voltage drop under load is less. You get this and deep discharge capability. It is the difference between a lead plate and a lead oxide plate that causes the electrical flow. Alloys add strength but lessen the electrical flow. The battery is composed of a sandwich of a lead oxide plate a mat soaked in sulfuric acid and lead plate. This is tightly wrapped and stuffed in a cylinder. Cylinders have amazing strength. You probably have directly observed this! Because of the strength the alloys are not needed.
     
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  9. rifis

    rifis Junior Member

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    bernie3015: In case you missed this ^^^ post, I have provided it again.

    Where did the (highly favorable to the Optima Yellowtop) "cycle length vs. DOD for Optima batteries" data
    (for which you provided a link) ORIGINATE?

    From WHERE did the website (at which the favorable data appears) obtain the graph?
    Who did the testing that generated the data?

    As I asked earlier: Could you please provide a link to the same (highly favorable to the Optima Yellowtop) aforementioned data AT THE OPTIMA WEBSITE?

    Thank you in advance!