Odyssey battery question

32vickie

32vickie

X-
Location
Pipersville, PA
A friend burned up the starter in one of my skis. While testing the system and trying to fine out if it was a bad ground, low battery we put it on charge for 5-8 minutes (10AMPS). At that time we heard a pop and the charger turned off. When we figured out that the starter was the problem we pulled the batter and notices it was leaking fluid. I am assuming we popped some type of overcharge safety valve. Can it be reset? Or sealed up?


Doug
 
Mouthfulloflake

Mouthfulloflake

ISJWTA member #2
Location
NW Arkansas
thats odd.

you are supposed to charge those batteries with a special type of charger, I never have, I have charged mine with up to 15 amps, for an hour or so and never heard a pop or seen any fluid.

check the voltage on the battery, get it checked ( or check it in another boat)
if its bad try and get it warrantied ( according to some folks they are HARD to get warrantied)

if you bought it local you should be alright, if you ordered it, you might be screwed.

let us know how it turns out.
 
douglee25

douglee25

m3booooy
Location
South Jersey
Just for kicks, does the engine turn over by hand? I've seen on several occasions where either a rock got stuck in the pump or something broke internally in the engine and the person thought it was a bad starter.

Doug
 
32vickie

32vickie

X-
Location
Pipersville, PA
Ski would turn over but very slow. Turned out to be the windings in the starter stator. Had the charger on and tried to start the ski. when we heard the pop. Without plugs ski still turned over slow. Without plugs we were able to turn shaft without a problem.
 
32vickie

32vickie

X-
Location
Pipersville, PA
Checked out the link and not much info. sent them a e-mail to the tech department yesterday at lunchtime no reply. Has anyone ever taken the center cap section off of one of these batteries. I know you have to do this for mail in warranty replacement. before i pull it apart i just wanted to know if i pull it off can i put it back on?
 
Mouthfulloflake

Mouthfulloflake

ISJWTA member #2
Location
NW Arkansas
does it still work?

if it works, and they DONT do anything for you, then worst case is you have a battery that can no longer be turned up side down right?

at that point, I would open it up, and put duct tape or whatever to seal that vent.

nothing to loose then.
 
32vickie

32vickie

X-
Location
Pipersville, PA
tilting the battery to get it to come out of the hull will get fluid flowing out of it. So it is a small angle that causes a problem. so anything like a sub or any kind of surf condition will cover the hull and motor with acid. This sucks since this was the newer of the three ODYSSEY batteries. And i switched batteries to check the starter.
 
OCD Solutions

OCD Solutions

Original, Clean and Dependable Solutions
Location
Rentz, GA
Don't feel bad, at least you got two years out of yours. I bought a pair of odyssseys a few years ago to go with my Advent Ignition and broke a positive stud clean off the first time I installed one. They had a discaimer in the instructions, (which I read) so I'm S.O.L. When they say not to torque, they really mean it! I barely touched it and it snapped. The good news is i have never needed the second battery.

If you figure out a way to reseal it, let us know, I'd like to open mine up and replace the stud.
 
32vickie

32vickie

X-
Location
Pipersville, PA
Good news contacted the tech support and they told me to remove the cover and there are 6 vent caps. Push them down one by one and i should be fine. Two of the caps were up, flipped the battery over and no leaks. Dropped the battery in the ski and the ski fired up with the rebuilt starter. No acid oder after cleaning the hull with baking soda and water.
Doug
 
keefer

keefer

T1
Location
Tennessee
32vickie said:
Good news contacted the tech support and they told me to remove the cover and there are 6 vent caps. Push them down one by one and i should be fine. Two of the caps were up, flipped the battery over and no leaks. Dropped the battery in the ski and the ski fired up with the rebuilt starter. No acid oder after cleaning the hull with baking soda and water.
Doug
Click to expand...

Wow I am surprised to hear that. I thought the gel and AGM batteries were recombinant and completely sealed. I know that in an AGM battery if you expose the internal cell to the outside air it will severely damage the battery. Thats what all the literature I have read says anyway. The Odyssey gel must be forgiving to this. Do yourself a favor and get a new style digital charger that has settings for gel & AGM batteries. They will last a lot longer if you regularly charge them.
 
#ZERO

#ZERO

Beach Bum
Location
Florida - U.S.A.
X2 on the new style digital charger that has settings for gel & AGM batteries.

It is imperative not exceed 15.0 volts when charging as this will cause the pressure valves to open and out-gas hydrogen oxygen from inside the battery. The deep cycle charging voltage must be within 13.5 volts minimum to 13.8 volts maximum to preserve the life of the battery. To get longer life from Odyssey Batteries, it is important that the battery is kept near a full charge, approximately 12.84 volts. If there are parasitic electrical loads during storage, the negative battery cable should be disconnected and an independent float or automatic trickle charger should be used. A 12 volt 3 amp automatic trickle charger can also be left connected to the battery if it is kept in storage for extended periods. The Absorbed Glass Matt or (AGM) construction allows the electrolyte to be suspended in close proximity with the plate's active material. In theory, this enhances both the discharge and recharge efficiency. The AGM batteries are typically good deep cycle batteries and they deliver best life performance if recharged before the battery drops below the 50 percent discharge rate. If these AGM batteries are discharged to a rate of 100 percent the cycle life will be 300 plus cycles and this is true of most AGM batteries rated as deep cycle batteries.

Here is the list of approved battery chargers and this is not an all-inclusive list. Other chargers that also feature the charge voltages and profiles can be used too. http://www.odysseyfactory.com/odycharg_c.htm
 
32vickie

32vickie

X-
Location
Pipersville, PA
good info i will keep this in mind. The pressure relief caps looked like small cups made out of some type of plastic coated paper. they just popped on with finger pressure. I now have two battery chargers so i think i will look at getting one of the tenders. Would i be able to hook up three batteries at one time?
Doug
 
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