Odyssey Batteries and BatteriesPlus - Bad JuJu

[Matt_E]

I have had two broken Odyssey batteries in one year (PC625). I consider that to be bad performance.
What I consider much worse is the horrible customer service.
I had the first one replaced by a Batteriesplus store in Spokane. They did it - grudgingly.
The second time they just flat out lied to my wife (I wasn't there). They told her the battery was fine, it just needed charging. Bull********.
I have sent letters to both the BatteriesPlus headquarters and Odyssey. I have yet to get a reply.

I guess I'll have to find some outfit I can ship the battery to and get a replacement.

I am done with Odyssey. If the questionable quality didn't put me over the edge, the non-customer-service did.

 

[WaveDemon]

I have had two broken Odyssey batteries in one year (PC625). I consider that to be bad performance.
What I consider much worse is the horrible customer service.
I had the first one replaced by a Batteriesplus store in Spokane. They did it - grudgingly.
The second time they just flat out lied to my wife (I wasn't there). They told her the battery was fine, it just needed charging. Bull********.
I have sent letters to both the BatteriesPlus headquarters and Odyssey. I have yet to get a reply.

I guess I'll have to find some outfit I can ship the battery to and get a replacement.

I am done with Odyssey. If the questionable quality didn't put me over the edge, the non-customer-service did.

Call Odyssey. they were great to me on the phone. The batteries plus in tampa is a joke too.

 

[Matt_E]

Okay, I'll give that a try.

 

[WaveDemon]

Okay, I'll give that a try.

when I talked to them, they were disapointed with my local distributors. Batteris plus said they couldn't replace mine. the Odyssey rep told me where the numbers were to prove the age of the battery and gave me their direct number so that she could talk to the people at batteries plus. She also told me that they would replace the battery through the mail if the store wouldn't do it.

I'll give Odyssey an A+ for customer service.

 

[Matt_E]

Okay. I will call them and update this thread afterwards.

 

[kingnothing3]

i have had very good luck with my odyssey batteries as well

 

[Matt_E]

Here is an update. A confirmed THUMBS DOWN for Odyssey (EnerSys). I called them up directly and was told that I would have to take it back to whomever I bought it from - this in direct contradiction to what their warranty statement says.
I asked them if I could deal with them directly and was told no. Furthermore, they said to not buy on the Internet because it's shady. W T F ? ? ?

I just wrote an email to Odyssey World, an Ebay retailer where I purchased the battery originally.
We'll see what happens.

Summary: So far, this company sucks ass. I am well within the warranty period, but no one is willing to help me obtain a replacement. Based on that, I wouldn't recommend an Odyssey battery to anyone. In fact, I'll be actively discouraging people from buying it.

 

[WaveDemon]

that sucks:frown:

 

[hangtime]

Aren't you running TL .If you are I would say your battery warranty is void .
I've had my odyssey for 2 years and going strong with only the occasional trickle charge for maintenance :Banane01:

 

[Matt_E]

Why do you think running TL would void the warranty? It's not described in their warranty papers. In fact, just the fact that you run it in a Powersports application reduces the warranty from 3 to 2 years.

But total loss? I wouldn't consider that abuse, would you?

 

[gorilla]

matt, wtf.
you must have a current draining issue with your ski.
i left my ski down in calif for the whole winter.
i just got back home and hooked up the odessey, and it started right up, like a new battery.
you must have a freaky boat ???

have you had it blessed ???

i got all kinds of stock sj ignition stuff that i will start listing + need to sell.

keep watching.

good luck

gorilla

 

[Matt_E]

No drain that I know of. Besides, I charged it after every ride (so every other day) with a recommended charger, per the manual.

 

[hangtime]

I couldn't tell if you were being sarcastic about running TL but that is not how a battery is maintained .TL destroys batteries I would think .:bad3:


It's weird how I just said I've had mine for 2 years with no issues and today ..............click, click .

I tried charging and it apperas my Odyssey is dead after almost 2 years of awesome service .

When I was in NJ I let Pancaker use my battery to try to start his boat after it sunk and then Paul charged it for me but I'm think his battery tender isnt the right kind of charger for it .

 

[Matt_E]

Well - the manual doesn't mention you cannot charge the battery on a daily basis, or that you cannot run total loss. Think about it - running TL and recharging after riding is in effect no different than a regular charging system.

Total Loss does not destroy batteries - good batteries that is.

As for the battery tender - I think Odyssey specifically mentions that charger as being okay. I may be wrong.

 

[hangtime]

I think running TL puts a lot more strain on the battery .Your draining it down untill it's almost dead and then recharging it .It uses the battery to perform every task on your ski.

While a regular charging system maintains the battery at all times and never drains it .The battery is used for starting purposes only .

Completely different uses of the battery and the TL is without a doubt tougher on the battery .

 

[Matt_E]

Yes, Total Loss is tougher on the battery, I agree.
However, I never let the battery discharge all the way. I would ride for 2-4 hours and then recharge. Typically, a battery should give about 8 hours with TL.
My charger always indicated no less than 50% charge left.
Besides, the Odyssey manual specifically mentions that deep cycling (discharging/charging) is okay.

Regardless, I have moved on to a Jetworks battery, which was highly recommended to me. Time will tell.

 

[Mouthfulloflake]

actually its quite a bit different than the batteries normal life.

it goes way beyond the typical depth of discharge that makes a battery live long.

they list the number of potential cycles that you can discharge those batteries, its alot more when you never go below a 80% state of charge.

when you take it down to 50% its not very many cycles.

Well - the manual doesn't mention you cannot charge the battery on a daily basis, or that you cannot run total loss. Think about it - running TL and recharging after riding is in effect no different than a regular charging system.

Total Loss does not destroy batteries - good batteries that is.

As for the battery tender - I think Odyssey specifically mentions that charger as being okay. I may be wrong.

 

[SUPERJET-113]

I just bought a new Odyssey for my SJ off Ebay about a month ago. Its been great so far, but I dont have TL.
I also have a Jetworks going on 4 years in my XP with no problems and its a Seadoo that slowly drains the battery down through the MPEM after a few weeks on a regular acid type battery. I never disconnect a cable on it like i used to have to do when i didnt ride it for a few weeks.

You'll like that Jetworks. What did you pay for that if I may ask?

 

[michael950]

I too have an Odyssey and have been happy with the battery. I purchased it April of '05 and needed to charge it once (left bilge on), and I watched it very carefully with my standard Die Hard battery charger careful not to charge it too long.

I disconnect it off season, and in season it starts every time.

It disappoints me to hear of the warranty problems you are experiencing, so I may switch to jetworks when it or my Yusa dies.

 

[Matt_E]

I paid retail for it - whatever that was. 89 bucks perhaps?