I understand the 1999-2004( maybe more) have an undisputed reputation, but I have, I think what is a 2004(no serial tag). What I would like is to get a perspective from this group. I need batteries and want to know what would be my best option. I don’t seem to have problems with the car, and I have it cleaned up pretty nice. What is my best option for my situation(with money being a bit of an issue). Would lithium be reasonable?
It more/less comes down to how you are using your car.
What are you using it for or how it could do better for you?
Then, what are your talents? If you have been hanging out here long enough and keeping tabs on what some of the other guys are doing, Is it something that you could take on too? Have the necessary room and tools? or are you in need of install help
just remember, lead acid is the cheapest and CAN offer a good 5 year lifespan but you MUST maintain the water levels constantly as in every 2-3 weeks check every battery and top them off when needed.
You screw that up once and you likely took 1-2 years off the lifespan of the batteries and probably dropped 5+ miles range. They’ll still cost you about 30% of a small equivalent lithium pack. And you must plug it in after every use and if you don’t use it for 2+ weeks you need to throw the master disconnect or the batteries will get run down and damaged.
Gel lead batteries will last you a good 5 years with no maintenance but you’ll pay about half what a lithium system might cost. And you must plug it in after every use and if you don’t use it for 2+ weeks you need to throw the master disconnect or the batteries will get run down and damaged.
Lithium batteries are more expensive, last longer(more charge cycles) than lead, are lighter and you don’t need to top off the charge after every use. There is no maintenance per se and a good BMS, properly setup, will stop you from killing the batteries if you let it sit connected too long or you forget to charge and try to run it too low.
There are guys here like @AssyRequired , @MikeKC and @Inwo who can help you with details on lithium solutions if that’s the route you decide to take. How far you need to go over how many days and how flat your drives are all effect your range and how big a battery pack to get. There are more size options with Lithium solutions.
let me know if I messed up some thing and I will edit it but I was shooting for ballpark references.
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Sorry I couldn’t respond was gone all weekend. Thanks for your insites and opinion I appreciate it.
I am trying to justify the expense for my older car! I think lead will be fine for me, if I can find the money, LOL
It all depends upon your needs. Short trips or long trips? Every day use or 1-2 times a week? I use mine 1-2 times a week with my trips rarely going over 5 miles. Walmart deep cycle marine batteries have been working just fine for me. For about $600 I can get 2-3 years out of them. So far they have never left me stranded.
I think I will get some lead acid for my car. What do I need to do to accommodate the logarithm profile or do I even need to. I believe the ones in there now are gels. I assume the charger in it now is set for gels. Thanx again for the help. P.S. I’m in So Cal in the greater Riverside/ Temecula area
Since it sounds like the car worked fine for you as it was, and you are not looking for it to do anything new, the choice is leaning you towards a set of lead acid replacement batteries. Be aware that you will need to get into regular maintenance and battery checks now. It will involve a water level check and it’s not a bad idea to take a meter and do Voltage checks to keep an eye on the balance of the batteries. Both of these are necessary to avoid premature battery failure and replacing them again.
Start looking around for the best deals at Wall Mart or talk to the guys at Sam’s club or Costco. Quite a few claim to have good results from any old Group 31 but it is better if you get a set at east rated for cart use. I’d stay away from the ones labaled as Maintenance free and be swooned by the promise of not having to do such. If used in carts they will just dry out sooner.
You probably have a Zivan charger in your car, but you will still need to identify what version you have. The older ones are not easily adjustable. If yours has been updated it will have a stocker on the front with a few loaded profiles and a dial on the top you can use to select a profile.
(Arrow points to Micro Upgraded sticker and profile chart at bottom of this pic)
(Profile select dial at the top of the charger might be under a sticker).
I can tell you from experience, spend a little more and get maintenance free- either gel/agm or lithium. I had to pull my lead acid batteries out of my elxd last fall to top off with water and they are still sitting on my garage floor, I’ve been driving my other gem with lithium in it and would never get anything else again.
Pots of boiling acid in your car is nothing but trouble.
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Double, double toil and trouble; Battery churns and acid bubbles.
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OK, now ya’ll are scaring me(Halloween?) I assume what is ideal is AGM gel? I found them from ”A” and they would be about $250 more…and they deliver to me! Also, I have a Delta-Q charger in it right now(thanks Old Houseboater) is there an online manual so I can check what logarithm it is set for and how to change if necessary?
pretty sure you can google for exactly that information and find that. Usually, depending on your model, you look at the blinking lights when you plug in AC power, count the blinks to get the “code” which then needs to be matched with a list of code = algorithm X.
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What is the difference between gels and hybrid gels? I’m changing my search to gels. I found a guy that is selling 3 he took off his RV, they are Renogy 12V 100Ah Gel Batteries, half way there for $300 or less
I’m not quite sure what you are trying to do here…
Doing a mix of used cells of unknown quality then adding new cells does not sound like a plan for success.
I just talked with Renogy about this a couple days ago………I decided to go cheap until I can justify a built pack, and need to prove the utility for my use.
Locally: that means @$160 flooded. (Ew)
I thought I’d found Nirvana with the Duracell G31 AGM with 4yr warranty……….nope, out of stock all around. $265. Sigh.
Renogy eventually had me talking to engineering. I told him what I was doing………and would likely do. While the battery was not designed for this at all, he said the power characteristics should work. I still can’t find the specs anywhere.
Thanx , I was just reading about that, Plan B or C? Trying to figure this out is very time consuming for sure!
Check your local Sam’s Club and Interstate/Batteries Plus. That’s who used to have them. YMMV.
The Renogy was my only option to test my new toy. I figured it would at least do that………and will last until I become a confirmed GEM guy, and get some lithium cooking.
I take it you went with the Renogy 100Ah AGM batteries? (currently on sale for $189/ea)
Their lithium batteries may very likely give you a lot of grief. Not to mention costing just about as much as one of the smaller SDI packs for the 00-04 vehicles.
Another issue I keep finding is that you can only put 4 batteries in series with some. This whole thing is proving to be more difficult than I would’ve guessed, trying to find a cost effective
option on a fixed income!
For a diy’er, can’t beat Chevy Volt. I still use them myself for testing.
Ask @Erniea15 , a true believer.
Two of these will work marginally in a 2004, great in T3+ cars.
Only issue in early car is not being able to fully charge. It will still carry you around and last forever.
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