Optima DS46B24R Prius Specific 12v. Battery

Jim,

Is it a valid measurement for me to just take my DMM and measure the
voltage across the two terminals, even though the battery is not under any load? If so, I can do that.

/Gordon

 

Gordon,

That is absolutely a valid measurement and probably the most accurate way to determine battery voltage (versus reading a dashboard display).

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.twitter.com/optimabatteries

 

Measurements with my DMM:
My old OEM battery (replaced last fall with Optima) 11.55 vdc
My friend's old OEM battery (replaced January) 12.73 vdc
My friend's Optima battery (replaced February) 11.09 vdc

The new Optima is not looking so good. :-(

 

Is there any way to tell the age of an OEM battery in a 2005? I can't see date markings on mine.

 

Hi Gordon, have you attempted to charge your friend's Optima with a battery charger yet? If you haven't been able to get a charger, many auto parts retailers are able to perform a basic charge & check on car batteries, where they attempt to fully-charge the battery and then load-test it. Some retailers will even do this for free.

arewethereyet, most batteries have date codes on them somewhere. They are typically burn codes and either four digits (5010), with the first being the year (2005) and the next three being the date (January 10th) or a letter/number combination (A5) indicating the month and year.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
Optima Batteries (@OptimaBatteries) on Twitter

 

I just got an Optima DS46B24R shipped from Advance Auto and the open circuit voltage was 12.63V. I'm not sure how one would get delivered with 11.09V, but stuff happens. Obviously, put it on a charger and see what happens.

 

I found a friend with a charger, so I'll borrow it and see what happens.
If the battery is defective it'll go back to Optima for a refund. :-(

 

Gordon, please keep me updated on your findings. Thanks!

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.pinterest.com/optimabatteries

 

Once I borrow the charger, if it has choices of low-power trickle charging, or higher-power charging, what do I choose? How long should it take to give an Optima a full charge?

 

Somewhere between 2 and 4 amps is good. 6 amps is probably the max. An AGM setting would be better.

 

Gordon, I apologize for the delay in responding. We recommend a maximum of 10 amps for up to two hours, which should get the battery close to fully-charged (if not all the way there). Any amperage below that should be fine as well, provided the charger has some regulation to prevent overcharging. Fully-charged, it should measure about 13.0-13.2 volts.


Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
OPTIMA Batteries (optimabatteries) on Pinterest

 

Does anyone know if the Optima direct replacement DS46B24R will fit in a Prius without the SmartKey system? Toyota says the battery for my car (2009) is slightly smaller than that for one that is SmartKey equipped. The only spec I could find was on BatteryMart.com, where they specifically reference the SmartKey system. The others don't mention it at all.

Thanks for your help

 

I remember using a cutoff wheel to trim the bottom of the hold-down bracket for a non-smart key car. In that sense, it is not a drop-in replacement. But I was in a rush and didn't have time to think about a more elegant solution.

 

Jim,

I finally had time to dig out my friend's battery charger, the problematic battery, and my DVM.

Here's what I discovered:

When I last checked the voltage of this battery in late March, it was 11.09 vdc.
Before charging last week, I checked it again and it was down to 10.12 vdc.
That decrease didn't bother me much – I figure it's not a surprise that sitting in my garage
for six months might cause it to lose a little charge.

I hooked the Optima battery to the charger at 10A for 40 minutes, and checked it again.
Now it read 12.56 vdc. That was encouraging.

Another 50 minutes at 10A brought it up to 12.69 vdc.

After sitting overnight I checked it again, and it had dropped to 11.87 vdc.
This is not good. While this battery will take a charge, it won't hold it.

Looks like a defective battery to me.

How do I return it?

Thanks,
/Gordon

 

I apologize for my delay in responding. skopstein, we had received feedback that our DS46B24R did not fit in non-smart key cars. I tracked one down myself and was able to install the battery, although it is a tight fit.

ggarb, if I am reading your voltage readings correctly, it sounds like you had left your battery completely discharged for at least five months. Whenever any battery is discharged below 12.4 volts and left in that state, sulfation begins to form within the battery, which decreases both performance and lifespan. Even at 12.69 volts, that battery is still about 25% discharged. Because the battery has sat in a totally discharged state for so long, it might need to be cycled a few times, going from about 13.0-13.2 volts, down to about 11.5 and back, to help break up some of the sulfation that has built up over the last several months.

It is ok for the battery to get warm during charging, but if it gets hot to the touch, discontinue charging immediately and contact your original retailer for warranty service. If after cycling the battery a few times, it does not hold close to it's maximum voltage (about 13.0-13.2 volts) for 12-24 hours, with no load attached, I would again encourage you to contact your original retailer for warranty service.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
OPTIMA® Batteries (optimabatteries) on Pinterest

 

Storing any car battery in a depleted state for 6 months will cause significant sulphation and ruin the battery.

 

Jim,

This battery was purchased new directly from Optima and installed directly in my friend's 2005 Prius (with Smart Key). I even spent the extra $30 for express shipping from Optima.

A few weeks later he had repeated issues and his local Toyota dealer solved them by removing this battery and replacing it with a Toyota OEM battery. I've been trying to determine since if the battery was defective as received from Optima. So far, all signs do point to a defective battery.

Note that I installed this same model of Optima battery in my own 2004 Prius last fall – about a month after you released the product – and I've had no problems with mine.

==

How best do I "cycle the battery a few times"? I know how to put it on the external charger. How do I bring the voltage back down to 11.5 vdc? (Other than leaving it sitting overnight, which presumes it is a defective unit.) I'm not willing to install it in my Prius for this purpose.

Again, Optima is the original retailer. Once I have satisfied you that this is a defective unit, if it is, I will need to know how to have Optima fulfill the warranty service.

Regards,
/Gordon

 

Gordon,

I will send you a PM to get your contact and purchase information. For anyone who was interested in cycling, I typically do that by leaving my headlights (or some other accessory) on, when the engine isn't running. If I don't have a battery installed in a vehicle, I hook it up to a Coleman inverter and plug in a string of Christmas lights.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
OPTIMA® Batteries (optimabatteries) on Pinterest

 

Jim,

Thanks.
/Gordon

 

Hi OptimaJim,

I own non-smart key car, would I go for DS46B24R or YTS 2.7J(Japanese Terminals)
(8070-176) YTS2.7J AGM ?

All the best!
Agape