12V Battery Replacement Recommendation

It will ONLY work if you have a power outlet that is hot ALL the time.
Most of them are NOT.

 

And one that is not diode protected.

 

Well that's a bummer...

 

You could attach it to the fuse box terminals. Of course you would need an adapter from cig lighter to alligator clips.

 

Not sure it’ll work; that outlet doesn’t have power when car is off. What does work is a power source with cable that plugs into the OBD port. It only has one or two pins, the 12 volt power ones. The OBD port always has 12 volt.

For me that’s a JNC660 jump pack and Solar memory saver cable, both from Clore.

 

Whenever the battery’s disconnected:

1. All trip meters are reset.
2. All radio presets are lost.
3. Window one-touch up/down MAY be lost, need re-teach.
4. Displays reset to factory defaults.
5. The first start up may be a bit odd, I forget how exactly.
6. For the next 2~3,start ups, the engine may do an unusual rev-up behaviour, some recalibration I think.

None of these are biggies, and maybe an occasional “reboot” might be beneficial, who knows. But if you don’t want to deal with the above hassles, a memory saver is good.

FWIW I disconnect the battery whenever doing brake work, to avoid “surprises”, not that big a deal.

 

The window reteach btw, is pretty easy:

Run window all the way down, pushin the lever down the whole time. Then run it all the way back up, again holding the lever up the whole time, and continue to hold it up, for at least a couple more seconds.

Then one-touch it both up and down, verify it’s working ok.

 

It's my wife's car...it's just easier to have the settings maintained (Nuff Said!) Yes, Davy and Goliath on Sunday Mornings...sort of a Gumby with a religious message, I still have the the opening theme song in my head.

 

My 11 year old 12V TrueStart with 156K miles on it failed today (my fault, left the hatch open 20 min. with a big load, and didn't realize the headlights wouldn't turn off automatically). After waiting 20 min, and waiting for the vacuum pump to finish, I got the ready light . After driving for 30 min., it restarted with no problem. FE has been low lately. Time for a replacement.

Q1 I have an AGM battery de-sufider. Can I run that with the battery still connected to the car? Do the de-sulfiders work in this situation?

Q2 NAPA Legend 46AH for $195 - $20 (current rebate) =$175
https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBP9851P?partTypeName=Battery+-+Automotive&impressionRank=1&keywordInput=battery
Is this better than the TrueStart??
Local dealership website says $193 for a TrueStart . Probably a better option.

This dealer has it for $185
0054421171325 - Toyota TrueStart Battery | Danville Toyota, Danville VA

But no shipping option. Some dealers don't charge tax on out of state orders.

Q3 I have a small Lithium jump-starter. If I connect that to the jump-start pegs under the hood would that preserve the settings (and do no damage to the car)?

Any help appreciated. Thanks

 

Yes, to your Q3. Just don’t short or ground the +12V battery cable while doing the replacement.

 

I’m near-constantly having a (smart) charger connected, with the battery in-car. No problems with that.

With an 11 year old battery I would just go straight to replacement.

For testing replacement battery at point-of-sale, it’s VERY handy to bring along an electronic load tester, verify new battery condition then-and-there. Solar BA9 is a good prosumer option. Most battery retailers will have a pro level tester on hand, may or may not be willing to demonstrate battery viability in front of you.

If at all possible I would purchase locally, even if it’s a few bucks more.

 

Thank you for the suggestions. What should I look for to show the battery is good with the load tester? I plan to bring my charger (which doubles as a voltmeter). Don't have a load tester. I read that you shouldn't buy a battery that reads below 12.4V others say 11.8V. Is there a good number to look for on a voltmeter or a load tester?

I put the desulfider on for 13 hours, but got negligible results. I will get a new battery at a local dealership tomorrow. 1 dealership wants $40 more than the others, so it pays to shop around. Installation was quoted at $30 and $50. I will do it myself.

Experience with the desulfider: I put it on a failing lead acid battery for 2 days straight (out of car), and it seemed to make a significant improvement. Better than just charging it.

This time I connected it to the battery while still installed in the Prius for 13 hours. When I started, the battery read 12.3V. After 13 hours, it read 13.1V, but dropped to 12.7 in 30 seconds. I turned on the LED headlights, and it immediately dropped to 12.0. After recovering for 30 seconds, I got a reading of 12.4.

I plan on fully charging the new battery before installing it. I will try using the desulfider on the old battery for 2 days, and see if there is any improvement. If it makes a full miraculous recovery, I'll use it to power an old UPS. Realistically I'll return it for the $17 core charge.

 

FACT: If sulfation really was the problem to begin with, your "significant improvement" will be short lived.
Once the offending compound is created, it is not soluble in water or sulfuric acid......and nothing you do to the battery externally will get rid of it. You might "move" it around a little but the problem isn't gone and it will cause trouble again in a short time.

 

The primary reading of the electronic load testers is Cold Cranking Amps (or 2~3 sim values). The typ tester consider’s CCA, voltage, and the various battery stats you’ve entered, and gives a verdict, say “good”, “good but recharge”, or “fail”. As a rule of thumb too: you want to see a CCA value that’s HIGHER than spec, preferably at least 15~20% higher. If measured CCA is lower than spec, that’s pretty much slam dunk that it’s replacement time.

 

I got a LiFePo .. it was not easy to make the connections / adapters .. -- but once it is set .. it was
1) cheaper
2) life cycle of thousands
3) smaller
4) lighter
-- so if u can adapt to the 'screw in ' to either change your harness end / modify or adapt some lawn tractor cables to make the connection .. it could be a good move ....

 

keep us posted on how it is working please!

 

UNLESS the battery is not fully charged at the time.