Tom R. Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 With the local dealer being closed I am having difficulty finding an exact replacement battery for my '03 RT. I found one that says 18 amp hours. The OEM was 19. Any problem with that small of a difference? The proposed replacement is a sealed battery. Link to comment
steveknapp Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Amp hours is to batteries and electricity what gallons is to your fuel tank. You can easily mail order the PC680 Odyssey, it's proven good by many. Link to comment
bigboy Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 hi tom If you were to put an 18 a/h battery on your bike you will have issues with the abs warning system as you will not be packing enough power for a crisp clean start when cold . go for 19 a/h or above but never below . stay upright derek Link to comment
bigboy Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 hi tom if you were to place an 18 a/h battery on your ride you may have issues with the abs warning lights as you will not be packing enough power for a crisp clean cold start. go for 19 a/h or above but never below the recomended levels. stay upright derek Link to comment
Bob Palin Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 If you were to put an 18 a/h battery on your bike you will have issues with the abs warning system as you will not be packing enough power for a crisp clean start when cold . go for 19 a/h or above but never below . The amp/hour rating is simply the capacity of the battery and has no bearing on its ability to start the bike or run the ABS, the relevant number is cold cranking amps. Link to comment
RFW Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Amp hours is to batteries and electricity what gallons is to your fuel tank. A good analogy, but there is a side issue. A larger capacity battery will usually be able to supply a given amount of cranking currrent (Amps) to the starter at a higher voltage. When the starter is engaged, the current delivered is so high that the battery voltage drops somewhat (due to the battery's internal resistance). A beefier battery generally has less internal resistance, resulting in less voltage drop as you are cranking. This is especially so at low temperatures when the starter current is higher (more engine resistance to crank) and because it's cold, the battery's internal resistance is higher. So except for special cases like the Odyssey battery (with its pure, unalloyed, lead plates, and extreme low internal resistance) more A-H generally means easier starting under cold conditions. Bob. Link to comment
Tom R. Posted February 24, 2006 Author Share Posted February 24, 2006 Thanks everyone for your replies. I was finally able to find a replacement, this one with 20 amp hours. I just finished installing it and all seems good. It's a Westco?? The vendor said there was something in the recent BMW MOA mag about them. This is a "dry cell"?? I am very ignorant when it comes to anything electrical and I haven't kept up with the latest and greatest in batteries. I found an Odyssey PC680. I chose not to use it due to the negative cable on my '03 RT having a stud as part of the cable end. What is everyone doing to make the negative connection on the Odyssey? As to the 18 Ah and the ABS, I was warned by a BMW Tech that a minimum of 18 is required. I really didn't want to take a chance and go lower than 19. I needed to find something quickly. We are using my bike as the "guinea pig" for a brake flush demo with the Cincinnati club this Sunday. Link to comment
RFW Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 This is a "dry cell"?? I am very ignorant when it comes to anything electrical and I haven't kept up with the latest and greatest in batteries. Lead acid batteries are anything BUT "dry cells"! Probably he meant "dry charged". In other words it is like most every other lead acid battery has been for decades. It just means that the battery plates are already in the "charged" state, before adding acid. All you need to do is add acid to the dry battery, and you are good to go; no charging is needed. Bob. Link to comment
DBG Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 A&S Cycles, www.ascycles.com, has an adapter in order to used the Odyssey battery. I think it cost about 8 bucks. You could easily make on out of 1/2" copper bar stock, as it only an angle bracket. DBG Link to comment
No_Twilight Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 I found an Odyssey PC680. I chose not to use it due to the negative cable on my '03 RT having a stud as part of the cable end. What is everyone doing to make the negative connection on the Odyssey? Attached is the photo of the adapter I made. I posted this on another thread so to those of you who saw it earlier I apologize for the duplication. As for the amp hour rating difference? I wouldn't have even been concerned over a single amp hour. Remember vendors rate their own batteries so one or two amp hours might just be the difference in who wants to exaggerate the most. I'm not familiar with Westco but I have to say that I'll never get another wet cell battery since you have to take the battery out to check the levels in it. PITA. I think you probably did very well. Cheers, Jerry Link to comment
bmwmick Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 Bob, Read Tom's reply again. He bought a WestCo. That is either a Panasonic LC-X1220P or a BB (chinese) battery under the WestCo label. Both are AGM batteries. Both sell for less than $50(the BB is about $33 and the Panasonic is $44) and WestCo gets $92 for them with a 2 year warranty. Not a bad racket. Maybe we can convince Tom to peel back a corner of the label to see which battery he got? Tim, I still love my Panasonic LC-X1220P batteries. I replace them every 4 years. 20AH 275CCA no acid to mess with and they NEVER need water. Mick Link to comment
DiggerJim Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 I found an Odyssey PC680. I chose not to use it due to the negative cable on my '03 RT having a stud as part of the cable end. What is everyone doing to make the negative connection on the Odyssey? I just replaced the battery in my '02. It had what looked like a stud as part of the negative cable but really wasn't. I found when I caught the edge of the cable end and the end or the threaded portion of the "stud" that the stud started to separate from the cable end. Turned out to be just a very flat headed bolt press fit into the cable end. The cable end also had a slight lip to it. In that form I either had to flip it over (cable too short to do that) or cut it off. I just ran the Dremel over it to slice off the 1/4" hanging lip. Then the cable end fit flush to the battery top. I was able to fit it in standard battery upright mode. Some others found it easier to set the battery on its side. Not a problem with the Odyssey...don't do that with your normal lead acid battery. Took longer to take the tupperware off then replace the battery. But now I never have to take it apart to check the water level. Jim Link to comment
Tom R. Posted February 25, 2006 Author Share Posted February 25, 2006 According to the package, these batteries are manufactured in Vietnam. Can anyone tell me if my newer BMW Battery Tender (suitable for "gel" batteries) is okay to use on this Westco battery? Link to comment
bmwmick Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 According to the package, these batteries are manufactured in Vietnam. Can anyone tell me if my newer BMW Battery Tender (suitable for "gel" batteries) is okay to use on this Westco battery? Tom, Your BMW (by Deltran) battery Tender should be fine with any of the AGM batteries. They are just a little more 'gentle' on the charge voltage. Mick Link to comment
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