Anyone with a Dynabatt?

Deep6

Registered User
Hey guys,

I've been coming up on another Harsh winter here and with my little battery (the equivilent of a Dynabatt) I know that I'm going to run into issues. When I got the battery in winter 2003, it generally started the car. In winter 03/04 I had alot of times that I needed to jump the battery.

This winter I thought I would beat it by purchasing an Item called "Priority start". Its supposed to disconnect the battery when voltage drops below 11.9V. Ok, well in 50degree weather it was disconnecting my battery. I know that it'll start at that temp. it's the 10 degree weather that I'm worried about.

I figured fine, it unhooked my battery, but it should still start. Nope. I needed a jump on a 50 degree day.

So I disconnected the device. I'll probably return it to Batterymart.com.

I measured Voltage at my battery and its about 11.9V. When the engine is idling its about 14.5V. I drive to a different worksite now. It's further away but probably better for my car since I drive about 55mph for 5-6 miles one way. So I would think that would charge up the battery. But next morning, it's struggling to start up the car.

Perhaps I should see if I can return my PC680 and buy a PC925.

I have an alarm system but I put the switch in "valet" mode. But I think it still drains the system. Is there a way to totally disconnect the alarm system? It's an aftermarket "Chapman" system. I really don't bother with it other than the Keyless entry.
 
I have a DynaBatt battery but I can't comment on your other issues. My car only gets driven in the summer months and I haven't had any problems with the DynaBatt battery. I'm sorry I can't help but I just wanted to comment that I have a DynaBatt.
 
my buddy has a real dynabatt..its really nice. He hasn't used it for the winter, but it has something like 700 CCA....so i dont see it as a problem. But not too sure about your brand.
 
I live in NE Wyoming, and we see some of the harshest winters, (temperature wise) around. I run an Exide 840 battery in my SC. It has 1000 CA, and 850 CCA. I leave my car parked outside from 7:00 PM until 7:00 AM in the dead of winter and it always fires up. You can buy them at any Checker, Schucks, or Kragen for about $80.
 
I was checking...

I was checking the specs for the PC680 (Lightweight Dyna-Batt) and when I bought it, it was rated at 280CCA. I checked Batterymart.com's website and they now list the PC680 for 22CCA.... hmmm.

Also, I would like to replace it with the PC925. Last year it was rated at 470CCA. Now it is rated at 380CCA.

I checked the voltage of my battery today, apparently I left the ground wire dangling for the "priority start" and it disengaged the battery in 47degree weather. So ofcourse my car wouldn't start. i needed to wait to give it a boost. Before doing so, I checked the voltage...it was 3.18volts. Damn. The minute I jumped it up, it came right up to 11.5volts. I got the car started and I checked the voltage again, it was charging at 14.3volts. I let it run for 10 minutes and then turned it off. I checked the final volts and it was 12.1volts. Sound right folks?

I noticed that I was charging at 14.5volts on a 50 degree day, but when the temps dropped to 38degrees here it was charging at 14.3.... does that mean the colder it is, the less volts it charges at, or do I have a problem with my alternator?

At any rate, I think 380CCA should do the trick in my car....any objections?
I wonder if I can return the PC680...
 
I wouldn't get less than a minimum 400cca battery if you're in an area where temps get to 0F or below 0F (-17 for you north of the border boys).

380 would be o.k. In Minnesota we reguarly will get below 20F (real temp, not temp plus wind chill) so I run 600cca or better batteries in all cars. I had a Buick with a big block in it that I ran 1000 CCA semi-truck batteries in.

Why the larger CCA batteries is that they tend to have a larger reserve capacity. And with temps below 32F, engine starting becomes more of an issue. Air is dense and cold, it tends to hamper atomization of the fuel leaving deposits on spark plugs. Especially when the temps get below 0F. This takes cranking time to clear so the plug can spark. Thus you may have extended cranking times before an engine will fire. While 380CCa may be good enough if the engine starts up on the first couple cranks. It won't be enough if it takes 2 or 3 tries to fire up the engine. Thus the extra reserve capacity with the larger CCA batteries comes in handy in the cold.
 
It's been known to get colder than that...

In my area here, It's been known to get colder than 0ºF. Though not for long. One time we had a artic blast and it was -15ºF. My little beater saturn with a 1.9L engine had trouble cranking in that weather. Just as a side note about saturns, their engines instantanously fire up. I mean, if the engine is in a good state of tune, you literally touch the key and it fires up. There is no "Brrp brrp brrp brooooommmmmm" kind of start. It's more like a "ZA-ZING!" and it's on! I have a normal sized battery in that car and at -15ºF it was "Brrp brrp brrping" if you know what I mean.


The T-bird has always required a 1-2 second cranking time before it would start, even in warm weather and in a good state of tune.


So I guess then, that 380CCA would be good just about all the time, except when it was most bitterly cold, like -15ºF huh?

I'm confused though, last year when I was shopping for batteries, the PC925 (they call it 925 because at normal temps it delivers 925cranking amps) was rated at 470CCA...now it's rated at 380CCA... I wonder what's going on...
 
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