Best Source for Odyssey Battery

[rayholan]

I'm replacing my 12V OEM battery with a dry cell type, Odyssey brand unit. Has anyone had particularly good service/price from any of various retail sources that sell this brand of battery?

Thanks in advance for any recommendations. I could just roll the dice, but I figured I might as well take advantage of the shared knowledge here!

[aisbell]

Originally Posted by rayholan

I'm replacing my 12V OEM battery with a dry cell type, Odyssey brand unit. Has anyone had particularly good service/price from any of various retail sources that sell this brand of battery?

I don't know of a good Odyssey battery source, but I used a 13 amp-hour Odyssey in my Insight for about a year about 6 years ago. When I started having IMA problems serious enough to request warranty service from Honda, my local dealer would not complete the repair until I replaced the Odyssey battery. He claimed that it was too small and might be causing my IMA problems. I knew better, but my arguments did not persuade the dealer.

I did not want to install the large, heavy Civic battery that the dealer wanted to install. I learned that a Mazda Miata battery is an absorbent glass mat (AGM) battery like the Odyssey, so it doesn't contain any corrosive liquid electrolyte. A Miata battery is smaller and lighter than a Civic battery. It has slightly greater electrical capacity than the OEM Insight battery, so the dealer could no longer complain.

The terminals on a Miata battery are reversed from those on the OEM battery, but the positive cable will reach without modification. The negative cable can be easily moved from its attachment on the firewall to an existing bolt on the battery box so that the negative cable will connect to the Miata battery. I placed a rigid foam spacer across the top of the battery so the battery hold-down bar will work (the Miata battery is shorter than the OEM battery).

So if you don't find a suitable Odyssey, consider a Miata battery.

[rayholan]

Aloha, Art! Thanks for the Miata battery tip. I'll check that out. Sounds like a good compromise.

[Trevis]

Originally Posted by rayholan

I'm replacing my 12V OEM battery with a dry cell type, Odyssey brand unit. Has anyone had particularly good service/price from any of various retail sources that sell this brand of battery?

Thanks in advance for any recommendations. I could just roll the dice, but I figured I might as well take advantage of the shared knowledge here!

Guys, this is a really good spot for Odyssey batteries . Dealt with them often, they have a lot of good SLA and UPS batteries, and the Odyssey ones are definitely good at Battery Tex - Your Source for Batteries.

Hope that helps.

-T

[baboracus]

if the stock battery weighs 30 lbs. How much does the Miata battery weigh and the odyssey battery weigh?

[boogetyboogety]

I bought mine at Batteries Plus, a pretty good-sized retail chain that may have a store near you:

Batteries Plus battery store - All your battery needs for Laptop, camera, cell phone, camcorder, SLA, batteries recycling and much more

...although my experience with the Odyssey battery was not the best here, as it only lasted two years-and-change... and started causing hinky SOC readings. I replaced it with the Civic battery as others have done, and my SOC problems went away immediately. Although, next time, I'm looking into the Miata battery, thanks, Art!

[aisbell]

Originally Posted by baboracus

if the stock battery weighs 30 lbs. How much does the Miata battery weigh and the odyssey battery weigh?

The OEM battery weighed much less than 30 pounds but is no longer available. Maybe the replacement Civic battery weighs 30 pounds.

The Miata battery that I have been using is this one which claims to be 25 pounds. I feel that its absorbent glass mat (AGM) design (no liquid electrolyte, less acidic fumes) is as important as its lower weight. My first Miata battery lasted for over 5 years; my OEM battery lasted less than 3 years.

I also used a very small Odyssey battery (PC535?) for over a year with no problems. But my Honda dealer refused to consider replacing my IMA battery when problems occurred until I replaced my Odyssey battery with a "normal" battery. So I don't know how long it would have lasted. I lived in a warm climate so the 12-volt starter was never used. The small Odyssey might have had insufficient capacity in a cold climate in which the 122-volt starter would be used frequently.