Toyo4x4

I don't know if this is common knowledge, but I thought I'd pass it on. I keep finding the Odyssey 1500T battery for sale well over $200. The Sears Platinum battery is made by Odyssey and sells for $190.

http://www.odysseybatteries.com/battery/pc1500t.htm

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...s+%26+Chargers

Look indentical in structure and features, don't they?

link to info: http://jgdarden.com/batteryfaq/batbrand.htm Look under Enersys, you'll find Sears and Odyssey under here.

Started finding the info here: http://www.stealth316.com/2-dynabatt.htm

Hope this might save someone some money if they didn't know.

Brenjen

Are we sure the DieHard Platinum is the same battery as the Odyssey? Same technology? Or are they just sharing the same case?

I'd get the DieHard tomorrow if I knew it was the same animal as the Odyssey for $100 less.

4Mogger

Damn!
Stats are virtually the same...Die Hard is 4 pounds heavier. Same CCA and physical dimensions. I love my Odysseys.
I know that the early die hard batts had a recall for post issues but I looked at them and was impressed (about a year ago)

Brenjen

I used to use DieHards way back in the day & have been thinking of trying the Odyssey. I just wish I knew for sure if was the same battery inside where it counts & not just cosmetically. I've been searching to see if I can find what I'm going to replace my current one with, it's starting to drag on cold days. I'm thinking the PC1500T Odyssey is what I need as far as fit.

I've had horrible luck with Autozonk & Wally World batteries over the past ten years or so.

4Mogger

A good alternator will make up for a marginal battery in most cases. That is the real weakness of Toyota trucks.

Brenjen

Yeah I'm aware of the weakest link. My battery in this 4Runner was in it when I bought the truck last year & was fine until the mercury dropped to 13F & after that it started to drag at any temps much below about 29F or so.

I don't even know what kind it is, it worked so I didn't bother with it. After I decide what battery to get I'm going to upgrade the headlight harness etc. & be done with it again, hopefully for good.

toy_tek

I picked up the Diehard Platinum P1 group 34. I think the 48 month free replacement is hard to beat, for under $200. Its pro-rated after that to 100 months.

Anyway, it drops in and fits on the tray easy. Its probably a half inch shorter than a group 24, so I made a new hold down bar from .25" thick x 1"wide flat stock, its about 12.5" long. I retained the stock J rod on the back side.

The terminals are opposite of a group 24F. I thought I'd have to extend the cables. Then I realized that only the positive wouldn't reach. So... I disconnected the stock cable lug bolt and made a bus-bar of sorts, extending the positive side 4.5" back across the top of the battery. The stock positive cable simply bolts to the bar, and the terminal end bolts to the other end of the bar, which attaches to the positive battery lug. I used 3/4" wide 3/16" thick flat stock for the bus-bar. I also drilled an additional hole and tapped for a 10-32 screw - where I can add wires for additional accessories, like lights and my aux fuse box.

The negative side just required a new grounding bolt into the fenderwell, I had to move it forward a few inches. The stock negative cable is long enough to reach over the battery to the lug.

So the hold down bar and bus-bar stock can be picked up at Lowes or HD for about $10. I bought an additional 8mmx20mm bolt & nut for the positive cable lead. Took about an hour to make both parts.

Brenjen

My Odyssey was a direct drop in & was under $200 all I had to do was put a spacer under it because of the height difference.

toy_tek

Which Odyssey?

notjustatoy

I'm pretty sure they are the same battery just a different badge. I know Odyssey makes them. There was a post on TTORA about this.

Brenjen

PC1500

CJM

Generally 4cyl trucks and 4runners use a group 35 series battery (or 25 in some cases). The V6 models use a group 24 or can use a 34 if you stretch the wires.

In all honesty, upgrading to a really nice Odyssey battery I would do the big 3 wire upgrade for the starter alt and battery cables and switch to 2 gauge or less welding wire.

toy_tek

Different application: You have a 2nd gen. I have a 3rd Gen. Thus the minor mods required on my truck.

Where did you find it for under $200? S/E has it for $249 + shipping.
http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/ind...t_detail&p=449

Just for fun:

Diehard Platinum 34Odyssey PC1500

PC 1500 DT Design:

toy_tek

Actually Enersys makes both the Diehard Platinum and Odyssey.

Brenjen

I didn't pay any attention to what you were putting it in; I found the Odyssey battery in Rogers Ar. at a retailer. They had only recently become an Odyssey distributor & they are the only one in the state (or were at that time). It would have been too far to drive for me to get it but my sister lives over there & was going to be in that area anyway. I think iirc I paid $160 + tax. I'll see if I can dig up my receipt & quote the exact price in an edit.

EDIT: $169.95 + Tax is what I gave for my Odyssey PC1500

toy_tek

Pretty much a steal right there... Nice job.

TC4RNR

out of curiousity, i called EnerSys, a gal at the marketing dept. confirmed that Enersys makes both Odyssey and Diehard Plt. they are the same.

jmiles82

Purchased a Diehard Platinum battery in June of 2008. It is now January 2009 and the battery already refused to start a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 with 1800 total miles on it. Took the battery back to Sears and the sales person insisted that he put it on his charger for a full hour to "test" the battery. He refused to replace the battery when his machine said the battery "tested ok". He then proceeded to charge me $12.50 to reinstall the battery in the vehicle. The vehicle had been driven only 2 days before with no problems and of course, after charging it on his machine, it would be very doubtful that it would not "hold a charge". I am sure that the battery was damaged by the discharge below 10.5v and I now cannot consider it reliable. I also have completely lost faith in Sears to stand behind their products and provide customer satisfaction.

toy_tek

If the battery tested ok, then that would tell me that the discharge was probably caused by something else in the vehicle. Did you leave a light on? Check for shorts? Something else? How long is a typical trip with this truck? I ask because you have extremely low miles for being 7 months old, if a typical trip is short, you may not be allowing the battery to charge to full capacity after each starting cycle.

Also, one discharge below 10.5 doesn't necessarily render the battery "damaged". At least not in my experience.

I have a couple other questions. Does it start ok now? Is the Sears battery the same as the stock battery size? Do you have any other non-stock loads on the vehicle (winch, plow, etc)?

And strictly out of curiosity, why was the stock battery replaced in a brand new vehicle?

jmiles82

Nothing was left on - the vehicle's charging system was generating 14.5 volts as per the dealer diagnostic. The battery is has a higher CCA rating than the stock battery. There is no optional or aftermarket equipment on the vehicle, and, I believe if you do only a small bit of research, you will find multiple articles describing the destructive plate sulfation that occurs when a non deep-cycle rated battery is allowed to discharge below 10.5 volts. The check-engine light and dealer diagnostics confirmed that operating voltage was less than 9.5VDC.
The reason I put that battery in a new vehicle was because I had replaced two Chrysler OEM batteries in one year in a 2006 Dodge Charger SRT8 (I don't drive much - probably about 5-10 miles//trip 2-3 times a week) and had very low confidence in the OEM Chrysler battery. The Diehard "Platinum" battery is supposed to go for "two years" without being started and still start the vehicle. And as for my own curiosity - why are you defending Sears and this battery? - are you a Sears representative? The issue here is how Sears responded to my discharged and potentially comprimised battery - ie charging me $12.50 to charge it for an hour and refusing to replace it until it would no longer hold a charge - which could potentially place me in an expensive and unnecessary stranded condition.