Does that rule out the alternator though?

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Jan 21, 2020
2:34:04pm

Ragnar Danneskjold Viral Blogger, Thought Leader

Does that rule out the alternator though?

I have very little reason to think my alternator could be bad. The battery is 5 years old. I show no signs of either failing, except corrosion on the negative terminal, which worries me because it indicates gas leakage, but is supposed to be a sealed battery (can even be mounted upside down).

This message has been modified

Originally posted on Jan 21, 2020 at 2:34:04pm

Message modified by Ragnar Danneskjold on Jan 21, 2020 at 2:38:26pm

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Ragnar Danneskjold

Previous username: CougarSkye
Bio page: Ragnar Danneskjold
Joined: Sep 2, 2011
Last login: May 7, 2024
Total posts: 70,746 (30,782 FO)

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Messages

Author

Time

Car battery q - I had a ton of the corrosion gunk on the negative terminal a few weeks ago. I cleaned it all off,

Ragnar Danneskjold Viral Blogger, Thought Leader

1/21/20 9:58am

That would be my conclusion as well. How old is the battery - that is supposed to be a good one.

kccougar

1/21/20 10:00am

5 years. I wasn't excited to buy an Optima, but it was the best available at the time. I'm ordering an Odyssey next.

Ragnar Danneskjold

1/21/20 10:00am

5 years is decent for a battery. I generally consider 7 years to be great. Time to buy the Odyssey.

kccougar

1/21/20 10:04am

Do you have to get an optima for a replacement?

permiso

1/21/20 10:00am

Nope. And I won't.

Ragnar Danneskjold

1/21/20 10:01am

Below 13v with the car off is indicative of a dying battery.

Corn Pop

1/21/20 10:03am

Thanks. That's what I'm thinking. It's good to get a sanity check.

Ragnar Danneskjold

1/21/20 10:05am

It's actually lower than that. 12.6 volts is considered normal voltage for a

BYUMizzou

1/21/20 10:07am

Yeah, the notes I had were (spec) resting: 12.6, running: 13.7-14.7

Ragnar Danneskjold

1/21/20 10:09am

Interesting. I guess the few times I’ve tested mine have generally been

Corn Pop

1/21/20 10:20am

Here's what I would do before I dropped $300. It sounds like the battery is

Dread Pirate Westley

1/21/20 10:10am

I did the deep clean already (like, REALLY clean). I thought about doing it again w/ white lithium grease, but @ 5 yrs,

Ragnar Danneskjold

1/21/20 10:14am

I agree with this. Even though your battery is a "sealed" battery, it has a

BYUMizzou

1/21/20 10:23am

If he has 14V measured at the battery when the vehicle is running, and corrosion is on the negative terminal

Bert609

1/21/20 10:34am

If I throw on the Odyssey and get corrosion (then it's the alternator), the Odyssey wouldn't necessarily be damaged,

Ragnar Danneskjold

1/21/20 10:40am

I wouldn't think so. So you can start with your Odyssey first. Assuming your terminal isn't corroded under

Bert609

1/21/20 10:56am

Just did my alternator replacement on an Odyssey, not bad (see video)

permiso

1/21/20 11:23am

$300 for a battery? Where do you shop?

cheezedawg

1/21/20 10:24am

There are specialty batteries for vehicles that use a lot of

BYUMizzou

1/21/20 10:29am

Yeah I had an optima on my 97 Wrangler

permiso

1/21/20 11:25am

RE: There are specialty batteries for vehicles that use a lot of

cheezedawg

1/21/20 2:36pm

My car gets a lot of shock and vibration, so I get as durable as possible.

Ragnar Danneskjold

1/21/20 10:32am

Also check the cable to see if corrosion is down the line as well.

1/21/20 10:12am

Good idea. Will do.

Ragnar Danneskjold

1/21/20 10:17am

If you have a 5-yr-old battery, you obviously don't live in Arizona ... home

IBe_WhyYou

1/21/20 10:31am

So true, Costco has already given me a new battery since we moved here 4 yrs ago

permiso

1/21/20 11:26am

Go into O'Reilly's and ask for a battery test. They will hook it up...

bluecheese

1/21/20 11:27am

I kind of did my own with a multimeter.

Ragnar Danneskjold

1/21/20 12:19pm

By the way, Odyclub members (forum for Odyssey owners) tend to agree that

permiso

1/21/20 12:26pm

He's talking about an Odyssey battery, not a Honda Odyssey.

kccougar

1/21/20 12:53pm

Yup. Odyssey is a battery brand.

Ragnar Danneskjold

1/21/20 12:57pm

Oops, thought you were talking about Optima batteries for your Odyssey lol

permiso

1/21/20 1:50pm

How did you load test it with your multimeter?

John Doe

1/21/20 12:26pm

Just with the vehicle on it was 14.2. At lunch I tested it running, lights on (and roof lights), radio cranked, hazards

Ragnar Danneskjold

1/21/20 12:59pm

1) That's just testing alternator output, not the diodes. 2) You should probably have the battery load-tested also.

John Doe

1/21/20 1:56pm

Does that rule out the alternator though?

Ragnar Danneskjold

1/21/20 2:34pm

I agree with your assessment. You shouldn't be getting corrosion buildup on a sealed battery.

John Doe

1/21/20 2:42pm

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