Think I may need anew battery, have a red top optima that is around ten years old, I heard a rumour the new ones were not as good. Any suggestions on a good battery for our teeners appreciated.

Ian Stott
Moncton
Canada

I have worked with the yellow tops and am not impressed.

As long as it's not parked outside, I would think a 'normal' battery will work well enough.

What is the proper size to ask for at a battery shop? I don't think they will have a listing for a 914.

Ian Stott
Moncton
Canada

Watch this before you toss out a good battery.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slqd73ZOQvI

3 Red Tops in 4 years - certainly took advantage of their 3 year warranty.

Using this now:

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogI...6570_0398820603

My car is garage-kept and keep a battery mat under it.

And someone got three good batteries. I will never use a conventional battery again. I've seen too many victims.

Really the charging method works. My Red top is 12 yrs old. It was down to 4 volts last year once and I charged it. It's been working since.

My Red Top lasted 10 years and I maybe could have resurrected it, but bought a new one after replacing the alternator and wanting to be DONE with any charging/electrical issues for the 914 I rely on to get to work some days. Also, my inexpensive trickle charger was not working to re-charge it.

You need Group 34
YES, most auto parts stores, or their websites, can find the correct size for our cars using their standard databases

I use a CTEK 7002 charger as in the video. I've tried everything. Local FLAPS counter guys say they see countless Optima Red Tops coming back and don't recommend them. And yes, my alternator and voltage regulator check good.

The longest I had one last was 1.5 years, shortest was 9 months. Do a quick Google search and you will find countless threads with similar experiences. Old ones seem to last forever, newer ones seem to be very hit or miss based on forum responses.

I will admit that my NAPA battery will be replaced this year with an Odyssey PC925, but I needed something ASAP to get me on the road rather than ordering a battery and waiting several days.

My last red top lasted 10 yrs got a new one been 2 half yrs . no garage carport

I am curious about your selection of the PC925 model. When I went to the Odyssey site the battery selector indicated a PC1200MJT for a 2.0 914. Am I missing something? Thanks.

http://www.odysseybattery.com/battery_search.aspx

http://shop.odysseybattery.com/c/batteries...?pp=12&pg=2

The PC925 seems to be the Odyssey battery of choice in the 914 and 911 worlds for street drivers. Odyssey's website appears to recommend batteries of the same or similar group number, while the PC925 is significantly smaller and lighter. For me, I just need a cranking battery so the PC925 will do just fine - no high wattage stereo running with the engine off. I prefer the smaller size and less weight, 16 lbs lighter than my redtop.

Also, just to clarify things more with my RedTops, they would take a charge; after a drive or putting them on the charger they would should in the 12.4-12.8 V range but would discharge quickly, especially in the cold of winter. My last one got to the point that within 12-18 hours it would discharge enough that I couldn't crank the engine (30-35 deg garage), and thats with the battery switch turned off to eliminate parasitic drain.

Somd914,

Thank you for the response. I need a new battery and have been vacillating between a standard lead acid type and a specialized type. Thanks.

So from everything I've read, the PC925 is the way to go. Any tips on mounting it in the stock battery tray? I may move it at some point, but would like to put it there for now. Also, why are the CCAs so low on that battery? What am I missing?

Sorry for the multiple posts. I edited my first one to add something, but the edit didn't appear and instead it repeated the post? Anyhow, what I wanted to add was that Amazon seems to have lots of variations on the PC925. Which is the best one for the 914?

Pretty sure this is the one you want (check the SKU):

http://autoplicity.com/264496-odyssey-batt...and-ltv-battery

And the tray adaptor that I'd use:

http://www.rennline.com/Lightweight-Batter...info/EL36V3.34/

Going to be doing this same thing in the near future, so curious to hear about your experience with the battery and tray setup.

When you recharge an AGM, don't go beyond 10 amps of recharging.

Older rechargers often don't work well with AGM's. Newer rechargers have circuitry to work well.

Don't let the Optima go dead, they are hard to bring back up !

I keep mine on trickle charges all the time and no problems.

Thanks Briby, Rennline has a great description of the variations of the 925 here. I'm thinking MJT.http://www.rennline.com/Battery-Odyssey-925/productinfo/EL-PC925/