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rfinegan
Parts arrived today for the install on my upgrade battery. Odyssey PC924 and Aluminum mount. Just need the terminal kit.

Will post a few pick of the install to follow....
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SR-Battery-Hold-Do...872.m2749.l2649 Streetray 925 mount

-RobertClick to view attachment Click to view attachment
jim_hoyland
popcorn[1].gif

Like to see this; getting ready to replace the Optima Red Top....
My red top weighs 38 lb, the 925 is near 24 lb
JamesM
QUOTE(jim_hoyland @ Jul 10 2020, 09:30 AM) *

popcorn[1].gif

Like to see this; getting ready to replace the Optima Red Top....



I have 925s in two of my 914s and a 680 in another other, all using rennline mounts. Havent found anything i like better. Surprisingly, despite being the larger battery I actually find the 925 easier to install/remove due to its lower height. the 925 adds a few pounds over the 680 but either one is still half the weight of a regular lead acid, or the optima (which are garbage these days)
cali914
Great Battery 159 bucks 13lbs made my own battery mount using top to old battery mount and aluminum channels. This battery available through summitt racing. Click to view attachment
VaccaRabite
I have a 925 and it does not have enough energy reserves to run lights and wipers at the same time without watching the voltage slowly drop to about 11 volts. Its fine so long as you don't get caught in the rain, but if you do you need to be able to cycle your wipers so the alternator can recharge the bettery.

Zach







wndsrfr
QUOTE(VaccaRabite @ Jul 10 2020, 05:10 PM) *

I have a 925 and it does not have enough energy reserves to run lights and wipers at the same time without watching the voltage slowly drop to about 11 volts. Its fine so long as you don't get caught in the rain, but if you do you need to be able to cycle your wipers so the alternator can recharge the bettery.

Zach

Hmmm.... you may need to test your alternator.... seems to me that it should handle lights and wipers without draining the battery...
nditiz1
Crap I just bought the 680, will that be up to snuff? I thought everything could run independent of a battery solely off the alt.
JamesM
QUOTE(nditiz1 @ Jul 10 2020, 08:37 PM) *

Crap I just bought the 680, will that be up to snuff? I thought everything could run independent of a battery solely off the alt.


Never had a problem at all with my 680.

First year i had the 680 in one of my cars I took it to the RRC in Colorado. Early on the drive home to Salt Lake i somehow lost nut on the lower alternator bolt causing it to back out enough to tweak the angle of the alternator, this resulted in me roasting/throwing several belts to make it home. I thought the 680 performed remarkable well, at times driving for fairly long stretches with no alternator at all on a d-jet car.

Granted I do prefer the 925s for their physical dimensions (and after that trip the added piece of mind of having slightly more reserve capacity) Never had a problem powering anything on the car with any of them though.

I find them to be remarkably resilient too. My oldest 925 I have had over 10 years with no issues. That same 680 just this year I forgot to disconnect before winter and it wound up discharging to where it was reading ~4.5 volts when i got back to it. Charged it back up and its performing perfectly.
JamesM
QUOTE(wndsrfr @ Jul 10 2020, 05:31 PM) *

QUOTE(VaccaRabite @ Jul 10 2020, 05:10 PM) *

I have a 925 and it does not have enough energy reserves to run lights and wipers at the same time without watching the voltage slowly drop to about 11 volts. Its fine so long as you don't get caught in the rain, but if you do you need to be able to cycle your wipers so the alternator can recharge the bettery.

Zach

Hmmm.... you may need to test your alternator.... seems to me that it should handle lights and wipers without draining the battery...



agree.gif you may want to look into that. Never had an issue with mine, even running a 680.


Also, get some LED headlights, they will change your world.
gereed75
I run 680 in my airplane. Runs everything no problem and cranks the 360 cubic inch motor like a beast.

925 should be even better

rfinegan
here is the tray ready for the mountClick to view attachment
rfinegan
and the battery mount
Click to view attachment
ConeDodger
QUOTE(rfinegan @ Jul 10 2020, 01:49 PM) *

Parts arrived today for the install on my upgrade battery. Odyssey PC924 and Aluminum mount. Just need the terminal kit.

Will post a few pick of the install to follow....


-RobertClick to view attachment Click to view attachment


They wear out quick.
80’s old school
I use an 11 pound Braille battery in my 914.

I also use an 11 pound Braille in my Caterham 7 replica and my boat.

They work great.

nditiz1
@JamesM - Can you post a pic of your rennline mount with the 680?
Thanks
Root_Werks
Run 925's in my Bugs and the 1200 in my 914-6. Work great.
rfinegan
no hole drilling was used to add the mount:

Click to view attachment
rfinegan
and the hold down side...

snakemain
My odyssey melted when my VR went bad, along with my Hyfire and some other things. I may get another one when I get my car back.
VaccaRabite
I just pulled the PC925 out of my car and replaced it with a traditional Group 42 lead acid battery.

Couple things that I noticed - the car cranks a little faster.
At idle with lights in wipers running the car sits proudly at ~12.5-13 volts as opposed to the 10.5-11 volts with the 925.

For those wondering about my alternator - I totally went through my electrical system in 2018 when the car stranded me during a drive. New Alternator, alt harness, VR, relay board, cleaned grounds - it was a journey! I can say with some certainty that my charging system is working well.

Here is a thread with information about the LI batteries, draw etc in a 914.
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=342693

If you only drive on sunny days, or live in a place like California where you never really need to use your wipers and it does not get very cold, the batteries like the 924, 925 are probably just fine. But my experience is that if you get caught in a prolonged rainstorm, the 925 does not have the AH to keep up. The wipers (at least my wipers) draw a lot of power.

Another issue that I have the you guys may not - especially if you are carbed. I have modern EFI, and it gets funky if voltage drops. With carbs, you could likely run all day at 10.5 volts and be just fine. I have no real experience driving a 914 with stock injection, so have no understanding of how it would behave. But I know when my car was carbed, as long as I had enough power to run the fuel pump and ignition, the car would go just fine.

I'll keep my 925 and swap it in for AX days and stuff like that, but the Group 42 battery (IMHO) makes a better option for varied street driving.

To each their own,
Zach
914e
Even in the 70's an alternator should be able put out enough current to run the engine , lights, and fans at idle. If you are seeing big voltage drops at idle, you have either added some loads the car was not designed for, or you have an alternator problem. A battery should not be discharging when the car is running. Unfortunately the 914 has no headroom for electrical accessories, of course in the late sixties there was not many electrical accessories.
When the car is off and battery fully charged it should be at 12.6 volts. If it is below that either the battery is bad the charging system is not working properly. If the battery is down a few tenths of a volt below 12.6 you have lost a large amount of the current capabilities of the battery. The battery when the car is running should be acting as a buffer. With the car running you should see 13.6 to 14 volts on a test voltmeter, I would not trust the gauge.
According to the service manual the regulator is set to 14 volts. 13.7 to 14.2 is typical for lead acid 12 volt systems.

In cars voltage is usually a symptom in a battery and charging system problem not a cause. The problem most of the time is current related. A clamp on DC amp-meter can take out most of the guesswork.
campbellcj
I've had really good success with the PC680. I disconnect it when the car is sitting which is most of the time, and it holds a charge fine. Per @914e above it's really just for starting the engine, then the alternator is running, and I have basically no accessories/radio/wipers to think about.
rjames
The battery mount looks plenty stout. How heavy is it?
andrewck
QUOTE(rfinegan @ Jul 10 2020, 10:49 AM) *

Parts arrived today for the install on my upgrade battery. Odyssey PC924 and Aluminum mount. Just need the terminal kit.

Will post a few pick of the install to follow....
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SR-Battery-Hold-Do...872.m2749.l2649 Streetray 925 mount

-RobertClick to view attachment Click to view attachment

which terminal adapters did you use?
Mark Henry
I also have a 680, it cranks fast, the H3 pilot fogs run all the time, I've been caught in the rain and driven at night same time, never an issue. I didn't disconnect it from the 914 over the winter, but I did charge every couple months.

Only time it wouldn't start was my brand new 3.0/6 first couple of starts, but have had no problems since the first couple of good runs on break in.
BeemerSteve
QUOTE(80’s old school @ Jul 11 2020, 06:48 AM) *

I use an 11 pound Braille battery in my 914.

I also use an 11 pound Braille in my Caterham 7 replica and my boat.

They work great.

I'm interested how you mounted it? I currently have the stock battery tray eliminated right now because that's how I bought the tub.

PM me if you like and if you have the time. Thanks!!

Steve
rfinegan
The weight of the mount is not much at all. It is all aluminum and is very strong. It can be lightened and reduced. Gut for the price point its attractive .

The Terminals I used were first the cheep lead once for charging. I did not post them as they looked bad and did not work well. Gut did start and drive while I was waiting for the terminal kit here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QCBM2...=UTF8&psc=1

Oddessy thermals SAE for about $24.00 Do not let the sticker shock get you now..This was a Great KIT and JUST WORKED as expected. On less thing to worry about
rfinegan
The weight of the mount is not much at all. It is all aluminum and is very strong. It can be lightened and reduced. But for the price point it's attractive .

The Terminals I used were first the cheep lead ones for charging. I did not post them as they looked bad and did not work well. But did start and drive while It while waiting for the terminal kit here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QCBM2...=UTF8&psc=1

Oddessy thermals SAE for about $24.00 Do not let the sticker shock get you now..This was a Great KIT and JUST WORKED as expected. On less thing to worry about.
Ian Stott
I have the small odyssey battery, run lights, wipers etc. no problem at all. Car can sit for long periods, battery still cranks the engine over just fine. Regarding the gauge comment about trusting it, I agree, mine reads around 10.5 to 11 with engine running, had mechanic check into it and he said ( I think you changed your voltage regulator unnecessarily, alternator is fine, your battery is fine, your gauge reads low ).

I had the alternator rebuilt while engine was out and replaced the voltage regulator with the more modern one, glad I did both, and yes it was the low readings on the gauge which prompted that.

Ian Stott
Moncton
Canada
Mark Henry
QUOTE(Ian Stott @ Aug 27 2020, 06:59 AM) *

I have the small odyssey battery, run lights, wipers etc. no problem at all. Car can sit for long periods, battery still cranks the engine over just fine. Regarding the gauge comment about trusting it, I agree, mine reads around 10.5 to 11 with engine running, had mechanic check into it and he said ( I think you changed your voltage regulator unnecessarily, alternator is fine, your battery is fine, your gauge reads low ).

I had the alternator rebuilt while engine was out and replaced the voltage regulator with the more modern one, glad I did both, and yes it was the low readings on the gauge which prompted that.

Ian Stott
Moncton
Canada


Hi Ian, you have the 925 battery, I installed it and made your mount. That must be at least 5 years ago. The 680 I use is about half the size of your battery, about the same size as a lawn tractor battery.
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