Weeks after verifying that the FJ80 didn’t have some kind of electrical problem causing the battery to drain, I finally got around to going to Sears and picking up a new Enersys-built Diehard Platinum battery. Hot or cold, the current draw was below 10-miliamps which was well within spec, and the old Optima was only putting out 12.3-12.5 volts. I’ve grown dissatisfied with Optima batteries. My first one lasted almost as long as my original factory Toyota Yuasa open battery (which lasted about 7-years with maintenance!), but my second Optima went flat in less than 5-years.
I checked for dimentions online. There were basically 2 sizes – small and large. The small one is like an Optima, and the larger one is almost 30cm lengthwise (12″). Other than that, there are single or dual (threaded) terminal versions, yeilding 4 possible variations. The “fit” chart told me to use the smaller single-terminal one, but measuring the battery box told me that the larger one would fit perfectly except for being too short. The bigger one was the same price and had more current output. No brainer.
Immediately upon trying to hoist the thing out of the display rack told me that this was a horse of a different color. It felt like about 1.5 Optima batteries in weight at least! When I went to dump the Optima at the service bay door, it felt like a gallon milk jug in comparison. I kept the cut-apart milk crate spacer I had made for the Optima in the battery tray so the top of the new battery would be high enough for the strap to work and the wires to reach, but it was about a centimeter lower than the previous battery. I’ll have to make a new spacer, probably about 3cm thick. As is, the nuts on the strap are almost bottomed out, and the terminal wires are straining against the bottom of the openings in the box.
60-pounds! 930-cold cranking amps! The test begins here – more as it develops…
Just under $200 USD with tax
0 Responses to “Tons of Fun”