Batteries Plus X2Power 27F Battery Install and Review

I was looking for a new battery because my stock one was leaking after three years and to have more capability to comfortable run 12V accessories off the grid.

I went with a Batteries Plus X2Power 27F Battery (rebranded Northstar) which was $288.15 out the door after black friday with a core refund, 20% off, and $30 rebate. Batteries Plus has a 60 month warranty which is nice bonus.

This battery has 930A CCA, 92Ah, and 195min RC.

I installed it with an off-grid engineering tie down,

$28 WirthCo 210877 Battery Tray

generic battery tray (WirthCo 210877), and

Schumacher BAF-J10 Battery Hold-Down Kit - J-Bolts, Hooks - Hold Down and Secure Your Car Battery

generic 10" j-hooks. A new tray and j-hooks are needed because the new battery is larger than the stock one.

The stock tray sits on the fender with little plastic nubs that rest in holes. The new battery tray doesn't have the nubs so I needed a new way to secure it since the battery is larger and heavier at 68 lbs. I used 5/16" bolts, fender washers, and well nuts which require drilling 5/8" holes.

To remove stock battery:

1. Remove battery terminals with a socket wrench
2. Remove nut on front of j-hook with a socket wrench
3. Remove battery tie down with rear attached j-hook
4. Lift out battery
5. Remove plastic tray resting on fender

To install new battery:

1. Lay tray down
2. Mark locations for well nuts, I used three (two wasn't secure enough). Remove tray
3. Drill 5/8" holes working your way up in size
4. Clean up edges and touch up paint
5. Drop in well nuts
6. Reinstall tray and install bolts with fender washers
7. Install battery
8. Install tie down with j-books
9. Connect battery terminals

So far, I'm really happy with the battery. It's survived a few offroad trips without any issues. I'll continue assessing if additional securing is required for the tray. There's plenty of clearance to the oil fill neck.

Thanks to @jediwebdude for the part suggestions and help with questions!

 

Got the same battery last summer. Great battery but could never get the $30 rebate. I would send it in then they would send it back and say they needed some more info. Went back and forth three times before I gave up. Seemed like they were trying hard not to give me the rebate. But love the battery! I just removed the factory tray and dropped the battery in. Didn’t see a reason to install a tray. Also used the factory hold down. Just have to mount it under the grab handle. Great battery!

 

Same battery but I used the stock tie down. A small indent needs to be filled in the plastic swivel handle for it to work. That's it.

 

Hmm sorry to hear about that. I paid 11/21, picked up the battery 12/7, check was written 1/29, and I received it a few days later in the mail.

Maybe getting a replacement battery tray and j-hooks wasn't necessary after all of the work haha but I'm still happy with how it all came out.

 

I am considering the same battery, There is a minor issue with the Northstar and X2 which is a rebranded Northstar. I spoke with Northstar tech support and here is what I discovered. The Northstar/X2 requires a charging voltage of between 14.1 and 14.8 volt to charge to 100%. The tacoma charging volts are between 13.4 and 13.8 which will only charge the Northstar to approximately 80%. The solution is to occasionally place the battery on a trickle charge from an AGM smart charger such as the

$70 NOCO Genius5 , 5A Smart Car Battery Charger, 6V and 12V Automotive Charger, Battery Maintainer, Trickle Charger, Float Charger and Desulfator for Motorcycle, ATV, Lithium and Deep Cycle Batteries

NOCO Genius5.

 

How lame... Im running two Northstar batt's in my truck... I need to look in to this... thx

 

U still need the tray. I just made a quick shity one out of aluminum.

 

Nice write-up. Looks good

@TacomaTRDman is correct about the charging issue. Its well discussed in other threads on here - basically the only good solution for 3rd gen trucks is to put an AGM rated charger on them once a month or more. As far as I know there is still no solution to boosting the voltage in the 3rd gen trucks

 

You don't. I installed this same battery without a tray, and have been off-roading a few times on some rugged terrain since. Battery doesn't budge.

I think a proper tie down is more important. Have you seen the factory tray? It's a super thin plastic that doesn't do anything.

Check out the off-grid engineering install around the 17 min mark. His ML-ACR tray just rests on top of the factory plastic tray that he trimmed back. It's not bolted to the truck or anything.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNLhx8dm8Gs&t=1715s

 

You can also use a battery tray from a 2nd Gen with towing package.

 

This is what I use:

https://4xspower.com/shop/charging/intelli-chargers/1005-121416v-battery-intellicharger-5a-15a-25a/

 

How much is that?

 

I thought the genius 5 was 12v?

 

It’s been a little while but I think I paid right around $250 for it from a dealer off eBay.

 

Looks good!

I finally got a shot of the battery tray with the battery removed....

batt-tray

 

https://sdhqoffroad.com/collections...tacoma-3-5l-270-amp-xp-high-output-alternator

14.8v output

Expensive but puts out the required voltage and 270amps...

 

The NOCO Genius 5 charges AGM batteries at 14.8 volts.

 

A

A 5 amp charger isn’t enough for these batteries.

 

External chargers are not hard to find. I use a basic one from black and decker and it works great.

$114 BLACK+DECKER BC25BD Fully Automatic 25 Amp 12V Bench Battery Charger/Maintainer with 75A Engine Start, Alternator Check, Cable Clamps for Lead Acid Batteries

https://www.amazon.com/BLACK-DECKER...&sprefix=black+and+decker+25+a,aps,191&sr=8-2

25 amp, charges agm just fine.

What I'm more interested is onboard chargers and someone coming up with a way to raise our alt's voltage. I've gotten a quote from another alternator company for a custom built alt, but surely there's another way to do this without having to replace the whole alt

 

the third gens use the ECM to regulate the regulator. no matter how many amps your alt will put out the computer will make the regulator put out around 13.8. if you trick the Lin line into thinking its output voltage is too low then you will get a higher charge voltage.

in the 2nd and first gens the alt fuse controlled the regulator so a simple diode would raise our voltage.