Batteries

I got a Sears Diehard Platinum, which is the EXACT same thing as an Oddyssy. I called the company that makes Odyssey's to confirm and asked what the difference was, and the lady I spoke to said the color of the cases/shells.

I think mine is a D34 DT, and you'll need the plastic spacer they come with to make it the same height. Easy to do, only things I had to do to make it work was use a longer lead coming off the positive to the fuse box. I also threw a piece of rubber bicycle innertube in b/w the battery tray and battery to limit the slipping I noticed. Battery hold down works fine too, I just threw a few washers on the front rod to be sure I wouldn't run out of threads.

 

So - speaking of batteries... Truck almost didn't start yesterday... Sat all day in the cold and when I went to crank it up, it didn't take on the first try. Second try it did. Now, I still have my original battery in the truck. Bought it in June 2005 (2006 model year) and I've got 98, 874 miles on it... So, I cannot complain about the battery life of the Toyota battery.

I do like the Optimas and the Odysseys... BUT, I don't think I want to more than 200 bones on a battery.

Going to look around tonight and see what I can see...

 

I think I'm going to do this. My battery isn't showing signs of wearing down, but I might pick one up when I get the chance to avoid any issues. Might try to keep my stocker too In Case of Emergency, not sure. Edit: several negative reviews have me worried. Back to square one!

 

Most batteries last about 3 years. If you get anymore life your riding on borrowed time. I replace three year old batteries. When it goes, your stuck when a cell goes bad you get very little warning and its usually at the worst possible time. I vote replace.



quote=NumNutz;1126325]How long should they last? When should I replace one?

My truck is a 07 with 34K. Coming into winter and wondering if I should go replace it?

Edit: Original battery in truck now.[/quote]

 

Edit again! Thinking about the P-1 Diehard. They really do seem to be very similar as the odysseys. I called odyssey, and they told me I needed the PC1500RT. I'm just trying to figure out if the diehards come in reverse terminal. Otherwise, how Do I go about lengthening the battery cables?

 

It's been awhile since I did mine, so I can't remember exactly, but I think there is a reversal terminal Die Hard Platinum, but it's not the dual terminal version.

The only cable I had to lengthen was the positive lead off the fuse box. The biggest pain in the ass with that was actually getting the fuse box inner "top" off. There are 6 clips you have to undo, but you almost have to keep them all pried open to pull it up. Once you get that done, the rest is easy. The wire you have to extend is easily accessible once that inner top is off. I replaced mine with some spare 4g wire I had.

There were a couple of threads I found helpful, I'll see if I can dig them up for you today or tomorrow, if they are bookmarked at work.

 

If you could find those links, and maybe the model number of the reverse terminal diehard, that would be awesome! I don't need dual terminals, just wanted them if I could. Thanks!

 

Mine had to be replaced 2.5 yrs later at 50k mi.

 

Went to start the truck this morning and absolutely nothing. No signs of wearing down of the stock battery!

I used my battery pack, and got it going, and after doing some errands, went to sears and talked to the tech for a little while. I ended up going with the PM-1 Diehard Platinum Marine. It was closest in size to the stocker and had the reversed terminals I needed. It was more expensive, but it also has some extra terminals if I want to mount extra stuff. Only thing I wanted was the 4 year warranty the automotive platinums had, oh well, more battery I probably don't really need!

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_02850131000P?intcmp=xsite_DieHard
Less expensive in my store for some reason.

I ended up mounting it myself in their shop! What a heavy battery! I just want to get a better way to mount it, the stock battery was a little smaller, and the bracket is at its limit.

Off to search for a new mount!

 

ok, seems like on tacomas, with normal use, stock batteries will last for approx 3 years...

Good to know.

 

Just a neat related anecdote:

I have a Toyota Matrix which is my DD. It has 173k and change on the clock. I just killed the battery a couple weeks ago. Calling the previous owners (my parents), I found out that that was the original battery. It lasted 7 years and WAY too many miles. Apparently my little dressed-up Corolla has a beast alternator.

 

I'm just under 50K and purchased in Nov. 2006.

 

My truck battery just died today with 55K miles on the clock. There were no warnings either, but it was cool (50F) today and raining which may be why it went down. I tend to agree with others that premium batteries are not worth the money and Walmart brand are as good as any. It's just one of those things that will always need replacing, but I'm happy for the most part my OEM battery lasted over 5 years. The longivity of it was more than likely due to being parked in the garage which never dips below 45 even on the coldest of days. On a side note, I purchased one of those Heavy Duty Jump Start 500 AMP Everstart batteries over 5 years ago and used it to jump my truck that was sitting at my wife's parking lot. I've used it no less than a few dozen times over those 5 years between myself and family for the same reason and it's worth every penny. It's started vehicles that others were not capable of starting and still impresses me today. The ones today though have far greater options as mine just has two 12 volt plugs and a button to check the led display for charge capacity.

Update: I should mention that I eventually picked up an Energizer battery at Sams this time around. Walmart did not have one in-stock for my truck. The new battery is 3 year replacement and 8 years prorate but time will tell how well it lasts. I did notice though it was a 700 cold cranking AMPs and the OEM one was 710 CC.

 

My battery gave no signs and one day went to start it to go on errands and nothing. It was at 9v. Got a jump start from AAA and went to sears and got the replacement battery, but I got the upgraded one for the better warranty.