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I've heard others say that top failures are rare, and thank God for that. I thoroughly lithium greased my top joints and was amazed to see how many there were.
Regarding the battery drain, is there an easy way to disable the alarm?
I've heard others say that top failures are rare, and thank God for that. I thoroughly lithium greased my top joints and was amazed to see how many there were.
Regarding the battery drain, is there an easy way to disable the alarm?
No, you don’t disable the alarm, just do not set or aim it if you park in the garage. If you park outside, hmm, I don’t see the options, may be using the steering wheel lock? There was a thread regarding lubricating the top. Search for it. I will post the link if I find it.
No, you don’t disable the alarm, just do not set or aim it if you park in the garage. If you park outside, hmm, I don’t see the options, may be using the steering wheel lock? There was a thread regarding lubricating the top. Search for it. I will post the link if I find it.
I've only had this car for a few days, so I don't quite understand about setting or arming the alarm. In my Prius, for example, I just lock the door and it takes care of itself.
I've only had this car for a few days, so I don't quite understand about setting or arming the alarm. In my Prius, for example, I just lock the door and it takes care of itself.
It’s the same for any car. If you lock your door, either by the remote or by the lock button on your door, your alarm is armed. This will draw current from your battery. If you don’t lock your car, like me, just slam the door shut, your alarm will not be armed. Even though, the current drew by the car is small, but for a long period of time, it may be an issue.
I also turn off the auto headlights function, so at night, when you open the door, the headlights will turn off, otherwise, it will stay on for either 30 seconds or a minute, depends on the setting, after the engine is off and you have exited the car. This function can only be changed by TechStream. People often confuse this auto-off headlights function with the auto-on headlights when dark. The latter will not affect your battery.
Thank you for the clear explanation. Minimize parasitic drain by not locking the doors when you close them and having the Lexus techs disable auto headlights.
I also wonder if the Mark Levinson amp is drawing current when everything is supposed to be off. I ordered a battery tester and a battery maintainer.
Thank you for the clear explanation. Minimize parasitic drain by not locking the doors when you close them and having the Lexus techs disable auto headlights.
I also wonder if the Mark Levinson amp is drawing current when everything is supposed to be off. I ordered a battery tester and a battery maintainer.
Good day Buddhi. There is another good and very recent thread on this very subject. You have probably already read it but just in case the link is below.
It's not long (yet) and is a pretty quick read. It should help your situation if you can follow along with the discussion. By the way, nice 03. You have some upgrades there like the Gold Badges that others would like to have I'm sure. But, since they were already on the car when you got it, just be happy that you have something unique! LOL.
Hi Paul - Thanks for that link, I'd not seen it. Many people don't go for the gold and I can understand why as it's a bit of clashing bling on top of the chrome, but am thinking it's alright on a black car. Nevertheless, I debadged the back to leave the center gold logo and minimize the gold. Guess it's okay. I do prefer a clean look, although the neighborhood kids say I now need 22" rims. The wheels came with the bling gold rivets, which work with the now lower level of gold badging. I've always been the world's foremost anti-black wheel proponent, and doubly so on black cars, but this application is okay, maybe due to those gold rivets. The 19' wheels make you look twice, like it's a 60's stock car racer with steel wheels or a 4x4 truck.
Okay, so I charged my AC Delco Professional battery (12" x 7" x 7.5"), and kept charging it with no positive result. There was no install date on it.
Had to buy a new battery. Possibly it was just time for it to go and the generalized SC430 drain was not the proximate cause of its costly demise.
Got the Optima AGM yellowtop:
Amp Hour: 72 Ah Cold Cranking Amperage: 800 A Cranking Amperage: 925 A Height: 7.5 in Length: 11 in Width: 6.937 in
Negative Terminal Location: Top Left Positive Terminal Location: Top Right
Reserve Capacity: 140 min Terminal Type: Top Mount Voltage: 12 VDC Weight: 54 lbs
$300 at Advance Auto Parts where I picked it up today. Amazon had the same price but had a few days for the delivery.
"The REDTOP battery is what Optima considers their starting battery. The YELLOWTOP battery, on the other hand, is
Optima's high-performance battery. A true dual-purpose automotive battery, the YELLOWTOP battery is recommended
for accessory-heavy vehicles, orfor vehicles running a lot of battery-draining electronics."
I believe these AGM batteries will also charge up faster, so that's good if you do not drive the longer distance (20mins)
required to recharge it. These Optima batteries look like gel batteries but are not.
Spoiler
Spoiler
Optima Yellow Top Deep Cycle Battery, Group Size H6, 800 CCA, 925 CA, 140 RC
Okay, so I charged my AC Delco Professional battery (12" x 7" x 7.5"), and kept charging it with no positive result. There was no install date on it.
Had to buy a new battery. Possibly it was just time for it to go and the generalized SC430 drain was not the proximate cause of its costly demise.
Got the Optima AGM yellowtop:
Amp Hour: 72 Ah Cold Cranking Amperage: 800 A Cranking Amperage: 925 A Height: 7.5 in Length: 11 in Width: 6.937 in
Negative Terminal Location: Top Left Positive Terminal Location: Top Right
Reserve Capacity: 140 min Terminal Type: Top Mount Voltage: 12 VDC Weight: 54 lbs
$300 at Advance Auto Parts where I picked it up today. Amazon had the same price but had a few days for the delivery.
"The REDTOP battery is what Optima considers their starting battery. The YELLOWTOP battery, on the other hand, is
Optima's high-performance battery. A true dual-purpose automotive battery, the YELLOWTOP battery is recommended
for accessory-heavy vehicles, orfor vehicles running a lot of battery-draining electronics."
I believe these AGM batteries will also charge up faster, so that's good if you do not drive the longer distance (20mins)
required to recharge it. These Optima batteries look like gel batteries but are not.
Spoiler
Spoiler
Optima Yellow Top Deep Cycle Battery, Group Size H6, 800 CCA, 925 CA, 140 RC
Nothing wrong to get the best. AGM battery is probably the best battery you can get, although it’s overkilled, IMHO. I’d get the Interstate from Costco, which carries three year warranty. If the battery dies before three years, Costco will give you another battery, free of charge. Can’t top that.
A Costco Interstate battery might be the smart move. If you could plan on them failing prior to three years, you'd get free batteries for life.
The Optima will probably go past the three-year Advance Auto Parts warranty and fail at 3.5 years, so I'd be out of luck.
I should have looked at the reviews and chosen on the basis of service life.
"The REDTOP battery is what Optima considers their starting battery. The YELLOWTOP battery, on the other hand, is
Optima's high-performance battery. A true dual-purpose automotive battery, the YELLOWTOP battery is recommended
for accessory-heavy vehicles, orfor vehicles running a lot of battery-draining electronics."
I believe these AGM batteries will also charge up faster, so that's good if you do not drive the longer distance (20mins)
required to recharge it. These Optima batteries look like gel batteries but are not.
I'm almost certain the Optima yellow top you (and I) bought is AGM. It is not the old, typical, spiral-wound AGM technology that Optima is know for, but rather a flat plate AGM like most other AGM's on the market. Optima made the change after I bought a yellow top for my wife's ES four years ago.
I thought about going the Costco route for my recent SC battery, but took into consideration that my previous SC Interstate AGM lasted five years without any trickle charging necessary. As I stated earlier, I plan to monitor my battery voltage regularly and keep it well above 12V, hoping to get even longer life.
The OPTIMA YELLOWTOP® high-performance AGM battery is the ULTIMATE POWER SOURCE and one of the few true dual-purpose automotive batteries available. With premium cranking power and impressive cycling capability, this heavy-duty battery is ideal for trucks with winches, vehicles with high-demand electronics and audio systems, commercial vehicles and heavy equipment.
Product Features:
99.99% pure lead, highly compressed radial grid plates make the battery virtually immune to vibration and corrosion.
Proprietary AGM flat-plate technology features ultra-pure glass matt fiber separators between each highly compressed plate. The result is an increase in plate count and surface area - maximizing power and significantly extending the life of the battery.
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of AGM:
AdvantagesSpill-proof through acid encapsulation in matting technology
High specific power, low internal resistance, responsive to load
Up to 5 times faster charge than with flooded technology
Better cycle life than with flooded systems
Water retention (oxygen and hydrogen combine to produce water)
Vibration resistance due to sandwich construction
Stands up well to cold temperature
Less prone to sulfation if not regularly topping charged
Limitations
Has less electrolyte and lead than the flooded version
Higher manufacturing cost than flooded
Sensitive to overcharging (AGM has tighter tolerances than gel)
Capacity has gradual decline (gel has a performance dome)
Low specific energy
Must be stored in charged condition (less critical than flooded)
______________________
I like the five times faster charge for a non-daily use car. I read somewhere AGMs are sensitive to temp and should not be placed in the engine compartment, but whatever.
The modern chargers like the Genius 5 have overcharge protection and also a separate setting for AGM battery charging.
It seems the electronics capacitors may fail from age. Then the power draw can increase. Separate from the accessories and systems draws. The capacitor life might or might not be an issue on a individual car yet.
I have to keep a batter tender on my 2002 SC430. I keep a jump pack in the trunk. The service history has the battery replaced by Lexus once a year before I acquired it. So I got it 2019. My last Lexus service one of the battery cables was replaced. They told me $90 - I got the bill it was over $850! Refused to pay it. Covered under 'good will.'
1. Now the battery has a mountain of white/blue corrosion on both terminals. I assume the battery is leaking contaminating both copper post attachments. Yes I have tried cleaning them with baking soda and water, and then putting dielectric grease and/or Vaseline on them..
2. Can anyone tell me the 'optimum' (group 48?) battery to get as far as CCA goes?. I am in NE but we are moving to the Gulf Coast if that makes a difference. The car is always garaged.
3. Has anyone tried the replacement batteries from AAA? I am over an hour to any parts store, but the AAA shop is 1/2 mile away. I have had very good luck with one of those batteries in my MB.
Should I have AAA replace the battery? Should they test the alternator for overcharging?
04-01-21, 04:16 PM
