Odyssey AGM Battery and Charger System Problems

Sharing my really disappointing experience with a $370 Odyssey PC1500 34R Battery and $240 Odyssey Charger. Long story short, the charger killed my battery and Odyssey couldn't care less.
I'm sure there are people who've had luck with these guys and will defend them. Hats off to ya and I'm glad you had better luck, but I've been doing this stuff for over forty years and can't recall a bigger disappointment in a product or company. My recommendation would be to find another company to put your trust in, in my experience Odyssey is sketchy as it gets.

[@sclm55]

Just read an article by a guy that reviewed what he considered 6 of the best Odyssey batteries. One of them (the 6th one) was the Odyssey 34R-PC1500T Automotive Battery. While praising these Odyssey batteries. There was a reoccurring 'CON' in his "Pro and Con' evaluation section regarding each of these batteries. Here's somewhat he says in a few of them: 1st. "Buyers reported about the battery dying after a few years or months of usage..." 2nd. "Buyers had a disappointing experience..." [with this battery model, stating] "...the battery stopped holding a charge after a few weeks of usage." Also, "...difficult to claim a warranty..." for this product. 4th. "...again, buyers complained about the battery not charging up after a few weeks of usage." Observing that this "...looks like a serious issue that Odyssey must solve..." Et cetera. 6th. Finally, regarding the Odyssey 34R-PC1500T model, he writes this battery "...has some serious drawbacks. Apart from the usual charging issues, buyers also complained..." that the battery sent to them, apparently, was not the one they ordered. He then adds that Odyssey: "...has a serious problem which it must address as soon as possible." Link to the article is: 'Reviews On Top-Rated Odyssey Car Batteries [Comparison & Buying Guide]' -www.wvdot.com/odyssey-batteries-review/ I'd still consider purchasing an Odyssey for my 4Runner. But I'll be sure to ask questions and get a copy of the warranty BEFOREHAND, and read it carefully, now that I've watched your video and heard your experience - as well as what this guy says about his BEST picks of the Odyssey brand.

[@EMD_Ski]

That's really interesting, thanks for sharing it. Definitely consistent with my experience. I wish i'd have seen that before I gave them a chance, which is why I posted this video. It's hard making these decisions, so I figure the more experiences, good and bad, we can all find out there to base our decisions on the better!

[@Now-Review-This]

I just installed a $400 Odyssey into my truck since I've had 9 bad FLA batteries in the past 12 years. I'm documenting the entire life of this thing on my channel. Wish me luck.... But if it fails within the 4 year warranty and they hassle me about replacing it, well, let's just say they will learn my name the hard way. Cheers 🍻

[@zxtuner4lyfe]

Good luck with that both my Odyssey batteries have failed 2 weeks under 3 years old

[@sclm55]

Hi Eric. Sorry to hear your bad experience with the Odyssey AGM battery. Love to hear or read a transcription of your interaction with Odyssey. They won't even take your Charger back to examine it? Well I'm researching to see if I think it is wise to invest so much money for the Odyssey that I would require for my 2002 Toyota 4Runner. I can't even find any Odyssey's in stock locally. I think you had a bad rep and a bad battery and/or charger as you say. A suggestion (not knowing of course all that you have communicated already to Odyssey): Try another call and ask for a tech if you haven't already. Ask questions that compliment the battery and 'concept' of the charger as you have here in your video. That 'know' that others have had great experiences with their batteries and recommend them - and that you would like to be able to do the same. You may receive better intel and perhaps extra gratuitous help - or not. But maybe worth a try. You could say that you would love to produce a follow up of your video that shows they've determined the issue and sought to rectify the particular situation in your case. A learning experience for all involved...including your viewers (few though they my be at the moment).

[@EMD_Ski]

Hi - thanks for the great response. I will say my decision to move on from them was the result of multiple attempts to get Odyssey to support this product, not just one call or email. My own experience is that, like many companies, they're great until there's a problem. At least that was the case for me. As I mentioned in the video i've been building cars since the 80s, so i just bit the bullet and wound up going back to a different AGM name and product that's worked for me on multiple project before, for nearly $100 less. Started right up, no parasitic drain or anything suggesting a problem elsewhere, so I"m confident the problem really was battery failure, maybe due to the charger, and i'm moving on. I am, though, going to buy a de-sulfator and see if I have any luck with that. If I can get this one to work, i might throw it in my GMC as a secondary. I'll definitely post an update if i'm able to make it work

[@donowens5883]

And a 6 volt battery will read almost 9 volts because six volt batteries either a golf cart battery for the old fashioned truck battery that was made back either in the early 50s or 60s possibly in the early 40s

[@donowens5883]

Take the measurement of the charger as you hook up the battery and make sure you leave that battery charger on the battery and if that AGM charger is not working try a different charger you might get better results shoemaker makes a better charger and believe me I have a good charger but you can go buy a battery charger decently from harbor freight it's got a quick charge it's got a slow charge and I would charge your AGM battery for over 13 maybe 14 hours it may take 3 days on a slow charge on a two to three amp charge with an arbor freight charger that I got I've had their luck with a harbor freight charger no other charger beats discharger so if you ever have a harbor freight store just try one of those what's the what's the worst you can do go wrong pick your battery to harbor freight do something different.

[@davidpowell3347]

If the voltage across the battery is only 9 with the charger connected and turned on,if there isn't at least several amps running from the charger through the battery I would think that the charger isn't functioning properly or is set for a 6 volt battery.

[@EMD_Ski]

Thanks for the comment. I might not have been clear in the video - it didn't read 9 connected, but after I took the charger off. The charger is fully automated, so it determines the voltage on its own, there are no manual settings for 6 and 9. So totally agree - as I said in the video I think the charger believes it's a 9 volt battery. I'll never know whether it was the maintenance cycle profile of the charger or the battery itself that caused the failure, but I can say I've used the charger often since with no issues, albeit not for longer-term storage. And the Optima I replaced it with has been flawless for however long its been now. I also tried a desulfator and every other known method to to try and ressurect that Odyssey with no luck, so my own conclusion is that the battery itself was bad and should have been warranted. Your mileage may vary of course - thanks for the view and comment! 👍

[@adamnowak3374]

I have a question: when this charger was connected to the battery, was the battery connected to the car's electrical system?

[@waterguy5924]

Wow...I'm surprised to hear or watch this...I just posted on Now-Review-This YT channel...Ive had this exact battery almost 6 years now, and its in my 3rd work van, current one is a Ram C/V (Dodge caravan), and it is just recently starting to show some signs its getting tired, I have a mildly slow to crank issue after the van sits for a few days, but other than that...have not had any issues with this battery...when i do my math it works out to about $65/ year...when it sat for a few months in between vehicles, I put it on a Schumacher battery charger and set in on the 12v/AGM setting...then a tender till i needed to swap it into the next work van....I'm disappointed to hear your having this issue with yours as well as the other viewers with the same thing

[@LS-zo9iw]

im running Odysee in my 03 dodge cummins and my 83 chevy van, Never had failure in 3 yrs started cummins in 20 below zero I am ordering another one for my solar elect in my van the warranty is good and when i email or call for info they respond i used to use optima but since they moved out of USA they quality has gone downhill.. ill stick with USA made Odysee..

[@scooter18155]

Something I’ve noticed in your video and idk if this is the reason why or not maybe you just moved the stuff to the floor for the video but I was always told not to leave a battery on concrete. Something about doing that for extended time kills batteries. Like I said maybe not the issue here just an observation. It was a long time ago older battery not these new ones but I’ve seen it happen before.

[@davidpowell3347]

Is it possible that the charger discharged the battery over the time it was connected? That battery if near fully charged and not connected to anything should not lose more than a few percent of its charge in a month. In a modern car of course not being started and driven there would be considerable discharge in a month because of draw by the electronics in the car that draw standby current even when the ignition is turned off. Also if the car has a burglar alarm.

[@GarrettLytle]

I have 3 junk ass Odyssey batteries. None of them will take or hold a charge. I've been a 12 volt technician for 30 years. These batteries are expensive, junk! Go to wal mart, autozone, wherever and buy a regular battery. Save yourself the frustration of dealing with this company and a lot of money.

[@donowens5883]

And you might want to think about trying the charger on a different flooded acid battery just like I said the deep cycle battery and see like if you have a weak one or what not trying to test the charger on a week deep cycle battery whether it be an autographed or a duralast professional and see if that battery charger is any good

[@ganzonomy]

If it won't go over 9 and 1/2 volts, could it be possible that the duration of the charge caused a dead cell? I do see that it's a 20 amp charger, and it's about a 68 amp power battery. So could the amount of amps in the charger be too great for the battery and as a result cooked a cell?

[@EMD_Ski]

Hi, sorry I haven’t checked in this post in months and have missed quite a few responses. So my understanding is that the whole point with the smart charger is that it’s going to apply appropriate current to the battery, varying it the right times in the cycle. This was the charger they recommended as well. Since I made this video I’ve used the charger on other project cars and our RV with no issues - my conclusion now is that this was just a bad battery, and should have been warranted. The Optima I replaced it with has been a champ - I know others who’ve had the opposite experience, so who knows! I’m not a fan of Odyssey personally.

[@richarddodds9326]

I like smart chargers and have owned 3 of them, 2 Schumacher and 15 A viking and they are not to be trusted and must be monitored more than a manual charger. They will not over charge and are good and safe, but when they green light and stop, you can disconnect ground clamp put it back and it will reset and start charging again, etc. If one clamp lost contact it will shut down and not do anything.

[@Codeman785]

So I have a question, I have a odyssey battery too, I bought it about 1.5 years ago and it has been great. Except my car needs work and it's been parked for about 2 months. The battery is completely dead, it will not jump, and it will not accept trickle charge or battery repair mode from a charger. Do you think this odyssey charger is able to repair my battery? If so, I will buy it no hesitation, because i think I spent 275 on my battery and I wanted it to last 5+ years.

[@juliuslt14]

jump it with another battery. read this, this is odyssey official restart of a dead battery www.odysseybattery.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/05/ProceduretorecoverdeeplydischargedODYSSEY.pdf

[@mccullar44]

Hey Eric, are you interested in selling that 20A charger?

[@donowens5883]

Well if you're not going to be driving your truck for a couple months you better be careful about that because your electronics in your truck drain your battery especially newer trucks newer cars now it's hard to keep agms maintained you might want to try a solar panel but if that charger doesn't charge them and it says it does take the ATM battery back in the charger back and get it brand new one replace them that's my good advice to you.

[@EMD_Ski]

I wound up swapping the Odyssey for an Optima, everything else the same, and have had no problems since. Pretty sure this was just a bad battery.

[@RoyNation]

Good to know about Odyssey...Thanks.

[@donowens5883]

Well apparently take that battery charger and test it on a deep cycle battery and see if the deep cycle battery was anything to do with it see that battery charger really works if you take a new battery that you have run it week then throw it back on that battery charger that battery charger recognize it or the battery charging me have a default make sure it is a brand new battery another type of battery instead of the Odyssey battery then save your Odyssey battery and use a different battery charger or tender on it to see what will actually happen that's what you'll determine or how you'll determine whether you have a bum battery or a bum battery charger?

[@jimmd53]

I found out that Odyssey is no longer manufacturing the 20 amp charger/maintainer but I couldn’t find out why. The only Odyssey chargers available are the 6 amp and 12 amp chargers. As for other chargers the research I did leads to CTEK or Battery Tender. Sorry you had this experience with Odyssey but they really should stand by their product since their claim is that it has premium products. I have two 12 volt PC 1200 batteries in my vintage VW Beetles for the last 4 years and no problems. I also have the 20 amp charger the same as you have and again, no problems. It has charged both batteries as well as maintained them. After seeing your video I am thinking I am lucky so far.

[@josemedeiros007]

Sorry to hear about your issue with your Odyssey battery, they should definitely warranty the battery. What is the voltage level when you connect the Odyssey battery charger at the battery terminals while charging? From what I have read AGM batteries should charge at 14.6-14.8 volts? I would contact the CEO's office and escalate your issue, tell them it was not your fault that the battery voltage dropped below 10 volts.

[@donowens5883]

And odyssey is proclaiming their batteries the best money to buy it I don't think so if they're ripping customers off?

[@donowens5883]

That is stupid so obviously just use that charger on another battery and keep that battery chargers any good then probably use your Amazon account and resend that battery charger back Amazon and maybe buy a charger from Amazon if that battery charger is no good it seems to me I would just try it on a deep cycle battery who cares if it's there Odyssey brand battery you might have a good battery charger?

[@donowens5883]

And that's the case I will not shop for Odyssey products then won't shop with that the company because they're supposed to be good about their products don't deal with somebody that's not good with your products go to somebody else matter fact try that charger with a deep cycle battery and see if it'll do exactly what you want with a deep cycle battery contested then tell and see if it will test but the Odyssey battery like I said maybe take a harbor freight and use a harbor freight charger what can you do how can you go wrong battery's already damaged might as well try and see

[@ldynasty.5024]

Thank you, I was about to buy an Odyssey, not anymore if customer service is bad.

[@jaygold4467]

Something is wrong with what you are doing. Odyssey is no help at all??? Not my experience. You killed the battery then expect to recharge it. This video makes absolutely no sense. Odyssey is a great customer service company.

[@EMD_Ski]

Curious what part doesn’t makes sense - I used their charger to maintain their battery per their recommendation - and the battery failed. They wouldn’t replace it. I swapped it with an Optima and it’s been fine, all other variables the same. What part is hard to follow there?

[@donowens5883]

And also just because you spent $600 on a battery system doesn't mean it's one of the best systems either I think you got taken for your money myself.

[@stevehart2484]

Yes sir they are crap