Yes I know its been discussed before and I should probably do a search, I get it. BUT most are older and not current and I want to know what the current situation is with Lithium batteries.

So its time for me to get a new battery, my XS AGM is starting to fail. What is the go to lithium battery out there currently. I've heard the XS Lithium have very good safety features built in and you can use any battery charger on them. Others out there are also good. 12v or 16v Lithium, alternator or not?? So if you run lithium and have any helpful info from your experience then let me know.

Several of my friends are running dual GoLithium 16v batteries with no alternator.

I am not aware of a single issue.

I run the braille lithium in 16 volts. I also run a HOP alternator. This combo works great.

XS Power: RSV-S7-1600

It will reuse your current XS 16V alternator and charger if you already have them.. Very nice battery, 12 pounds and will last all night IF you have the alternator.

quote:

Originally posted by S/C718:
I run the braille lithium in 16 volts. I also run a HOP alternator. This combo works great.

On the alternator side is their any difference with it for the Braille Lithium Battery? Or is it just a standard 16v alternator.

next time I change brands I may try full spectrum...

do yourself a favor and wire in a timer disconnect, so if you forget and leave the power on all night you dont hurt your battery...it happens,been there

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinChicken:

quote:

Originally posted by S/C718:
I run the braille lithium in 16 volts. I also run a HOP alternator. This combo works great.

On the alternator side is their any difference with it for the Braille Lithium Battery? Or is it just a standard 16v alternator.

I also ran the Braille lithium with HOP alternator. I used the HOP 16v Lightening alternator. I was advised that the Braille battery did not require any voltage reductions from the alternator. Same battery has been running for almost 10 years now. Both with and without an alternator in different combinations.

quote:

Originally posted by Rodney Pryor:

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinChicken:

quote:

Originally posted by S/C718:
I run the braille lithium in 16 volts. I also run a HOP alternator. This combo works great.

On the alternator side is their any difference with it for the Braille Lithium Battery? Or is it just a standard 16v alternator.

I also ran the Braille lithium with HOP alternator. I used the HOP 16v Lightening alternator. I was advised that the Braille battery did not require any voltage reductions from the alternator. Same battery has been running for almost 10 years now. Both with and without an alternator in different combinations.

So you are saying you got 10 years out of the battery? Also do you run 1 or 2 of them?

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinChicken:

quote:

Originally posted by Rodney Pryor:

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinChicken:

quote:

Originally posted by S/C718:
I run the braille lithium in 16 volts. I also run a HOP alternator. This combo works great.

On the alternator side is their any difference with it for the Braille Lithium Battery? Or is it just a standard 16v alternator.

I also ran the Braille lithium with HOP alternator. I used the HOP 16v Lightening alternator. I was advised that the Braille battery did not require any voltage reductions from the alternator. Same battery has been running for almost 10 years now. Both with and without an alternator in different combinations.

So you are saying you got 10 years out of the battery? Also do you run 1 or 2 of them?

Yes. And I only run 1 battery.

I'll stick with good old proven AGM thank you....

quote:

Originally posted by Alaskaracer:
I'll stick with good old proven AGM thank you....

Would like to hear what your opinion is on AGM, 12v or 16v. It just seems that the past few years I only get 8 to 12 months out of the 16v AGMs.

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinChicken:

quote:

Originally posted by Alaskaracer:
I'll stick with good old proven AGM thank you....

Would like to hear what your opinion is on AGM, 12v or 16v. It just seems that the past few years I only get 8 to 12 months out of the 16v AGMs.

What are you doing to kill them???? I run the XS Power D1600 battery and will be starting year number six or seven (I can't remember exactly) on the same battery. Charge between rounds, charge occasionally at home when not racing, no alternator. I run the XS charger for my stuff.

What is my opinion? I won't run anything else. You can keep your lithium. Unstable, run the possibility of sudden, violent failure. I don't think they are worth the expense either. They generally cost close to or over $2k for ONE battery and a specific charger. For that price, I get my current charger and about 8-9 new agm batteries. Yeah, lithium are lightweight, but they also don't give any warning when they fail. Basically full output then DEAD.....at least an agm slowly loses power. One thing some don't think of is when you have the lithium, the mounts are typically small, and if they fail, a standard auto battery usually won't fit, where if you're using an agm, that's not an issue. As to the 12v vs 16v thing goes, 16v all the way. My engine cranks faster, everything runs just fine, and even when low on voltage it's still about 3v higher than a 12v battery. If it fails, you can always put a 12v back in to keep going.....

The car is charged in between rounds and is on a maintainer when not racing. We have re wired the car 2 times thinking it may have been the car. After a bunch of testing we have deemed it is not the car. I have been told they are not like they used to be and they last 1 or 2 years tops. Especially when you are racing them in the heat. On our other car we have the same battery and it is 8 years old. It acts nothing like the newer ones we have got. These are all XS 16V Batteries.

The new XS Lithium are the same size battery, you can use any current 16v charger and alternator that you have. Also they have build in safety features for protection. The issue is you cant jump a 16v battery with a jump box or anything when it fails so that's why I was thinking 12v.

All this 16V and Lithium failure talk is the reason I still run a 12V AGM. Had an Odyssey last 10 years. The last Odyssey dang near that. And now I am on the 4th year with this XS 1200, which I pretty much think is the same as the Odyssey 1200.

What amp alternator is everyone running? I am running a 55amp 16V Mini, maybe that is my issue.

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinChicken:
What amp alternator is everyone running? I am running a 55amp 16V Mini, maybe that is my issue.

You are correct, it may not be your battery being bad but not getting a charge. Someone else here may be able to correct me BUT ---
Lets say you have a 55 amp alternator, it will basically charge while under power and not at idle. Its only on for a short period of time so that amp charge rate is not there long. If you run gas and you are cooling the car using the fan and water pump in between rounds then that amp draw can be around 30 to 35 amps. There fore even a 25 amp charger is not charging the battery in between rounds, the battery is actually draining and charger not able to keep up.

Remember AMP draw increases about 30% when you switch from 12v to 16v. If I were you I would get a 100 AMP alternator and have it set to charge at idle. See if that doesn't help out, this way you are always charging the battery except when the engine is off and you happen to be running your fan and water pump. But to help that I have seen others do a pig tail to the water pump and fan and connect it to an inverter to run them while the car is off.

Running an alternator or charger you need to know voltage charging at ignition, pumps, fans and batteries. Some some don’t like above 19 volts. It’s been discussed here by Markemark and Kelly.
I’ve had voltage limiters fail and make a mess.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BP758,

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinChicken:
What amp alternator is everyone running? I am running a 55amp 16V Mini, maybe that is my issue.

With the engine at idle, turn on the pump/s and fan, then go back to the battery with a multimeter and measure the voltage. This will show what your charging system is doing. If you have a dash mounted voltmeter it’s optimistic at best considering the termination point used. Example…. I have a dash mounted voltmeter wired to the relay board and MSD Grid and Holley EFI wired directly to the battery have voltmeter display and recording. They all read differently and to be expected.

A 12V 55 amp alternator in my past experiences was not enough.

when using 16 volt i do not put battery charger on car till car is cooled down and no need for anything to be on. i have seen issues with frying fuses etc by running accessories at a charging voltage of far more than 16 and that is with a xs charger and batts. also all alternators are not lithium capable be sure to check and see they are compatable. i also use a house of payne 100 amp alternator and xs 16 volt agm batteries with no issues.