Dali Racing Battery Disaster

[SmknVTEC]

Well I purchased the Dali Racing Battery 545 with bracket a few months ago for about $99 for the battery and $60 for the mount. I then paid a stereo shop $60 to install it because we were unsuccessful removing the original battery. I had it in the car for only a few weeks when I hooked up an air compressor that draws power through the cigarette lighter of the car, while the car is turned off. After about 3 minutes of use I found that the battery had drained. I tried to jump the car with jumper cables and was unsuccessful. I emailed someone at Dali [I think I was communicating with Johnson] and they did not think the accessory I used would cause a problem or at least would not damage the battery. Johnson told me NOT to have AAA jump me because that could damage the battery. So, for $100 I had the car flat bedded down to my mechanic who then had problems jumping the car.

After we finally got the car started by pulling fuses and g-d knows what else and, letting the car idle for about 10 minutes, I took it for a test drive. While on the test drive I turned on the headlights and "bang" the check engine light came on, ABS light came on and I lost power steering. When I got back to my mechanic and turned off the car guess what; it would not start again. So he took out the battery and hooked it up to his diagnostic tool which showed when under a load, it had very little power. By this time another couple mechanics came by to check out the problem and both agreed they had no idea what was going on and both agreed that this battery could not provide enough juice to power a "street car". So for another $100 I had no choice but to buy another battery since my original one was shot.

So I continue the emails with Johnson who guarantees it will work in the car, and he tells me to take some pictures of the bottom of the battery to make sure it was not damaged. Battery was fine. So for $11 I mailed the battery back to him for inspection. I then learned that this battery has to be started every day otherwise it could drain. This is a problem for me because this car is not a daily driver and it said nothing about this on their web site. So I explained to him that this was not the battery for me and I made a mistake by buying it but, he just tells me that if the battery checks out fine, I could NOT get my money back because it is not a warrantee issue. What!!!

So, that was about a month ago and finally tonight after wondering if I totally got scammed, he sent me the shipping ID for this battery that I don't need, think is not the right product for me, and quite frankly, don't think even works in my car. Oh and to add insult to injury, he is now charging me $11 shipping to get it back to me. Merry Christmas LoL.

So, lets add this all up; 160 for the battery and mount, 60 install, 100 towing, 100 mechanic fee [with 645 battery], 22 shipping= $462 for a Dali racing battery I can not even use.

 

[SexyRed]

You need to use a on board trickle charger to keep the battery alive. Running any accessory without the car running is asking for disaster.

Been there, done that. I have the 645 battery. 2 died while at different shops.

Danny

 

[nsx1]

How long did you run the compressor? Those little buggers can sink so current.

I have the Odyssey 680 and have had the car parked for as long as three weeks without starting it. Most of the time it will sit for 1-7 days. It has always started right up.

These small high-performance, dry-cell, rechargeable batteries can be a real pain in the butt. In fact, the smaller they are, the more attention they need. They have great current delivery for their size, but only for a short burst.

I'm not sure where you live, but cold temperatures can cause problems. I'm in SoCal and the temperatures don't get that cold here. I also have the next bigger size than you. I've heard that the guys in the Northeast buy the 925 version for that reason.

 

[VBNSX]

I'm not going to play sides on what's right or wrong but honestly, I think you should've done more research on the 545 battery... most people who get them usually have a battery tender connected to them 24/7... the 545 is known to not hold a charge very long... especially in colder climates. If you run a tender for the car this battery would do fine for you. I run a tender on mine all the time. Just recently I went to the track and let my car sit in the paddock in near freezing temperature. I was actually surprised my car started.. :tongue:

However if you do a search you will see that there are people out there who are running the 545's in their 'street cars'. But in order to do so, there is a little bit of 'maintenance' in running such a tiny battery.

Regarding your air compressor... technically speaking, the cigarette lighter in your car should not have power through it without the key in the ignition. This is a honda feature... it doesn't matter what you plug into it, there's just no power to it... unless of course you put the key to I or II (can't remember which makes it active)...

However after jumping it and randomly pulling fuses it's very hard to diagnose what you may have done with the car. If you have issues with this you may want to exercise the warranty directly with the company and mention this story.

http://www.odysseybatteries.com/battery/pc545.htm

The website advertises a full 2 year warranty... here are the warranty provisions:

http://www.odysseybatteries.com/warranty.htm

good luck,
x

 

[EIFFEL]

So, that was about a month ago and finally tonight after wondering if I totally got scammed, he sent me the shipping ID for this battery that I don't need, think is not the right product for me, and quite frankly, don't think even works in my car. Oh and to add insult to injury, he is now charging me $11 shipping to get it back to me. Merry Christmas LoL.

So, lets add this all up; 160 for the battery and mount, 60 install, 100 towing, 100 mechanic fee [with 645 battery], 22 shipping= $462 for a Dali racing battery I can not even use.

How did Dali scam you? you bought a battery, He sent you what you bought. Done deal. The battery may not be suitable for your intended purpose. but You bought it on your own. Don't blame the seller for your improper decision. The Odyssey is a racing battery in your own opinion, so it has severe compromise for street use. The 15 lbs saving is not worth it IMO.

 

[queenlives]

if i understand the situation correctly:

(1) you purchased a battery advertised as a racing battery - which (to me) implies it's made for a racing vehicle and likely unsuitable for a daily nsx.

(2) my experience is that many retail stores / vendors have "no return" policies on battery / electrical parts. because of that, it's become my practice to inquire up-front of the vendor's refund policies are re my purchase item.

you may have covered all of these things with the vendor up front and received answers that met your requirements, but frankly, the outcome seems fairly routine to me. perhaps you might sell it via prime to another member who has a racing nsx.

 

[goldNSX]

The 545 is really small, I would have chosen the 680 which also drains out after a few days letting the car sitting in the garage.
A battery tender is a MUST for this kind of battery.

Just had to smile a little bit about: 'I then paid a stereo shop $60 to install it because we were unsuccessful removing the original battery.'

 

[john@johnhudakracing]

A clue, the 545 is usually installed for applications such as a Honda ATV. It is a motorcycle battery with small posts, and only practical for off-road only, non-daily driver, applications whereas the vehicle is always on a tender and just needs to start under its own power on those rare occasions where the car stalls on the race track or your ATV needs to crank that little 2 cycle over once. It's listed for the race guys, not the club enthusiasts.

Putting an overly aggressive motorcycle battery like that in a daily driver just causes headaches, and frankly their are so many easier places on the NSX to shed weight if that is your incentive for doing so. That is likely why Mark said it wasn't ideal for you, it's just too aggressive a choice. An optima 925 would have double the reserve capacity and CCA, and at 23lbs still be half the weight of a stock lead acid or an entry level optima yellow top.

Even the 680 I've used in the past for track, which is just slightly bigger is a 17 amp hour battery, needs to be kept on a high quality smart tender 24/7 to ensure the car will start, and I've still gotten caught in the pits by leaving an accessory on too long or by forgetting to disengage the cut-off.

If you want better daily driver characteristics, you'll need a battery that is at least double the specs of the one you elected.

 

[SmknVTEC]

You guys are right; I needed to do a little more research. I did however run an NSX Prime search on the battery and found lots of threads with happy customers. I don't recall reading that it had to be started daily or that it needed to be tendered. The Dali web site certainly did not mention any of these things and in fact gave little info on the battery other than making it sound as if it were a better battery than the factory one. I feel as if the battery was slightly mis represented because of these things and don't get me started on that Dali NSX weight loss program; cute but, again, highly impractical. Anyway, I already have a buyer for this battery but, I might just keep it and use it for track and drag strip days. I just hope it does work like they are saying it does. Thanks for the input guys.

 

[SmknVTEC]

Hi John.

I must not have noticed your reply when I left my above reply but, you reaffirmed some of my concerns. I did later find out that the battery was a Harley Davidson Battery. Mark did NOT say that this was not the right battery for me; I said that to him and he did not seem to care. All he said was that since the battery was neither damaged nor defective, he could not warrantee it nor give my money back. The Dali web site says nothing about needing a battery tender although they do have a battery tender as "related stuff". Anyway, needless to say my first experience with Dali has not left me impressed. Next time if I ever decide to do any business with them again I will be sure to call them with plenty of questions. Oh wait; they don't have a telephone number!!