Administrators hughezee Posted April 23, 2020 Administrators Report Share Posted April 23, 2020 Thinking of buying a battery for your Legend, I have listed them below, for ref, KA7/KA8/KA9 share the same model battery. 🤨 First generation (KA1-KA6) Legend Battery Part Number: 31500-SP0-031HE  Second generation (KA7/KA8) Legend Battery Part Number: 31500-SP0-021HE  Third generation (KA9) Legend Battery Part Number: 31500-SP0-021HE  Fourth generation (KB1/KB2) Legend Battery Part Number: 31500-SJA-X03 Personally, I have had the best success with genuine Honda batteries although OEM specified Yuasa or Bosch batteries can be equally as good, feel free to share your experiences. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zamz Posted October 27, 2020 Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 Look at this on eBay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360530013877 20% off varta batteries 4 year warranty 🖒 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Laird_Scooby Posted October 27, 2020 Moderators Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 https://advancedbatterysupplies.co.uk/product-tag/069 More similar there. Trouble is they're all calcium batteries so will cause you trouble. There is a way round it but are you sure they're the right ones for your Legend? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PTR200S Posted October 27, 2020 Moderators Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 2 hours ago, Laird_Scooby said: . Trouble is they're all calcium batteries so will cause you trouble. I know you don't like calcium type maintenance free batteries , Dave, but I have used these types in bikes and cars for years with no problems. Two of my bikes have had Motobatt batteries in for five years and they retain their charge for 18 months before needing a charge, they are agm types and are maintenance free too. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zamz Posted October 27, 2020 Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 Likewise I've not come across any issues with the calcium type batteries too. I just make sure the CCA is sufficient and above 500 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founding Member PaulS Posted October 27, 2020 Founding Member Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 Recently bought a new 019 for my Merc C240 and one 3 years earlier for my E 350 from Advance batteries. Locally all my friends that meddle with their own cars (and motorhome / caravan owners) use advance - thay are local to me and have a good reputation. The shop itself is quite scuffy - often the case with those who actually know what they are doing.... They also offer a whole range of branded batteries too for those who worry about such things..... I used to buy Bosch from Costco - however those Bosch batteries didn't last well.... I took 2 back having failed within 2 years and - all credit to Costco - they happily replaced them - but the Bosch batteries should not have failed so soon!... 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Laird_Scooby Posted October 27, 2020 Moderators Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 5 hours ago, PTR200S said: I know you don't like calcium type maintenance free batteries , Dave, but I have used these types in bikes and cars for years with no problems. It's not a case of disliking them Pete, it's a case of calcium batteries needing a higher voltage to start charging. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_calcium_battery Have a read and you'll see!  1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PTR200S Posted October 27, 2020 Moderators Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 1 hour ago, Laird_Scooby said: It's not a case of disliking them Pete, it's a case of calcium batteries needing a higher voltage to start charging. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_calcium_battery Have a read and you'll see!  Yes, I realise that but still had no problems....if the alternator is good, and on bikes they can be marginal, there shouldn't be a problem really. Then again there is a difference between ordinary calcium batteries and SILVER calcium batteries. The Yuasa 5000 series is silver calcium whereas the Yuasa 3000 series is "lead calcium ".......the latter does not have the same capacity or output of the former but neither does it require the 14 plus volts to keep it tip top.......the 3000 is perfectly adequate for our old vehicles. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Laird_Scooby Posted October 27, 2020 Moderators Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 Lead calcium also needs a higher than normal (14.4 - 14.0V) charging voltage Pete. I've done months of research on this and the conclusion i've come to is that the calcium (either type) batteries that still work ok on our systems without boosting the charging voltage have minimal calcium deposits in them, making them little different to a standard lead-acid battery. I was going to post several links in addition to the Wiki one but out of the large number to read, to find the few most relevant links i'd still be reading now and wouldn't have posted anything yet. Have a search yourself for "silver calcium battery charging voltage" and you'll see what i mean. Try to use a search engine different to Giggle though so you get some better results. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PTR200S Posted October 28, 2020 Moderators Report Share Posted October 28, 2020 Agreed on higher voltages required for both, over lead antimony batteries at about 13.8v. Lead calcium needs around 14.1 whilst the silver version need plus 14.4...14.8 is good. Older alternators put out 13.8 to 14.4 if in good condition hence my reasoning for lead calcium types. Modern cars alternator output is / can be geared to a silver calcium from the factory. If you want to use a silver in your older version you need another, more modern alternator or a modded alternator using an external heatsink protected diode. The problem of failed batteries in service is down to the suppliers, taking that Advance Batteries site for a start. They sell the premium battery as more capacity, output etc. The specs tell you its a silver battery, nowhere do they say it needs higher charging rate. They also sell, for example, the Varta battery, not silver according to the specs ,nor confirmed , as a lead calcium battery. Nowhere do they say it can run lower voltage than the silver. This means the customer thinks they are getting a "better" battery but one which can fall into the " in service failure" category due to a lower output from the alternator than the battery expects. Of course overcharging doesn't help, plus 15v for sealed / gel or agm batteries is not good as they don't like heat and that includes their environment such as batteries fitted in engine compartments. The only failures I have had have not been from charging rates but from batteries stored in hot conditions or vehicles left in hot conditions.....or old age. That is not to say that lower voltages haven't sulphated the battery though its just that the battery no longer works as it should and could well be sulphated . Just need the correct battery to be sold to us by the supplier.....this does not always happen  😞  1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Laird_Scooby Posted October 28, 2020 Moderators Report Share Posted October 28, 2020 5 hours ago, PTR200S said: Older alternators put out 13.8 to 14.4 Just to clarify this Pete, they start off cold at 14.4V and drop to 14.0V as they warm up. Obviously once warmed up, if the engine is idling and a lot of load is on (headlights, HRW, heater fan, wipers) it will drop below that and won't cover the current needed. Bringing the revs back up may result in a very brief period above 14.0 but it will drop back to 14.0 to prevent cooking the battery. Also in hot weather, it may even drop further to prevent the battery being cooked. Factor that into either of the calcium battery scenarios and you can see there is a time they won't charge. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PTR200S Posted October 28, 2020 Moderators Report Share Posted October 28, 2020 3 hours ago, Laird_Scooby said: Just to clarify this Pete, they start off cold at 14.4V and drop to 14.0V as they warm up. Obviously once warmed up, if the engine is idling and a lot of load is on (headlights, HRW, heater fan, wipers) it will drop below that and won't cover the current needed. Bringing the revs back up may result in a very brief period above 14.0 but it will drop back to 14.0 to prevent cooking the battery. Also in hot weather, it may even drop further to prevent the battery being cooked. Factor that into either of the calcium battery scenarios and you can see there is a time they won't charge. I will clarify "older alternators ".........1970 / 80 and poss early 1990 ones too, I have never had any alternators in this last 20 years to give out less than 14v, mostly 14.2 and up in fact. I understand the floating charge aspect but as the drain on the battery depletes the battery that voltage increases again..headlights, heaters, fans etc are, as you say, another aspect. Literally tested an alternator on a 1997 Mazda MX5, with a new battery (silver calcium !!! ) , at the weekend.......start up 14.5 volts. Once the car had been out for a 50 mile run it was tested again.....14.2 volts. The owner is now monitoring the voltage for the next week or so...battery in the boot by the way. Honda Tourer a few weeks back, 14.3 to 14.77 , new lead calcium battery. Turning on all the electrical stuff literally dropped the charge 0.2 of a volt showing the alternator could easily cope with the demand. My GT6 , 1969, the TR8 , 1980 and the TVR, 1999 all struggled under my long term ownership to an extent with the older cars being really bad when electrical gear is turned but nowhere do the battery suppliers issue any cautions. They are happy to sell a silver calcium battery to you for an older car and yet give a 5 year warranty !!!!   1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Laird_Scooby Posted October 28, 2020 Moderators Report Share Posted October 28, 2020 2 hours ago, PTR200S said: They are happy to sell a silver calcium battery to you for an older car and yet give a 5 year warranty !!!! That's because of the hype fed to them by the manufacturers and none of them are qualified electrical & electronic engineers so have absolutely no hope of understanding how the intricacies of the charging system work. Also "older cars" are now 20+ years old so unlikely to have intelligent alternators that can tell the difference between lead-acid and calcium varieties and operate accordingly so the retailers are briefed to tell the customer victim that there must be another fault on the car. Victim goes away, spends £OODLES and comes to the conclusion nobody can fix it so slaps another new battery on and flogs it quick before the new battery expires. Rather than get to the bottom of the problem, they replace it with a newer est of problems. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PTR200S Posted October 28, 2020 Moderators Report Share Posted October 28, 2020 Bang on there , Dave 😜 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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