Has anybody figured out a battery alternative?

I have a 2009. My battery doesn't last. I don't use the car much, don't have much power drain with extra features or anything and my battery is dying yet again and I'm told it needs replacement.

I'm sick of this. I know some people replace the 151r with the 51r, but that seems to require cutting some things and/or removing the stock air filter. I don't want to do that. I have a good k&n filter in my stock air filter box.

I would also prefer to not cut anything.

There are a number of different battery sizes. Has anybody figured out another battery which may fit better than the 51r? The 51r I saw seemed to be about 3" wider than the 51r and I wasn't sure it would fit even if I was willing to cut stuff.

The best list of sizes I found somewhere are in pages 5-13 of this document: https://parts.cat.com/wcs-static/pdfs/PEGP7801-06.pdf
I'm sure there must be a good list or chart somewhere else, but that was the one I found with the most types listed. (Some charts don't even have the 151r.)

Thanks.

 

If you don't drive much I suggest getting a battery tender or similar maintenance charger to keep your batteries from going bad. I use one on my KLR 650 and WRX since I only use them one a week and the batteries go bad in a hurry without them.

 

I don't garage park or park anywhere near an outlet. So, this seems to be a moot point for me as I can't use this device on a regular basis.

Either way, I still need a replacement battery and I want something better than the stupid little 151r batteries, so the question still stands.

 

being on my 3rd battery in 140k, I know your pain.....

Right when I was about to pickup a 51r and squeeze it in there, I got a good deal on a 151r at the local Honda Dealership, and decided to get another one.

Otherwise I would have removed the batter tray and put the 51r in there in an angle and done my best to secure it there with the brackets provided...and zip ties where if needed

 

Sounds like this is not the fault of the car.
Car battery: Use it or lose it!

Depending on the battery state of charge when parked and the amount of parasitic drain in the car, it might take anywhere from a month or more, to less than a week to drain a battery.

Car batteries are not designed to be extensively discharged, this can drastically shorten its life.

If the battery is allowed to sit in a discharged state, it can and will go bad, as in not take or hold a charge.

If a discharged battery is out in the cold, the liquid inside the battery can freeze, which ruins the battery. A fully charged battery will not freeze.


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I have a truck and a Motorcycle that sit all winter.
Battery tenders and regular maintenance work wonders at keeping the batteries ready to go, without running the engines or driving around.

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These thoughts came to mind:

Drive the car once a week for 30 minutes to an hour or so.

Remove the battery when the car is going to sit, take it inside and charge it once a month or so.


Install a Battery cutoff switch so the car doesn't drain the battery while sitting (but a car battery can still discharge by itself if left long enough)



Install a solar battery charger wired direct (with a fuse of course) or to a constant hot (won't work if the car stays covered in snow)

Lawn tractor battery from a parts/yard/farm/box/hardware store might be much cheaper than a car battery.

 

I'm with interestingstuff on this. With all the batteries and battery companies out there, there ought to be a drop-in solution. Furthermore, the whole situation reflects badly on Honda and it's recent willingness to cut corners.

I don't want to zip-tie and I don't want to cut and I don't want to duct tape. Furthermore, a car battery ought to be strong enough to sit for a week without use, but I find that Fit OEM batteries just don't make the grade.

So, I'm subscribing to this thread to see what you guys come up with.

 

If you're parked outside, a solar battery maintainer (of sufficient size to be effective) would help a lot. Something around 25W would probably do the trick if you can park so that it gets a decent amount of light in a day. Note that the lighter plug on the Fit is switched, so you can't plug it in there and have it do any good.

Lead-acid battery self discharge rate is correlated with temperature (among other factors), being approximately halved for every 10°C drop in temperature. This means that a week in hot summer conditions is equivalent in self-discharge to a few months in winter. The car's parasitic loads are more consistent, I believe.

If your driving is all or nearly all short trips, the battery may never be getting fully charged. If the battery does get deeply discharged, its capacity is reduced; car starting batteries are not deep cycle batteries, and it doesn't take too much fairly deep discharging to kill them.

 

I recently purchased a new to me 2014 Fit Sport (in Canada). Reading posts on this and other forums about all the disappointments with the 151r batteries, I too started looking at options.

I concluded that I would probably go the 26r battery route even though it has its own issues in regard to the level of modifications required. Like with the 51r mod, the battery support would have to be extensively modified. An additional complication is that the + post location on the 26r prevents the positive terminal block from being able to fit without modification or an adapter. (The posts on the 26r are inset further in from the edge of the battery toward the center.) Since it is way too cold now to undertake the modification, I will wait until next spring.

My current plan is to buy a new battery support (new for $25US or $46CDN from Honda) that I will modify with a new raised battery pan (to clear the radiator fan), and keep the original battery support in case I want to go back to stock in the future. As for the positive terminal block, my current plan is to machine or modify a positive terminal adapter to avoid having to modify the existing positive terminal block. That way my Fit can be brought back to stock configuration.

It is unfortunate that some aftermarket company has not come up with this kit of components (new mount with pan and terminal block adapter) that could be purchased and installed by gen 2 Fit owners wanting to upgrade to a 26r battery.

BTW: The 26r (540 CCA, 29 lbs) battery dimensions are 8.2l x 6.9w x 7.8h, so it should be a cleaner fit with more clearance to other components than the 51r, but with more required modification.

Today's good news is that although my Fit's block heater was not plugged in this morning, it started with our temp being -28 degrees C (-22F) without a wind shield factor.

 

Thanks, Slow... that's just the sort of detective work that I am looking for. (I'm assuming there are several suitable options...) and it looks like the 26r is significantly cheaper than the 151r or even the 51r so as to make the investment in the additional adapters a reasonable investment, assuming it would work.

Any more input on what you think would be necessary would be helpful.

Or if anybody has suggestions for other batteries that would work, we are listening..

 

After seeing the 51r at my local Walmart and reading something else about being ontop of replacements, not to mention needed to finally find a solution I just went for the Walmart EverStart 51r $107+core+tax .. it... barely fits in, but it does relatively fit. (I originally saw a 51r at another auto parts store and at first thought it would be too big.. there may be slight differences due to the way cases are made, etc. Or maybe I just finally *needed* a good solution.)

What I did:
You take out the plastic tray that holds the 151r.
I slightly loosened the screw holding the bracket of the air filter case and shoved it over just the tiniest little bit.
I removed the battery cable from where it sits on the metal part of the battery mount and lifted it out of the way of the battery.
Installed the battery of course. It barely fits in shoved against the air cleaner case (no cutting) at an ever so slight angle.
Then installed the red cable. You have to shove the cable down between it and fit the connector on as best you can. It doesn't fit PERFECT.. so there is probably something that can be done to improve the fit.. but I was doing this in the dark and just needed to get it WORKING.
Then install the black cable.

Thanks everybody.

 

I've been using the Optima 51R yellow top battery for close to 3 years now, the only cutting that was involved is if you're using the stock 151r battery tray at the bottom. you can get the stock tray from a civic which uses 51R battery size for zero cutting. starts up like a champ even at 1F degrees outside after sitting for 2 weeks

 

I put a 26R in mine. It's about 1" longer wider as well had to modify mount also shorter. Only real issue was had to take factory positive term and turn it sideways to fit properly but otherwise works great and a lot more juice

 

My battery is getting weaker in the cold weather and I'm looking for a replacement soon too. I searched online and found this 26R battery sold at Walmart:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/ValuePowe...8800#read-more

It's only $50, do you think it's a good battery?

 

Yep...put one in my 2004 Civic hybrid, and fit like a dream. Removed plastic battery tray and was able to use the original hold down with no problem. Actually fits better than the 51R. At Walmart the 51R is $139.99 and the 26R is $54.99.

 

Oddesy batteries are higher start power in a smaller footprint, still a lead acid tech but very very reliable.
You could even fit a couple of theirs in the hole in Paralell ...

Or you could try a Li battery but teh $$ on those are crazy and the goofy charge strategy Honda uses may not like them
A harley/Goldwing Li battery might be a option..

 

51R Powercell battery from my local Meijers. Bought it 3 years back for $79.95
It's probably more than that now. Didn't have to change the tray at all.