Battery Definitions

CCA - The cold cranking ampere (CCA) rating refers to the number of amperes a battery can deliver for 30 seconds at a temperature of -18°C (0°F) before the voltage drops to 1.20 volts per cell, or 7.20 volts for a 12V battery. A 12V battery that has a rating of 550 CCA means that the battery will provide 550 amps for 30 seconds at -18°C (0°F) before the voltage falls to 7.20V. What is the MCA rating? The marine cranking ampere (MCA) rating refers to the number of amperes a battery can deliver for 30 seconds at a temperature of 0°C (32°F) until the battery voltage drops to 7.20 volts for a 12V battery. A 12V battery that has a MCA rating of 725 MCA means that the battery will give 725 amperes for 30 seconds at 0°C (32°F) before the voltage falls to 7.20V. The MCA is sometimes called the cranking amperes or CA.

HCA - The abbreviation HCA stands for hot cranking amps. It is the same as MCA, CA or CCA, except that the temperature at which the test is conducted is 26.7°C (80°F ). What is the PHCA rating? Unlike CCA and MCA the pulse hot cranking amp (PHCA) rating does not have an “official” definition; however, we believe that for true SLI purposes, a 30-second discharge is unrealistic. The PHCA, a short duration (about 3-5 seconds) high rate discharge, is more realistic. Because the discharge is for such a short time, it is more like a pulse.

GEL CELLS - Odyssey batteries are NOT a gel cell. They are absorbed electrolyte type batteries, meaning there is no free acid inside the battery; all the acid is kept absorbed in the glass mat separators. These separators serve to keep the positive and negative plates apart. What is the difference between gel cell and AGM? The key difference between the gel cell and the absorbed glass mat (AGM) is that in the AGM cell all the electrolyte is in the separator, whereas in the gel cell the acid is in the cells in a gel form. If the Odyssey battery were to split open, there would be no acid spillage! That is why the Odyssey is called a Drycell™ battery

AH RATING - The ampere-hour (Ah) rating defines the capacity of a battery. A battery rated at 100Ah at the 10-hour rate of discharge will deliver 10A for 10 hours before the terminal voltage drops to a standard value such as 10.02 volts for a 12V battery. The PC1200 battery, rated at 40Ah will deliver 4A for 10 hours. The Reserve Capacity of a battery is the number of minutes it can support a 25-ampere load at 27°C (80°F) before its voltage drops to 10.50 volts for a 12V battery. A 12V battery with a reserve capacity rating of 100 will deliver 25 amps for 100 minutes at 80°F before its voltage drops to 10.5V.

DRY BATTERY - As the Odyssey battery has no free acid inside, it enjoys a “non-spillable” classification and falls under the International Air Transport Association (IATA) “unrestricted” air shipment category. These batteries may be shipped completely worry-free.

IMPEDANCE - The impedance of a battery is a measure of how easily it can be discharged. The lower the impedance the easier it is to discharge the battery. The impedance of the Odyssey battery is considerably less than that of a conventional SLI battery, so its high rate discharge capability is significantly higher than that of a conventional SLI battery.

SHORT-CIRCUIT CURRENT - Odyssey batteries have very low impedance, meaning that the short circuit current is very high. For a PC925 battery, the short circuit current can be as high as 2,500 amperes.
 
WARRANTY - Odyssey warranty applies only to manufacturing defects and workmanship issues; the policy does not cover damages suffered due to product mishandling. If the battery is dropped it is possible to damage the internal connections sufficiently to damage the battery.

THIN PLATE PURE LEAD TECHNOLOGY - Thin plate pure lead technology uses very high purity (99.99%) raw lead materials, making Odyssey batteries very special. The technology is not new; the sealed lead recombinant technology was invented and patented by Odyssey back in 1973.

WINTERISE BATTERIES - Although Odyssey batteries do not specifically require this test to be conducted on them, the final decision whether or not to conduct this test is left to the user's discretion. In general, winterising refers to a special maintenance procedure conducted on an automotive engine to ensure its reliability during the winter season. The procedure essentially checks the engine's charging system; in addition, the battery is load tested according to a specific method defined by the Battery Council International (BCI).
 
NI-CAD BATTERIES - The Odyssey is NOT a Ni-Cd battery. It is a valve regulated lead acid (VRLA) battery. In general, Ni-Cd batteries are much more expensive to manufacture and recycle, so they are less cost effective than a lead acid product. A Ni-Cd battery would charge faster than a conventional lead acid battery; however, the Odyssey is NOT a conventional battery and its charge characteristics are somewhat similar to nickel cadmium batteries. In fact, with a powerful enough charger, it is possible to bring Odyssey batteries to better than 95% state of charge in less than 20 minutes! That is very comparable to the fast charge capabilities of a nickel cadmium product.

FLAT BATTERY - To double check it may be worth charging it whilst disconnected from the car; since some electrical problems could lead to a constant drain on the battery whilst the ignition is off. (e.g. leaky diodes in the charging circuit). A faster test is to use a multi-meter between say the battery +, and the + cable (disconnected from the battery) and check there's no current flowing with the ignition off. Start with about 5A setting just in case, then work down to about 500mA (fsd).