The NorthStar AGM Battery + Voltage Booster Upgrade

Bwthomas77 · Jan 26, 2021

Well after much discussion with batteries plus bulbs, it looks like nationally there is a long delay on the x2 27f. My option was either go with a marine battery version with a shorter warranty or the odyssey. So I chose the later.

The eBay diode seems to be doing the job. At idle with all my stuff turned on it was 13.8v, went to 14.2 with the diode installed. At idle with all the accessories and lights off it is at 14.45, over the 14.4 threshold. I think I am good.

agbofortsi · Jan 30, 2021

crashnburn80[OP] initial post: ↑

The NorthStar AGM Battery + Voltage Booster Upgrade

This thread covers upgrading to the best AGM battery available and modifying the voltage regulator via plug and play fuse to charge the battery at increased voltage, as required by spec on an AGM. Side benefits include brighter halogen headlights and higher flowing fuel pumps for supercharged applications.

Best AGM Battery
3 big heavy weight names constantly come up in the high performance AGM battery space, Opima, Odyssey and NorthStar. There are other brands out there that make AGMs as well, but this thread will focus on the top 3 names in the industry.

What is an AGM battery and why does it matter?
AGM stands for Absorbed Glass Matt. These batteries are maintenance free, they are sealed (non spillable), they have a higher power density than a flooded lead acid battery, they are typically more reliable with a longer life span. AGMs can charge much faster and have the ability to deep cycle. An AGM is superior in every way to a standard lead acid battery.

Understanding battery sizes
The 2nd Gen Tacomas came with battery size 24F for non-tow package trucks and 27F for tow package (TRD) trucks. The 3rd Gen Tacomas only received the smaller 24F batteries. It is possible to mount a larger 27F in a 24F tray, these were interchangeable on the 2nd Gen. It is also possible to mount a larger group 31 battery in place of either, though group 31s are large and heavy, it is recommended to get a group 31 battery cage from an aftermarket vendor.

The best way to evaluate what you are getting is looking at the data.

Battery Data

Battery Data Notes:
*Stock specs are based on value replacement Toyota TrueStart batteries. OEM battery specs are unpublished. 18mo warranty is replacement warranty, they pro-rate in tiers after than for 42 mo. The TrueStart Batteries are likely much higher performance and quality than the OEM included with the vehicle.
*NorthStar offers a 4 year warranty, buying BatteriesPlus X2 labeled NorthStars is cheaper and extends the warranty to 5 years.
*NorthStar claims 900 charge/discharge cycles in publications, but if you look at the data details that is 50% change rate, the other brands use 80% charge rate. NorthStar 80% change rate spec is 400.
*Odessey batteries do extreme vibration testing and pass but do not provide a multiplier value like Optima and NorthStar.

Looking at the specs, it is pretty clear NorthStar is the superior product. The NorthStar 27F has over 2x the reserve capacity of the OEM 24F and almost 2x the CCA, while also beating out every performance spec of the larger group 31 Optima. And if you have a 2nd Gen the 27F is factory size. If you have a 3rd Gen, fitting a 27F should be no problem.

If you are looking to go big with a Group 31 battery, Odessey and NorthStar are much more equally paired. However, in every spec where there is a difference NorthStar comes out ahead. Note that even the 27F is significantly heavier than stock, and group 31 batteries are even heavier. Tray and support cracking has been reported with heavy batteries and off road use, something to consider.

Looking at every measured metric, NorthStar AGMs are the best battery on the market.

Some Optima background
Optima was made in the USA. In the early 2000s Optima was purchased and the new parent company cut cost and moved production to Mexico. There was some overlap in the mid/late 2000s where both the US factory and the Mexican one were producing batteries. In 2008 I think the parent company closed USA production and shifted all production to Mexico. The Mexican made batteries that are said to not be of the quality the Optima brand was built on. While the USA plant closed in 2008, there was still stock of the USA made batteries that likely lingered around for a little while before eventually all being sold and replaced with Mexican made ones.

I had a yellow top that I purchased in 2005 for winching on my Wrangler Rubicon. That battery was a trooper and did great on long hard winch pulls in well below freezing temperatures. I kept it for 8 years across several vehicles before eventually selling it with a vehicle. I would no longer buy an Optima and instead run a USA made NorthStar AGM.

Selecting a battery size
27F vs Group 31. The NorthStar 27F is 20lbs over stock for a 2nd Gen while offering substantial gains across all spec'd metrics. Going to an even larger Group 31 NorthStar does offer more power, but I would only consider doing so if one really needed the additional reserve capacity. The additional added weight at 76lbs on the front battery tray is a lot and certainly doesn't help the Taco lean. With the deep reserve capacity, one might consider a single Group 31 NorthStar as an easier alternative to a dual battery setup. For my use I chose a 27F NorthStar.

Charging Voltage
AGM batteries require a higher charge voltage than lead acid. Since the Tacoma is calibrated to charge lead acid, that means the charge voltage is insufficient. Lead acid may charge at 14.0v-14.4v. I measured my 4.0 2015 Tacoma hot charge at 13.91v idle, and 14.02v rev.

Right on the NorthStar AGM battery, cycle service charge 14.4v-14.8v.

Very clear the 14.02v charge voltage is insufficient, meaning the AGM battery must be maintained on a plug in wall charger for proper AGM health or the alternator voltage must be boosted. If the charge voltage is not sufficient, battery sulfation will occur and reduce the performance and life of your AGM battery.

Voltage Boosters
These devices work by effectively tricking the alternator voltage regulator into seeing less voltage than it is actually producing thereby causing it to compensate to produce more. So in a simple example if you want to increase the voltage by 0.5v, you cause an artificial 0.5v loss on what the voltage regulator detects and it compensates by raising the voltage an additional 0.5v giving you a net gain.

The Alt-S Circuit <-Needed for this mod
The Alt-S circuit is the circuit used by the voltage regulator to monitor voltage at the battery and adjust accordingly. You can read more on the Toyota Alt-S circuit here. This simple mod is only works in vehicles where the Alt-S circuit exists for the voltage regulator to control the voltage. In some newer vehicles like the 2016+ Tacomas, the voltage is regulated by the ECU, meaning no voltage regulator Alt-S circuit to spoof.

HKB Electronics Voltage Boosters
There are a lot of methods to do this mod. I am not interested in hack solutions, I wanted something safe, proven and polished. If this mod goes wrong there are a lot of expensive electronics at risk. HKB Electronics out of Australia offers specifically designed plug and play voltage booster kits for the Tacoma for this exact purpose. Australia has some of the best 4WD companies on the market due to their environment, it is not surprising it is an Australian company to offer this product.

HKB Electronics offers two different products for the Tacoma, a 'fixed' 0.5v booster or an adjustable booster 0.2v-1.0v in increments of 0.2v. Unsure which to get, the obvious answer was clearly buy them both so I can test them and tell you guys which is better.

The AGM specs 14.4v-14.8v cycle service charge (aka alternator charge). Meaning that is the operating voltage target window that we want to adjust the alternator charge voltage to. Based on stock measurements it looks like 0.5v increase minimum.

HKB Adjustable voltage booster

To install, you simply replace the fuse in the 7.5A 'Alt-S' location (shown in upper left) with the modified voltage booster in your under hood fuse box. Basic plug and play.

Adjustable voltage booster shown mounted and set to +0.8v. (0.6v recommended)

Here is a photo of the 0.5v booster installed.

Testing
I originally measured the voltage with a multi-meter off the battery. The results I got were somewhat misleading. The problem was the data provided by a multi-meter is a fixed point in time, and charge voltage fluctuates over time. I needed to determine the peak charge voltage baseline so I can then make the required adjustment to set it to 14.6-14.8v, but I cannot accurately tell where the peak is with the multi-meter. I really needed to track the voltage over time so I knew the highs and lows of the data to determine the voltage setting more accurately.

So I logged my stock alternator charge voltage settings over time.

I checked the voltage monitor for accuracy with my multi-meter, it specs to be within 0.03v. I confirmed it meets spec, it reads 0.03v low. In the big picture that is a very small delta but good to know.

I then set my booster up to +0.6v and logged more data.

Over several days the peak voltage recorded was 14.69v, and being 0.3v low, that means peak voltage is 14.72v, up from 14.09 recorded (14.12 actual). I then sent this data off to NorthStar, and they agreed the settings look optimized and no further adjustments were necessary.

Based on my 2015 Tacoma 4.0 130A alternator, the HKD Electronics booster set to +0.6v provides measured maximum performance benefit without overcharging the battery. The 0.5v booster would also do well at 0.1v less, meaning ~14.6v which would also just make it into the optimal 14.6-14.8v charging range specified by NorthStar.

While these settings worked on my truck, you should test to confirm what works on yours to avoid overcharging. If using a multi-meter, it is best to test your truck on cold start after sitting for an extended time such as overnight, as the voltage output will be highest then.

If you are interested in knowing more on charging systems, this is a good overview of how voltage regulators, alternators and batteries work together in the charging system.

Battery Data Logging
I really wanted to log voltage data over time to better help me track and tune my battery and charging performance. After hunting for some products to accomplish this, I found this

$29 Battery Monitor BM2 BM3 Bluetooth 4.0 Wireless Battery Tester 12V Automotive Battery Load Tester,Automotive Charging and Cranking System Monitor Digital Battery Analyzer for Android & iOS

bluetooth battery monitor.

For only ~$32 this provided far better insights to my charging system performance than my $100+ multi-meter, because it gave me the running history over time. This is what I used to share the charging voltage plots earlier in the thread. Note that for best performance, you want to install this on-top of the battery. My picture above is somewhat temporary positioning for testing. If you install alongside the battery the low power bluetooth signal will not be able to broadcast through the lead battery, causing very directionalized range performance. The power draw for the monitor is 1mA, so you don't need to worry about it draining your battery. It also stores up to 30 days of data on board and then will sync it when you are back in range so you don't have any gaps in your data logs.

Battery alarms
Bonus features for those that run camping gear off their batteries at night, or just like more data, it has multiple adjustable power alarms so can have it notify your mobile device at a power percentage level. You can also monitor your battery charge in real time if you are curious on the charge status. It will also notify your mobile device of any abnormal start conditions.

Battery Tie Downs
The Northstar batteries do not fit the OEM tie down well, it is a very tight fit. The top of the battery is too wide causing the tie down to need to go underneath the battery handle as shown in earlier photos. There are aftermarket tie downs that resolve this issue, here are a few:

@Coupe sells adjustable battery tie downs on TW.
Rogue Off Road battery tie down
Off Grid Engineering battery tie down

Headlight Boosting
Halogens increase exponentially to the power of 3.4 with voltage increase, meaning the voltage booster upgrade is substantially beneficial to halogen output. Running some basic math:

Calculated: (14.65v/14.02v)^3.4=1.16 aka a 16% increase over pre-boost voltage.

Measuring actual lux
14.0v = 2014 lux
14.7v = 2335 lux
15.9% measured increase over pre-boosted stock.

0.1 increase difference in theoretical vs calculated is impressive to say the least.

Where to buy:
HKB Electronics of Australia
Adjustable voltage booster
Fixed 0.5v voltage booster

BatteriesPlus
X2 Power NorthStar Batteries (10% off buy online and pickup in store)
24F NorthStar
27F NorthStar
31 NorthStar
Click to expand...

Hello Cr

crashnburn80[OP] initial post: ↑

The NorthStar AGM Battery + Voltage Booster Upgrade

This thread covers upgrading to the best AGM battery available and modifying the voltage regulator via plug and play fuse to charge the battery at increased voltage, as required by spec on an AGM. Side benefits include brighter halogen headlights and higher flowing fuel pumps for supercharged applications.

Best AGM Battery
3 big heavy weight names constantly come up in the high performance AGM battery space, Opima, Odyssey and NorthStar. There are other brands out there that make AGMs as well, but this thread will focus on the top 3 names in the industry.

What is an AGM battery and why does it matter?
AGM stands for Absorbed Glass Matt. These batteries are maintenance free, they are sealed (non spillable), they have a higher power density than a flooded lead acid battery, they are typically more reliable with a longer life span. AGMs can charge much faster and have the ability to deep cycle. An AGM is superior in every way to a standard lead acid battery.

Understanding battery sizes
The 2nd Gen Tacomas came with battery size 24F for non-tow package trucks and 27F for tow package (TRD) trucks. The 3rd Gen Tacomas only received the smaller 24F batteries. It is possible to mount a larger 27F in a 24F tray, these were interchangeable on the 2nd Gen. It is also possible to mount a larger group 31 battery in place of either, though group 31s are large and heavy, it is recommended to get a group 31 battery cage from an aftermarket vendor.

The best way to evaluate what you are getting is looking at the data.

Battery Data

Battery Data Notes:
*Stock specs are based on value replacement Toyota TrueStart batteries. OEM battery specs are unpublished. 18mo warranty is replacement warranty, they pro-rate in tiers after than for 42 mo. The TrueStart Batteries are likely much higher performance and quality than the OEM included with the vehicle.
*NorthStar offers a 4 year warranty, buying BatteriesPlus X2 labeled NorthStars is cheaper and extends the warranty to 5 years.
*NorthStar claims 900 charge/discharge cycles in publications, but if you look at the data details that is 50% change rate, the other brands use 80% charge rate. NorthStar 80% change rate spec is 400.
*Odessey batteries do extreme vibration testing and pass but do not provide a multiplier value like Optima and NorthStar.

Looking at the specs, it is pretty clear NorthStar is the superior product. The NorthStar 27F has over 2x the reserve capacity of the OEM 24F and almost 2x the CCA, while also beating out every performance spec of the larger group 31 Optima. And if you have a 2nd Gen the 27F is factory size. If you have a 3rd Gen, fitting a 27F should be no problem.

If you are looking to go big with a Group 31 battery, Odessey and NorthStar are much more equally paired. However, in every spec where there is a difference NorthStar comes out ahead. Note that even the 27F is significantly heavier than stock, and group 31 batteries are even heavier. Tray and support cracking has been reported with heavy batteries and off road use, something to consider.

Looking at every measured metric, NorthStar AGMs are the best battery on the market.

Some Optima background
Optima was made in the USA. In the early 2000s Optima was purchased and the new parent company cut cost and moved production to Mexico. There was some overlap in the mid/late 2000s where both the US factory and the Mexican one were producing batteries. In 2008 I think the parent company closed USA production and shifted all production to Mexico. The Mexican made batteries that are said to not be of the quality the Optima brand was built on. While the USA plant closed in 2008, there was still stock of the USA made batteries that likely lingered around for a little while before eventually all being sold and replaced with Mexican made ones.

I had a yellow top that I purchased in 2005 for winching on my Wrangler Rubicon. That battery was a trooper and did great on long hard winch pulls in well below freezing temperatures. I kept it for 8 years across several vehicles before eventually selling it with a vehicle. I would no longer buy an Optima and instead run a USA made NorthStar AGM.

Selecting a battery size
27F vs Group 31. The NorthStar 27F is 20lbs over stock for a 2nd Gen while offering substantial gains across all spec'd metrics. Going to an even larger Group 31 NorthStar does offer more power, but I would only consider doing so if one really needed the additional reserve capacity. The additional added weight at 76lbs on the front battery tray is a lot and certainly doesn't help the Taco lean. With the deep reserve capacity, one might consider a single Group 31 NorthStar as an easier alternative to a dual battery setup. For my use I chose a 27F NorthStar.

Charging Voltage
AGM batteries require a higher charge voltage than lead acid. Since the Tacoma is calibrated to charge lead acid, that means the charge voltage is insufficient. Lead acid may charge at 14.0v-14.4v. I measured my 4.0 2015 Tacoma hot charge at 13.91v idle, and 14.02v rev.

Right on the NorthStar AGM battery, cycle service charge 14.4v-14.8v.

Very clear the 14.02v charge voltage is insufficient, meaning the AGM battery must be maintained on a plug in wall charger for proper AGM health or the alternator voltage must be boosted. If the charge voltage is not sufficient, battery sulfation will occur and reduce the performance and life of your AGM battery.

Voltage Boosters
These devices work by effectively tricking the alternator voltage regulator into seeing less voltage than it is actually producing thereby causing it to compensate to produce more. So in a simple example if you want to increase the voltage by 0.5v, you cause an artificial 0.5v loss on what the voltage regulator detects and it compensates by raising the voltage an additional 0.5v giving you a net gain.

The Alt-S Circuit <-Needed for this mod
The Alt-S circuit is the circuit used by the voltage regulator to monitor voltage at the battery and adjust accordingly. You can read more on the Toyota Alt-S circuit here. This simple mod is only works in vehicles where the Alt-S circuit exists for the voltage regulator to control the voltage. In some newer vehicles like the 2016+ Tacomas, the voltage is regulated by the ECU, meaning no voltage regulator Alt-S circuit to spoof.

HKB Electronics Voltage Boosters
There are a lot of methods to do this mod. I am not interested in hack solutions, I wanted something safe, proven and polished. If this mod goes wrong there are a lot of expensive electronics at risk. HKB Electronics out of Australia offers specifically designed plug and play voltage booster kits for the Tacoma for this exact purpose. Australia has some of the best 4WD companies on the market due to their environment, it is not surprising it is an Australian company to offer this product.

HKB Electronics offers two different products for the Tacoma, a 'fixed' 0.5v booster or an adjustable booster 0.2v-1.0v in increments of 0.2v. Unsure which to get, the obvious answer was clearly buy them both so I can test them and tell you guys which is better.

The AGM specs 14.4v-14.8v cycle service charge (aka alternator charge). Meaning that is the operating voltage target window that we want to adjust the alternator charge voltage to. Based on stock measurements it looks like 0.5v increase minimum.

HKB Adjustable voltage booster

To install, you simply replace the fuse in the 7.5A 'Alt-S' location (shown in upper left) with the modified voltage booster in your under hood fuse box. Basic plug and play.

Adjustable voltage booster shown mounted and set to +0.8v. (0.6v recommended)

Here is a photo of the 0.5v booster installed.

Testing
I originally measured the voltage with a multi-meter off the battery. The results I got were somewhat misleading. The problem was the data provided by a multi-meter is a fixed point in time, and charge voltage fluctuates over time. I needed to determine the peak charge voltage baseline so I can then make the required adjustment to set it to 14.6-14.8v, but I cannot accurately tell where the peak is with the multi-meter. I really needed to track the voltage over time so I knew the highs and lows of the data to determine the voltage setting more accurately.

So I logged my stock alternator charge voltage settings over time.

I checked the voltage monitor for accuracy with my multi-meter, it specs to be within 0.03v. I confirmed it meets spec, it reads 0.03v low. In the big picture that is a very small delta but good to know.

I then set my booster up to +0.6v and logged more data.

Over several days the peak voltage recorded was 14.69v, and being 0.3v low, that means peak voltage is 14.72v, up from 14.09 recorded (14.12 actual). I then sent this data off to NorthStar, and they agreed the settings look optimized and no further adjustments were necessary.

Based on my 2015 Tacoma 4.0 130A alternator, the HKD Electronics booster set to +0.6v provides measured maximum performance benefit without overcharging the battery. The 0.5v booster would also do well at 0.1v less, meaning ~14.6v which would also just make it into the optimal 14.6-14.8v charging range specified by NorthStar.

While these settings worked on my truck, you should test to confirm what works on yours to avoid overcharging. If using a multi-meter, it is best to test your truck on cold start after sitting for an extended time such as overnight, as the voltage output will be highest then.

If you are interested in knowing more on charging systems, this is a good overview of how voltage regulators, alternators and batteries work together in the charging system.

Battery Data Logging
I really wanted to log voltage data over time to better help me track and tune my battery and charging performance. After hunting for some products to accomplish this, I found this bluetooth battery monitor.

For only ~$32 this provided far better insights to my charging system performance than my $100+ multi-meter, because it gave me the running history over time. This is what I used to share the charging voltage plots earlier in the thread. Note that for best performance, you want to install this on-top of the battery. My picture above is somewhat temporary positioning for testing. If you install alongside the battery the low power bluetooth signal will not be able to broadcast through the lead battery, causing very directionalized range performance. The power draw for the monitor is 1mA, so you don't need to worry about it draining your battery. It also stores up to 30 days of data on board and then will sync it when you are back in range so you don't have any gaps in your data logs.

Battery alarms
Bonus features for those that run camping gear off their batteries at night, or just like more data, it has multiple adjustable power alarms so can have it notify your mobile device at a power percentage level. You can also monitor your battery charge in real time if you are curious on the charge status. It will also notify your mobile device of any abnormal start conditions.

Battery Tie Downs
The Northstar batteries do not fit the OEM tie down well, it is a very tight fit. The top of the battery is too wide causing the tie down to need to go underneath the battery handle as shown in earlier photos. There are aftermarket tie downs that resolve this issue, here are a few:

@Coupe sells adjustable battery tie downs on TW.
Rogue Off Road battery tie down
Off Grid Engineering battery tie down

Headlight Boosting
Halogens increase exponentially to the power of 3.4 with voltage increase, meaning the voltage booster upgrade is substantially beneficial to halogen output. Running some basic math:

Calculated: (14.65v/14.02v)^3.4=1.16 aka a 16% increase over pre-boost voltage.

Measuring actual lux
14.0v = 2014 lux
14.7v = 2335 lux
15.9% measured increase over pre-boosted stock.

0.1 increase difference in theoretical vs calculated is impressive to say the least.

Where to buy:
HKB Electronics of Australia
Adjustable voltage booster
Fixed 0.5v voltage booster

BatteriesPlus
X2 Power NorthStar Batteries (10% off buy online and pickup in store)
24F NorthStar
27F NorthStar
31 NorthStar
Click to expand...

Hello CrashnBurn,

Needless to say, this is an old thread that has some utility and currency for me because the battery on my 2015 Tacoma Prerunner DC with a tow package has just sailed to the bottom edge of the south pole without advanced notice and I am actively in the market for a new one. I have gravitated towards NorthStar AGM (X2 Power) because my research findings have dictated my leaning.

Here is my use case:
1) Truck will be shipped to Ghana, West Africa, in three months.
2) The weather in Ghana is very hot.
3) Truck will be used occasionally. Certainly not on a daily basis.

Now, let me tap your expertise:
1) Is NorthStar AGM (X2 Power) the optimal choice?
2) Will the fixed (.5) voltage booster suffice and is it safe?
3) Is the booster truly plug-and-play with no extra set-up?
4) Does the voltage of the truck need re-calibration?

Looking forward to hearing from you very soon.

Cheers,

agbofortsi

crashnburn80 · Jan 30, 2021

agbofortsi said: ↑

Hello Cr

Hello CrashnBurn,

Needless to say, this is an old thread that has some utility and currency for me because the battery on my 2015 Tacoma Prerunner DC with a tow package has just sailed to the bottom edge of the south pole without advanced notice and I am actively in the market for a new one. I have gravitated towards NorthStar AGM (X2 Power) because my research findings have dictated my leaning.

Here is my use case:
1) Truck will be shipped to Ghana, West Africa, in three months.
2) The weather in Ghana is very hot.
3) Truck will be used occasionally. Certainly not on a daily basis.

Now, let me tap your expertise:
1) Is NorthStar AGM (X2 Power) the optimal choice?
2) Will the fixed (.5) voltage booster suffice and is it safe?
3) Is the booster truly plug-and-play with no extra set-up?
4) Does the voltage of the truck need re-calibration?

Looking forward to hearing from you very soon.

Cheers,

agbofortsi
Click to expand...

1) High heat negatively affects all batteries, but a quality sealed AGM should fair better than a flooded battery which will likely vent its water content.
2) 0.5v booster is the recommended option under the conditions I have tested, though I have not tested in extreme heat. Under the conditions I have tested 0.5v is optimal and safe.
3) The booster is plug and play in 2nd Gen trucks with nothing else required. 3rd Gen has ECU voltage control complications, meaning the booster does not work in 3rd Gen.
4) No calibration needed, the booster is the calibration. It makes the regulator see -0.5v so the regulator compensates and boosts the alternator +0.5v, elegantly simple.

Here is some Q&A from Oddessy on hot weather battery info. Note the Northstar falls under the 99.99% pure lead thin cell battery tech discussed in the article.
https://www.odysseybattery.com/news/faq-how-to-protect-your-battery-against-the-summer-heat/

agbofortsi · Jan 31, 2021

crashnburn80[OP] said: ↑

1) High heat negatively affects all batteries, but a quality sealed AGM should fair better than a flooded battery which will likely vent its water content.
2) 0.5v booster is the recommended option under the conditions I have tested, though I have not tested in extreme heat. Under the conditions I have tested 0.5v is optimal and safe.
3) The booster is plug and play in 2nd Gen trucks with nothing else required. 3rd Gen has ECU voltage control complications, meaning the booster does not work in 3rd Gen.
4) No calibration needed, the booster is the calibration. It makes the regulator see -0.5v so the regulator compensates and boosts the alternator +0.5v, elegantly simple.

Here is some Q&A from Oddessy on hot weather battery info. Note the Northstar falls under the 99.99% pure lead thin cell battery tech discussed in the article.
https://www.odysseybattery.com/news/faq-how-to-protect-your-battery-against-the-summer-heat/
Click to expand...

C&B,

Thanks a lot for your prompt response, time and kindness. Based on your input and the referenced article, NorthStar is the way to go.

I have four Texas Special Edition rims (265/65R17) that I would like to give to someone - free. Let me know if you know someone who would be interested; otherwise, I will post the offer on Tacoma World. They are as good as new.

Cheers,

agbofortsi

agbofortsi · Jan 31, 2021

crashnburn80[OP] said: ↑

1) High heat negatively affects all batteries, but a quality sealed AGM should fair better than a flooded battery which will likely vent its water content.
2) 0.5v booster is the recommended option under the conditions I have tested, though I have not tested in extreme heat. Under the conditions I have tested 0.5v is optimal and safe.
3) The booster is plug and play in 2nd Gen trucks with nothing else required. 3rd Gen has ECU voltage control complications, meaning the booster does not work in 3rd Gen.
4) No calibration needed, the booster is the calibration. It makes the regulator see -0.5v so the regulator compensates and boosts the alternator +0.5v, elegantly simple.

Here is some Q&A from Oddessy on hot weather battery info. Note the Northstar falls under the 99.99% pure lead thin cell battery tech discussed in the article.
https://www.odysseybattery.com/news/faq-how-to-protect-your-battery-against-the-summer-heat/
Click to expand...

C & B,

Is this HKB Electronics' 0.5v voltage booster?

Thanks,

agbofortsi

agbofortsi · Jan 31, 2021

agbofortsi said: ↑

C & B,

Is this HKB Electronics' 0.5v voltage booster?

Thanks,

agbofortsi
Click to expand...

C&, these are the options for the 2015 Tacoma:

crashnburn80 · Jan 31, 2021

agbofortsi said: ↑

C&, these are the options for the 2015 Tacoma:

Click to expand...

You want the micro one of the far left.

Norton · Jan 31, 2021

agbofortsi said: ↑

NorthStar is the way to go.
Click to expand...

I agree that Northstar is a good choice, if you can find one...

mrCanoehead said: ↑

Bad news about the Northstar 27F. When I called the shop to buy one I was told Northstar was bought out last year and these batteries have ceased production.
Click to expand...

Norton said: ↑

IIRC, Enersys acquired Northstar in late 2019. The good news is Enersys is the parent company of Odyssey.

It appears Odyssey still offers an ODP-AGM27F. Specs aren't quite as good as the NSB-AGM27F, but they're not bad.
Click to expand...

infensus said: ↑

Odyssey will no longer be making group 24, 27 batteries. Emailed them and they told me to get X2Power:
Click to expand...

Norton said: ↑

Odyssey's site still shows both 24F and 27F batteries as being available. Batteries Plus similarly shows X2 24F and 27F availability. Northstar shows neither.
Click to expand...

agbofortsi · Jan 31, 2021

crashnburn80[OP] said: ↑

You want the micro one of the far left.
Click to expand...

C&B, it's me again. Where can I purchase this item? From HKB's site or is it available in the US? HKB's prices are quoted in AUD. Does this mean the item will be shipped from Australia and the site will convert to USD?

crashnburn80 · Jan 31, 2021

agbofortsi said: ↑

C&B, it's me again. Where can I purchase this item? From HKB's site or is it available in the US? HKB's prices are quoted in AUD. Does this mean the item will be shipped from Australia and the site will convert to USD?
Click to expand...

You can order from HKB direct. Shipping does take a little while. Prices are shown in AUD and 1 AUD = 0.76 USD today. You can also buy from HKB on ebay, though I don't know that there is any benefit, still ships from the same place.
https://www.hkbelect.com/product/182-mk2-micro-blade-75a-electronic-fuse-version-2014/

agbofortsi · Jan 31, 2021

crashnburn80[OP] said: ↑

You can order from HKB direct. Shipping does take a little while. Prices are shown in AUD and 1 AUD = 0.76 USD today. You can also buy from HKB on ebay, though I don't know that there is any benefit, still ships from the same place.
https://www.hkbelect.com/product/182-mk2-micro-blade-75a-electronic-fuse-version-2014/
Click to expand...

C&B,

I know I am bothering you; but please bear with me. I have a 1993 Toyota Pickup 4WD manual shift which I will never give up for all the money on planet earth. Can I upgrade the battery to AGM. If yes, do I need voltage booster?

BenMara · Jan 31, 2021

If it has the Alt fuse in the fuse box. You can do the voltage booster and AGM battery.
@crashnburn80 will correct me if I'm wrong

crashnburn80 · Jan 31, 2021

I didn’t check my 89 or 94 for the alt-s fuse, but if it has one it will work as @BenMara mentioned.

agbofortsi · Jan 31, 2021

Dang Quesadila said: ↑

@crashnburn80

I've had my X2 Power installed for about a year, not realizing it wasn't being charged properly. I also only drive about 40min/30miles 5 days/wk.

I ordered the aussie voltage booster and am waiting for its arrival.

Do you feel my battery has been degraded/damaged due to under charging for this long a period?
Click to expand...

Dang,

When did you order the voltage booster? Did you receive it? How long did the delivery take? Finally, how much did you pay (USD)?

I ask because I would like to order the booster but I don't know if the supply chain has been disrupted by Covid. I wouldn't want to place and order and sit in limbo waiting for it.

Thanks for your help.

agbofortsi

6 gearT444E · Feb 7, 2021

I found something funny today inadvertently, maybe a cheap way to boost the battery voltage. Years ago when I did my "fog light anytime mod", I tapped into the white sense wire (at the time I didn't know what that wire was in the fuse box, just that it had voltage all the time even with the key out). I noticed driving tonight that when I switched the fogs on, my battery voltage went up almost 0.6V due to the voltage drop on that wire from energizing the fog relay. Since I already installed the voltage booster, it bumped my voltage up to almost 15.5 volts which was too high for my liking and now that I'm aware of it, I'm going to switch where I have the fog relay positive tapped from. But for those that want a cheap voltage booster, just hook up a toyota relay up to the sense line lol. And got me to thinking that if you could source a potentiometer of the right range, you could calculate the voltage drop and have essentially an infinite adjustable voltage booster.

Dang Quesadila · Feb 11, 2021

agbofortsi said: ↑

Dang,

When did you order the voltage booster? Did you receive it? How long did the delivery take? Finally, how much did you pay (USD)?

I ask because I would like to order the booster but I don't know if the supply chain has been disrupted by Covid. I wouldn't want to place and order and sit in limbo waiting for it.

Thanks for your help.

agbofortsi
Click to expand...

I paid $176 shipped.

I ordered it on 9/15 and there was a bit of a delay but I was ok waiting a bit.

They emailed me immediately to let me know they were waiting on customs forms before they could ship and offered me a refund if I was unable to wait.

They shipped it out on 9/27 and it didn't take too long to arrive after that.

Seems like a great company with great customer service and communications!

onesojourner · Feb 16, 2021

Now that Northstar is most likely to follow oddesey's QA decline, can we come up with a few US made alternatives? I was looking at https://lifelinebatteries.com/products/marine-batteries/gpl-3100t/ Does anyone have any experience?

Norton · Feb 16, 2021

onesojourner said: ↑

Now that Northstar is most likely to follow oddesey's QA decline...
Click to expand...

What "oddesey QA decline"? Are you confusing Odyssey with Optima, whose quality went downhill after moving production south of the border?

onesojourner · Feb 16, 2021

Norton said: ↑

What "oddesey QA decline"? Are you confusing Odyssey with Optima, whose quality went downhill after moving production south of the border?
Click to expand...

Very possibly. Do you have the details. I may be confusing brands.

Norton · Feb 16, 2021

onesojourner said: ↑

Very possibly. Do you have the details. I may be confusing brands.
Click to expand...

I have no details beyond what I said - Optima was considered a solid brand until they moved production south of the border, after which their quality became more hit and miss. I'm unuaware of such concern with Odyssey's quality, nor any expected decline in Northstar's now that they're combined.

Perhaps you could provide details of the "QA decline" your post referenced?

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