[phobos512]

Yesterday evening my battery died. I drove the car twice yesterday and didn't have any problem, and I went to start it last night to go to the store and nothing. Battery was below 11V.

So after flipping out at my car being broken after I finally got it back together again, I figured out that I'd have to of course remove the Maggie intercooler tank to get the battery out.

So this morning I went to Home Depot and bought a wet/dry shop vac and a crevice tool. I stuck the crevice tool into the tank and it took all of 10 seconds to empty the tank dry. Then I popped the hose clamps and stuck some paper towel in both hoses to keep stuff from dripping in the engine bay.

So after doing some research on the forum here and found that an Optima 35-series would work as a replacement.

(I should note, I was NOT using a stock battery. Because of all the problems I read about with people's batteries dying or being dead from the dealer, I had purchased an Optima 34/78 soon after buying the car. But beause the posts were backwards it wouldn't work with the Maggie, so I had a different battery installed with the Maggie.)

So I did some more research online to find out who would sell these things where I could get one today and finally found a place in Bakersfield, Interstate Batteries on California and K. The price wasn't super great (as compared to some places online like Remy that I'd read about on here) but they had them in stock and it was cheaper than the other Optima batteries for sale locally (none of which would have worked though). I drove my girlfriend's car out and got the battery, topped it off on the charger, cleaned off the battery tray, and got everything installed back in the car. I also decided to flush out the Maggie coolant system while I'm at it, so I filled it with distilled water for now. I figure I'll fill it and suck it out a few times to clean out the old stuff and then finally fill it 50/50 with some Prestone green coolant (I'm not concerned about freezing here yet as it is only getting down into the 60s at night right now) and some Water Wetter.

I drove it around a bit this evening after getting everything buttoned up and it was fine. I checked with my multimeter car on/off and there is a good .5-1V difference (varying) while the car is on vs. off, so the alternator is doing it's thing, which is what I was worried about. It looked like the other battery had worked it's way loose partially from the mounts (it was shaped funny on the bottom and could only be held so tight) and that might have been a contributing factor in its death.

Oh, for people who have the Interceptors, something I noticed is that the Battery Voltage display is not accurate...It's between 0.5-0.6V off to the low side from what I was seeing with my multimeter at the battery terminals (if anything, it should have been lower there than from the bus where the Inteceptors get their data, due to losses in the cables). I wonder why that is??

So anyway, it was an adventure today. But for anyone who has to remove their Maggie coolant tank...Shop vac. Works great. Now I just have to figure out what I can do with the coolant that I sucked out.

 

[proxses]

I love the shop-vac idea.
I need to try that now, but what to empty.....
hmmm... that fishtank needs a bit of cleaning...

Anyway, good info, and glad it worked out right.

 

[ddawson]

The correct Optima fits great.

Did you have to raise the Reservoir? I had to because it was rubbing on a metal bracket and I was afraid it would wear though and cause a leak.

I used 1"x1" Plexi Square tubing and attached it to the bottom of the Reservoir then Velcro to the Battery. BTW RadioShack sells the correct Superlock Velcro. http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...cp=&origkw=velcro&kw=velcro&parentPage=search

 

[Steel Chicken]

Oh, for people who have the Interceptors, something I noticed is that the Battery Voltage display is not accurate...It's between 0.5-0.6V off to the low side from what I was seeing with my multimeter at the battery terminals (if anything, it should have been lower there than from the bus where the Inteceptors get their data, due to losses in the cables). I wonder why that is??

Voltage drop, resistance in the wires. Nothing to worry about.

 

[phobos512]

The correct Optima fits great.

Did you have to raise the Reservoir? I had to because it was rubbing on a metal bracket and I was afraid it would wear though and cause a leak.

I used 1"x1" Plexi Square tubing and attached it to the bottom of the Reservoir then Velcro to the Battery. BTW RadioShack sells the correct Superlock Velcro. http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...cp=&origkw=velcro&kw=velcro&parentPage=search

Mine is touching that same metal bracket...Wasn't sure what to do about that. Though from looking at the resevoir it has rubbed for quite a long time. Raising the res didn't give any hood contact problems did it?

 

[ddawson]

No, the stock battery was 1" taller so the plex keeps the reservoir at the stock height.

It doesn't touch at all.

 

[Torkster]

The correct Optima fits great.

yes it does. The universal top and side post battery doesn't fit with the maggie tank with out modding something. I got the correct type at sears. I was just wanting a battery and advance auto only listed optima and the gto specific was not instock and since a was stranded I brought the universal 35 series top/side post optima. This was a week before the maggie install as well as sears. Sears had the correct size and things fit perfect, just out of 300 dollars for batteries.:barf:

Anybody need a one week old 35 series optima battery with top/side post combination (for none maggie applications)?

 

[AlphaEden]

I turned the yellow top on its side and it fits well

 

[Pontiac Addict]

The correct Optima fits great.

Did you have to raise the Reservoir? I had to because it was rubbing on a metal bracket and I was afraid it would wear though and cause a leak.

I used 1"x1" Plexi Square tubing and attached it to the bottom of the Reservoir then Velcro to the Battery. BTW RadioShack sells the correct Superlock Velcro. http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...cp=&origkw=velcro&kw=velcro&parentPage=search

Regular 2" wide velcro actually works better I found. It sticks easier yet still holds the reservoir tight. You can buy the black regualr velcro at Home depot.

 

[phobos512]

Regular 2" wide velcro actually works better I found. It sticks easier yet still holds the reservoir tight. You can buy the black regualr velcro at Home depot.

They also have "Industrial Strength" Velcro, which is what I bought.

ddawson - What I've done for now is put some thick plastic tubing (like for computer water cooling or a fish tank) over the edge of that metal piece and siliconed it in place. I'll probably do something else for a final solution but this will work in the mean time. I didn't realize about the great difference in height. I wonder why my tank is scratched up in that location anyway? I noticed it last night before I put it back on that the little indentation was scratched up from that corner, figured it must have been rubbing all along. Guess not though.

I checked this morning and everything looks good still, battery didn't drain overnight at all, so that's good. I think it was just a hosed battery.

I also did my first suck-out/refill on the Maggie tank...I bought 6 gallons of distilled water to do it (the tank holds just shy of a gallon so everytime I refill it I'm diluting the total mixture by a lot). Figured that'd be thorough enough without my having to pull any of the lower hoses off and drain it that way. 2.5HP sure does suck up the water quick, let me tell you.

 

[GMinTheDriveway]

Still using the stock battery but good to know what is out there that is compatible with the maggie.

 

[mdmike]

Yea good stuff to know.

 

[Blue06M6GTO]

Some auto parts stores as well as some service stations will take used oil
and coolant
>>> FOR FREE <<<
yes no money required just call one up
put it in an old plastic milk or water jug seal it up and drop it off

Please do not dump it down storm the drain as the storm drain dumps out into local waterways and the bay,
I dont want to swim in it ,the next time I take my boat out to water ski........

Thank You........:drink:

 

[phobos512]

Some auto parts stores as well as some service stations will take used oil
and coolant
>>> FOR FREE <<<
yes no money required just call one up
put it in an old plastic milk or water jug seal it up and drop it off

Please do not dump it down storm the drain as the storm drain dumps out into local waterways and the bay,
I dont want to swim in it ,the next time I take my boat out to water ski........

Thank You........:drink:

Thank you for posting this, I was actually wondering what to do with the coolant...I was planning on letting it hang out in the shop vac until I figured out what I could do with it...Guess I'll run over to Autozone later and see if they'll accept it. I know they take old oil (I only change my own oil on my bike though and it doesn't use that much at a time, so I just have a container building up in my garage).

 

[GTOART]

The correct Optima fits great.

Did you have to raise the Reservoir? I had to because it was rubbing on a metal bracket and I was afraid it would wear though and cause a leak.

I used 1"x1" Plexi Square tubing and attached it to the bottom of the Reservoir then Velcro to the Battery. BTW RadioShack sells the correct Superlock Velcro. http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...cp=&origkw=velcro&kw=velcro&parentPage=search

Where did you purchase the 1"X1" plexi square tubing? My battery just craped out today. I was going to use the red top optima 35 battery #8020-164 correct? Optima says it comes with a height adapter that can be used on the top or bottom of the battery and adds 1.25". Any one use this? I know we only need 1", but mabe this adapter can be trim to 1".

 

[johnsgto]

Thanks for the information, good to know.

 

[ddawson]

The adapter does not work as it's too weak to hold the battery in place by the OEM mount.

The plexi can be bought from tap plastics.
http://www.tapplastics.com/

I used RC Servo Tape http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXFZN9&P=7 to hold the plexi to the bottom of the Maggie reservoir then the Superlock from the Plexi to the battery.

Servo Tape can be bought at any Hobby store and plexi can even by found at any hardware store.

Once Servo Tape tape sets it's almost impossible to remove without huge effort and some Goo Gone

 

[GTOART]

I decided to install a HD version of the AC delco battery that comes with the car instead of the Optima with the mods needed for the install. Its the 85H-7yr with 720 CCA instead of 600 with the stocker. Fits like a glove!

 

[phobos512]

Since I had my Maggie tank out again because it broke I decided to remedy the rubbing on the brake control mount issue with the tank and the new battery.

I purchased a sheet of .22" Lexan from Walmart and cut four pieces, each 6.25" x 5.5", to sit on top of the battery. I attached them together with some all-weather 200 degF duct tape and used Velcro XTREME!! to attach the tank to them. The new tank now sits at the same height as with the old battery, doesn't hit the hood, and doesn't rub.

Thanks for the ideas all.