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I bought one in 2019. Used it for about 14 months. Then I got all sorts of alarms and notices of "shutdown imminent". I also noticed the voltages varying wildly and getting as high as 16v. I think lithium tech is good, but not well paired with the Ford smart charging algorithm.I am curious to know about your Antigravity experience - have been contemplating one for a different car but am having trouble justifying the incredible cost.
One of the things I had been researching with no real validation is that there is supposed to be a (blue?) lead to disconnect from the alternator which disables the Ford Smart Charging system, leaving it to charge at a standard voltage level. I think that might have worked better with the Antigravity Battery.I have a Braille B2015, weighs less than half of the stock battery. But. The damn thing would not start the car if anything else was using current, so I had to unplug everything whenever it was shut down. OBD reader, cell phone, camera, any of those would kill it to the point that it wouldn't crank.
Often that would get overlooked and there you are getting ready for a session and the damn thing wouldn't turn the engine over. Rush around, get the big battery and jump start it. There's nothing worse than that when you are starting a session, totally not what you need or want to happen.
Got sick of that dance and gave up on it, just so much less hassle using the big battery. It also doesn't like to start the engine hot, so if you cough it on track you're making a problem for everyone else. If I was racing I guess I would stick it out, but for just doing lapping days it's too much hassle.
Well the Ford guys need to start calling Scoots.On an S550 you can disable smart charging by unplugging the “ring” shaped sensor that goes around the negative battery cable just in front of the passenger strut tower. It will keep voltage at least at 14.5. I’ve seen 15v doing that as well. I believe I’ve read that constant 15v is not good for lithium ion batteries either.
IMO, I don't think the trickle charger is the issue. If you look at the characteristics of lithium, it has a much longer shelf life that lead-calcium, has a wider operating temperature window, and can accept a much higher number of complete discharges. I think the Smart Charging is killing them. I'm not trying to throw Anti-Gravity under the bus. The H5 battery with restart that I had was a good product. I just think that being an early adopter with lithium for a starter battery is not for me until Ford gives Smart Charging algorithm options.I’m on my second antigravity since 2019. It’s probably my fault for being lax about keeping a trickle charger on it. I've been using a model without the “Re-Start” system. Perhaps I'm on borrowed time, but I haven't had any electrical issues related to the battery.