Bought a new Northstar battery - does it look damaged?

[JohnOfTheJungle]

I bought the battery off of Amazon (it says it was fulfilled by a co. called Impact Battery).

As I was monkeying around with it tonight to install it I noticed a spot that looks like it may have leaked, and the casing is a little wider in that area

Here is the other side

Also when I opened the box the battery tray spacer was shattered, which isn’t cool, but I figured I’d write Northstar and ask for a free replacement

I normally try to avoid returning things to Amazon at all costs because it’s such a pain in the ass, but seeing that little spot on the battery makes me think I should send it back and buy local. What do you think?

In other news - although this battery install might be a wash, I did succeed in tightening 2 valve cover bolts above an oil leak that it turns out were finger tight (wtf?)

 

[Brian.]

Amazon returns got easier a few months back, you can just drop it off at a UPS Store location. They print you a receipt and that's it.

Granted, not everyone Has a UPS store within easy reach, but just incase you do....


As for the battery, maybe. AGM's are pretty rugged, but it's still a roll of the dice.

 

[brillo_76]

Do you see any physical cracks in the plastic? Do you have any Gel electrolyte oozing out anywhere??

I see some cosmetic damage and I would check the bottom for cracks but if it isnt leaking I say it's fine.

Mostly the plastic on sealed lead glass mat batteries is extremely durable.

It looks like the same plastic that used in battery backup batteries that are sealed gelled lead acid.

What do others think???

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[RandyBobandy]

that's just "impact battery" trying to live up to their name

 

[JohnOfTheJungle]

Do you see any physical cracks in the plastic? Do you have any Gel electrolyte oozing out anywhere??

I see some cosmetic damage and I would check the bottom for cracks but if it isnt leaking I say it's fine.

Mostly the plastic on sealed lead glass mat batteries is extremely durable.

It looks like the same plastic that used in battery backup batteries that are sealed gelled lead acid.

What do others think???

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Don’t see any cracks, that spot seems to be glue, maybe just a little bit of a sloppy assembly by Northstar.

I think I’ll contact Impact Batteries and Northstar to confirm that I’ve got a warranty on the and go ahead and run it.


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[brillo_76]

Don’t see any cracks, that spot seems to be glue, maybe just a little bit of a sloppy assembly by Northstar.

I think I’ll contact Impact Batteries and Northstar to confirm that I’ve got a warranty on the and go ahead and run it.


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That's what I would do. As long as it functions I wouldn't worry about a scratch and dent..




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[Sky]

I normally try to avoid returning things to Amazon at all costs because it’s such a pain in the ass, but seeing that little spot on the battery makes me think I should send it back and buy local. What do you think?

Amazon returns got easier a few months back, you can just drop it off at a UPS Store location. They print you a receipt and that's it.

Granted, not everyone Has a UPS store within easy reach, but just incase you do....

That is odd- I buy a lot from Amazon- 106 orders so far this year.
So yes I sometimes return stuff....I've never been asked to take anything anywhere- they pick it up from my house.
Once in awhile they even let me keep whatever was defective and issue a refund.

 

[pluton]

I don't like it and probably would return it, especially if I could buy local. The shattered adapter could indicate that the box was subjected to severe bashing.
BTW, that battery doesn't appear to have the reversed terminals that are required for normal battery mounting in a 3rd gen 4Runner.
The Northstar NSB-24F has the correct terminal orientation, and, as a bonus, a slightly greater capacity.

 

[JohnOfTheJungle]

I don't like it and probably would return it, especially if I could buy local. The shattered adapter could indicate that the box was subjected to severe bashing.
BTW, that battery doesn't appear to have the reversed terminals that are required for normal battery mounting in a 3rd gen 4Runner.
The Northstar NSB-24F has the correct terminal orientation, and, as a bonus, a slightly greater capacity.

You’ve got a point there with the shattered adapter. That’s what kind of gives me pause, and aside from that glue spot everything else with the battery seems normal.

I didn’t realize the 24F would fit ours - you’re correct that the terminals are reversed on this one. Do you run the 24F? I had kind of a hard time finding much info from others here that run Northstar.

I had to run to Advance Auto to buy a piece of cable extension that I planned to bolt up to my positive cable. Then was going to make a new cable out of 4ga for the little bit that attaches to the body.


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[calnhob]

Why risk it? You spent good money on it and you don't know how the co. treated the battery. I have the same one and would return in a heart beat if I got it like that.

Return and get a new one. Amazon return is easy.

 

[BoomerBob]

That is odd- I buy a lot from Amazon- 106 orders so far this year.
So yes I sometimes return stuff....I've never been asked to take anything anywhere- they pick it up from my house.
Once in awhile they even let me keep whatever was defective and issue a refund.

It depends on if it came from a private seller or an Amazon warehouse. They will give the customer a choice usually in the return process at the Amazon site. They will pick it up or, if you have a ups store near you, they will give you the option of taking it to the store without even packing it up. You just print or bring the code on your phone to take with it. They can see by your address if you have a ups store in reasonable distance. If not they may not offer that option but again; that's only if it came from one of their warehouses. If it's a private seller they will produce a mailing label to print out and put on the box to return it.

In this case, with the packaging damaged, the company may just send another battery and packaging to send the original battery back in.

 

[Sky]

There actually is a large Amazon warehouse/distribution center about 10 miles from me. Very little seems to come directly from them and returns seem to never go there even if the original purchase came from there.

Now here is the weird part- if something I order is in that local warehouse they used to ship it by USPS. The USPS has a huge facility about 2 miles from them. BUT they send everything to Concord NC 100 miles away to another Amazon facility then bring it right back to the USPS facility 2 miles from where it originally left 200 miles ago. Crazy.

Now that they are doing their own deliveries they are using the USPS less, at least in my area, which is a good thing as they screw up WAY too often.

 

[2owner4runner]

yes

without a doubt I would send it back

 

[pluton]

You’ve got a point there with the shattered adapter. That’s what kind of gives me pause, and aside from that glue spot everything else with the battery seems normal.

I didn’t realize the 24F would fit ours - you’re correct that the terminals are reversed on this one. Do you run the 24F? I had kind of a hard time finding much info from others here that run Northstar.

I had to run to Advance Auto to buy a piece of cable extension that I planned to bolt up to my positive cable. Then was going to make a new cable out of 4ga for the little bit that attaches to the body.


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>The 'glue spot' could be as a result of impact damage...the plastic pieces separating where they should never separate.
>I run a 34R (reversed terminal) by Odyssey; I was unaware of the Northstar when I had to get a battery for my new-to-me 4Runner 6.5 years ago.
>Back 6.5 years ago, I looked at the possibility of adjusting the 4Runner reversed wires to work with standard terminals, since I already owned a lightly used Group 34-standard Die Hard Platinum (rebadged Odyssey) from my previous vehicle. I decided that redoing the wires would add clutter and would be a hack job in my hands, hence...the new battery.
I advise getting the correct battery...why suffer needlessly?

 

[JohnOfTheJungle]

I went ahead and hooked it up 2 days ago. It did take some mods - I made a new frame ground wire for the battery out of 4ga and extended the positive wire also using 4ga.

The new battery never gets above 12.45 volts.

My old battery, which is a Deka liquid battery (670CCA) is holding 12.65 volts after sitting in the garage outside of my vehicle for 3 days.

Also confirmed that when the vehicle is running my charging voltage is 14.32 volts, so that’s not the problem.

According to what I’m reading online 100% charged should get me close to 13 volts. It looks like this battery is going back.


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[pluton]

My group 34R Odyssey never gets completely recharged (= 12.6 or 12.7 VDC resting charge) unless I drive about 100 miles or more on the highway. Around town driving never seems to fully recharge it. I'm thinking this is common with AGM batteries. Supposedly they need a longer time period of charging to fully top off than the old fashioned SLA batteries do. They still last me 7 years or more in service, but I have definitely confirmed the lack of full recharge from short trip driving on my vehicle.
Every once in a while, I attach my CTEK Multi US 25000 charger to the Odyssey 34R, and it takes about 3 hours on the CTEK to fully recharge it after weeks of city driving.
YMMV, as always. Good luck with your battery fun!