antigravity battery users on ACR

[sharmut]

I replaced the OE group v4 battery in the ACR with an Antigravity earlier this year and finally got a chance to drive the car. Noticed the dash light flickering and the SRT performance page voltage display reading was fluctuating from 13.8 to 16 volts. With the OE battery the voltage reading was always steady 14.1 - 14.2 volts. I moved the AGM H5 battery from the TA into the ACR and the voltage was nice and steady like the original ACR battery.

The antigravity battery voltage reads steady when measured disconnected from the vehicle.

Anyone experience this with the antigravity battery?
47198

[sharmut]

Found some information online, apparently the Porsche GT4 encountered similar symptoms that required the Antigravity battery BMS parameters updated. Although I'm not absolutely certain the root cause is the same.
I reached out to Antigravity for their guidance.

[TKO MOTORSPORTS TEAM]

Trick to lithium batteries is keep them on a C-tek lithium charger. Lithium batteries are very sensitive to loss of voltage over time and they can do some really strange things when voltage drops low and then battery is recharged. This is what we have found that works. If you drive your viper every few days your good but if you store your viper or drive it 1-2 times per month then you need to keep it on the charger in between drives . Also we always install a lithium battery tracker. Simple, cheap and has a very trick phone app. The battery track app will alert you to low battery charge, track battery voltage over time and will also allow to see live data and history. We use anti gravity batteries on everything we build and race and have had great luck with them. (Anti-gravity batteries built in remote low voltage start is an absolute life saver!!!!). Lithium batteries do require that little bit of extra effort so they might not be for everyone; They are still one of the best and quickest ways to loose vehicle weight.

[sharmut]

@TKO, thank you for the feedback. I did have the Anti-Gravity battery on a C-Tek Lithium charger when not driven. Hopefully my inquiry to the manufacturer will shed more light.

[TKO MOTORSPORTS TEAM]

@TKO, thank you for the feedback. I did have the Anti-Gravity battery on a C-Tek Lithium charger when not driven. Hopefully my inquiry to the manufacturer will shed more light.

Anti-gravity customer service is knowledgeable and very helpful. If you run into any problems let us know maybe we can help.

[Steve M]

How is the quality control on aftermarket lithium ion batteries in general?

The thing that's always bothered me is that there can be as much as an order of magnitude difference in price between brands, and as with anything on the internet, everyone out there sells the "best" product. It's really hard to dig through the BS marketing.

It seems like a great opportunity to save a lot of weight, but being low and in the back of the car makes it less appealing to me since I need all the help I can get in the traction department.

[Steve-Indy]

In my HUMBLE opinion, the lithium batteries are great for race cars. They are not something I would put in street Viper just for bragging rights while taking what is possibly a larger chance of a lithium-charger misadventure given the wide spectrum of suppliers. If your race shop goes up in smoke, it is sad...but your house would worse.
Fortunately the lithium iron phosphate batteries are safer than the older variations.

[LATAMUD]

I have one in my 2008 since Nov, accidentally ran it down to 0.1v once and had it charged back 100% in about 3 hours. I keep it on a Lithium smart tender.

[Steve-Indy]

I have found that the Antigravity Micro Start "jumper packs" are very handy for starting cars, maintaining constant voltage in the system when working with a programmer, as well a great backup for charging other devices. I always take one with me in a Viper. I have had a couple of them for several years...very reliable. I do remove them from the chargers as soon as they are charged.

[TKO MOTORSPORTS TEAM]

Definitely varying quality out there for lithium batteries. We extensively tested anti-gravity batteries before we started to offer them on our website for our customer to purchase. We also extensively tested the C-tech lithium chargers before we offer them to our customers. We have all heard the horror stories about lithium batteries and chargers. Anti gravity definitely is far better then any other lithium battery mfg on the market so far and the C-tech chargers work perfectly.

Anti gravity batteries
1. Electronics built into the battery that automatically control battery to limit possibility of damage
2. Built in remote jump start...........game changer!!
3. Light weight

[Steve-Indy]

I should note that I DO trust the Antigravity products...but, as you say, there are many layers of varying quality out there...both in batteries and chargers. Personally, I think this should be a need-driven issue...and a race car is certainly high on the list !! :)

[TKO MOTORSPORTS TEAM]

I should note that I DO trust the Antigravity products...but, as you say, there are many layers of varying quality out there...both in batteries and chargers. Personally, I think this should be a need-driven issue...and a race car is certainly high on the list !! :)

absolutely Steve well said.......... " need driven"

[Arizona Vipers]

Been running Lithiums for years, I ran a $200 battery tender 2 pound battery for about 3 years, never had any issues other than very little reserve power. I now run Doug Shelby's 8 pounder and it's got plenty of reserve, no issues. Before any track event I always make sure it's on the charger to my alternator has to work less while on track lmao

[sharmut]

Certainly not claiming to be an expert in this area, perhaps know enough to be dangerous. From what I recall, the major components of the battery are individual cells(my guess 3.4v ea) connected in series and parallel to achieve the target voltage and the amperage output. The production quality of each cell, as well the variance between each of the cells matters. The BMS (battery management system) is connected to each of the cells to monitor, regulate input and output voltage. Quality of the BMS, it's components and mounted location matters with thermal management.

I believe Doug Shelby touched on some of this in one of his battery threads.

[sharmut]

Update:

Connected an antigravity battery monitor along with a voltage meter directly on the battery posts and took readings on the suspect battery. The monitor as well as the voltage meter did not indicate spikes in voltage, while the vehicle's voltage display reported sporadic readings. After providing my findings to Antigravity, they decided to replace the battery. Although we could not identify the root cause, on the positive side the replacement unit works properly.

[Steve-Indy]

You can't beat good, responsible customer service !!

[CarbonDan]

I have the Doug Shelby lithium battery and it's been operating flawlessly for the last year. Stable voltage at all times. I keep it on the proper Ctek lithium trickle at all times but I've left it off for about a week or so without any issues.
In your case, I'd double check your contacts are on tight, my OEM battery had loose contacts at delivery and my radio would shutoff/reboot sporadically during driving.
Edit: Glad its fixed!

[sharmut]

You can't beat good, responsible customer service !!

Indeed, it was nice to see a manufacturer be responsive and take ownership of the issue rather than redirecting the user to the reseller.

[sharmut]

I have the Doug Shelby lithium battery and it's been operating flawlessly for the last year. Stable voltage at all times. I keep it on the proper Ctek lithium trickle at all times but I've left it off for about a week or so without any issues.
In your case, I'd double check your contacts are on tight, my OEM battery had loose contacts at delivery and my radio would shutoff/reboot sporadically during driving.
Edit: Glad its fixed!

Glad to hear of the positive feedback from Doug's battery. He was my first choice, unfortunately was out of stock at the time. I will likely get a 2nd battery when he resupplies and move the antigravity to the TA.