Lithium Batteries?.. .

*After a quick search for a Lithium battery & did not see much out there that were priced reasonably. Looking for some help on leads.

-Moving the battery box so size or mount won't be an issue.

 

im not sure where to buy but just out of curiosity what would be the advantages with the LI-Ion battery over the standard Lead-Acid? from what i understand the charging system would explode the battery unless you could step up the current requirements for cranking and down for charging.....

 

Lithium batteries (there are a number of different types) offer more power in a smaller package. The only real issue is will they be properly charged by a system that is designed for lead/acid. I can't answer that.

As for current, a battery will only supply whatever current is needed for the job. That is why you can have a battery capable of starting a car, but that same battery can power a tiny indicator light. Batteries do not push current, they act as a resevoir of current that can be drawn upon by the needs of the load applied to the battery.

 

Ok. Again I appologize for my lack of knowledge on batteries but the charging system (alternator) system runs the car while already cranked.. meaning u could remove the battery and if the alternator is working it should be able tto power the entire car.... That being the case you wpuld only use the li-ion for starting the car..... A lithium ion battery as far as im aware cant provide near enough cold cranking amps to start a car....

 

Actually, a properly sized Lithium battery can supply way more than enough power to start a car.

As for removing the battery and expecting the car to still run, unless I'm wrong, that's not going to happen. The battery is an important part of the charging/generating system. Way back in the day, generators were common and they generated electricty (DC current) by rotating an armature inside a magnetic field produced by permanent magnets. Alternators work in a similar manner except that the magnetic field is produced with an electromagnet, not permanent magnets. This means that a battery is required to produce a minimum magnetic field. It's part of the circuit. If it's removed, the magnetic field in the alternator dies and then no electricity is produced. The only exception to this is when you have an alternator where the magnetic field is produced by a permanent magnet. However, this type of alternator is usually found only on motorcycles, ATVs, snow mobiles, and similar small recreational vehicles.

Here's a link for some good information on lithium batteries for motorcycles. They are considering making them for cars.

http://www.shoraipower.com/t-faq.aspx Note that these are Lithium Iron (not Ion) batteries.

 

Braille makes lithium-ion batteries for cars but they are REALLY expensive. A good AGM battery is a better way to go, esp if you don't drive your mini regularly. If it is your daily driver a high quality lead acid battery should still last a long time.