"The Battery Thread Of 2019"

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Originally Posted by jayjr1105
Pretty sure NAPA aren't JC, I can't remember who they are made by

Originally Posted by 01rangerxl
I hate group 59. Never found a great one. I always get slight leakage around the caps. The O'Reilly's battery I got last time isn't as bad as the NAPA Legends I used before it...pretty sure the NAPA batteries are Johnson Controls. Never have gotten more than 3-4 years out of a battery in my 02 Ranger either.

Maybe I'll try a 34 next time.


Napa is East Penn/Deka.
 
Originally Posted by NDL
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Your mechanic should also be able to test for it if you don't know how. Basically you disconnect the battery and put a meter between the terminals when the car is off. If it's beyond a certain amount, then you have a parasitic draw. Also it's not the winter that kills the battery, it's probably the heat. You only notice it in the winter. The curves are crossed, in hot weather, the battery generates more current, in cold weather less. In hot weather, it takes less current to turn over the engine, in cold weather it takes more. So when the heat kills your battery in the summer, you don't notice it til the winter. As others said, I don't think you have a battery problem, it's probably a charging system problem or some parasitic draw. You're not in that hot a climate, otherwise in a hot state, then yeah 3 years is what a lot of people get as it's the heat that bakes a battery not the cold. You could also take the car to get the system load tested before the warranty expires and that will tell you how good the battery is so you can get it changed out before the warranty expires and not wait til it leaves you stranded.


Many many thanks for your reply. I will do as you suggested.



A really, really good post by Wolf ^^^^^^^
 
Originally Posted by volk06


Napa is East Penn/Deka.


So my O'Reilly's battery is probably the same thing as the stupid NAPA Legend. No wonder it has started leaking around the caps.

59 seems like an afterthought size. I ordered an AC Delco one from the distributor we use at work and it looked as old as the truck, so I sent it back. Motorcraft is expensive and still only lasts 3-4 years in my '02.
 
I'm not sure how long NAPA has been made by East Penn, but my Oreillys And Duracell Auto Batteries made by East Penn are way better about not having the terminal corrosion.
 
Originally Posted by E150GT
I've gone AGM. Time will tell if it's money well spent


Same, I went against my better judgement where I could have gotten an Interstate at Costco for $80. I went with a Champion Group 35 AGM at PepBoys because they were running a $50 rebate on black friday weekend. Time will tell indeed.
 
Originally Posted by bbhero
Here's what I am thinking size wise my friend...

A group 34 battery.... Height is almost identical to your 59 sized battery. Width is less by a bit... Both are top post SAE.... And polarity is the same direction group 34 and 59 .. slightly longer by 1/2 inch at most... Better CCA.... 800 CCA vs 590... Weight is more too... 41 pounds for a East Penn Superstart from O Reilly's vs only 38 pounds for the group 59...


Interesting to note... The supposed group 59 batteries I am seeing.... Are all off in terms of Length vs what those batteries are truly supposed to be... A true BCI group 59 battery is supposed to be 10.1 inches long..... Yet the ones I see from O Reilly's and Napa are all shorter.... By close to 1 inch or more...

The group 34 battery is supposed to be10.3 inches long.


I thank you for both your time, and for the information, that you posted. I can't believe how far superior the 34's specs are to the 59's, for a similarly sized battery. Incredible, actually.

Originally Posted by 01rangerxl
I hate group 59. Never found a great one. I always get slight leakage around the caps. The O'Reilly's battery I got last time isn't as bad as the NAPA Legends I used before it...pretty sure the NAPA batteries are Johnson Controls. Never have gotten more than 3-4 years out of a battery in my 02 Ranger either.

Maybe I'll try a 34 next time.


NAPA are now Deka (I spoke with Deka directly, yesterday).

Meanwhile, the original Motorcraft battery in my Ranger lasted almost 6 years. I only swapped it out as a reliability issue; I wonder how much longer the original battery would've run.


Originally Posted by bbhero
Originally Posted by NDL
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Your mechanic should also be able to test for it if you don't know how. Basically you disconnect the battery and put a meter between the terminals when the car is off. If it's beyond a certain amount, then you have a parasitic draw. Also it's not the winter that kills the battery, it's probably the heat. You only notice it in the winter. The curves are crossed, in hot weather, the battery generates more current, in cold weather less. In hot weather, it takes less current to turn over the engine, in cold weather it takes more. So when the heat kills your battery in the summer, you don't notice it til the winter. As others said, I don't think you have a battery problem, it's probably a charging system problem or some parasitic draw. You're not in that hot a climate, otherwise in a hot state, then yeah 3 years is what a lot of people get as it's the heat that bakes a battery not the cold. You could also take the car to get the system load tested before the warranty expires and that will tell you how good the battery is so you can get it changed out before the warranty expires and not wait til it leaves you stranded.


Many many thanks for your reply. I will do as you suggested.



A really, really good post by Wolf ^^^^^^^


Indeed. Wolf's approach is the most logical, and again, thanks Wolf!


****

My vehicle's situation aside, something is going on with car batteries. Not too long ago, batteries commonly came with 36, 48, or 60 month warranties.

Now I am seeing 18 month, 24 month, units? For a buck and a quarter, plus?

Have new environmental regulations changed the way batteries are made?
 
Had a '97 Taurus that the Radio/climate control thing when bad and had a parasitic draw. Hard to find.

Exide has always been a shady company....
 
Originally Posted by sloinker
VARTA makes the best and longest lasting battery in my experience.

Varta is JCI/Clarios. Some of JCI's German/Spanish batteries make their way over here.
 
Originally Posted by NDL
Originally Posted by painfx
Originally Posted by NDL
I am thoroughly disgusted.

I own a 2001 Ford Ranger, which has been an excellent truck. For reasons too lengthy to get into, I am not a fan of Exide batteries. Up until three years ago, I was a HUGE fan of Interstate battery (Johnson Control), a company that I am now disgusted with. In both my Ranger, and on my Chevy Impala, BOTH batteries failed right around the time that the warranty expired.

On the Impala, the first Interstate battery was replaced with a warrenteed replacement unit, and like it's predecessor, that battery failed just shy of it's 36 month guarantee. Rather than get another Interstate, I replaced it with a Deka battery.

Now the Ranger's battery is on it's way out. I looked online to see what battery options I have, and Deka made/Duracell branded batteries, in my size (59), have gotten poor reviews online - with a love/hate relationship (a number of users claim to have experienced premature failure).

What kind of battery do I buy? This is nuts.


What is the parastic draw on the vehicle(s)?



Originally Posted by jeepman3071
Originally Posted by NDL
Originally Posted by supton
Dumb question: have you monitored the battery voltage? I am wondering if your alternator is undercharging.

I forget who but someone on here was/is a big fan of periodic charging of the battery--they were adamant that most vehicles aren't able to bring a battery up to full charge. Not unless if you are big on the hour plus trips down the highway.

I also wonder if it's just better to buy a cheapo from Walmart. If it dies outside of warranty... lather rinse repeat. It's something of a small cost in terms of vehicle ownership.


Not a dumb question, although I don't believe that the alternator is undercharging.

The Ranger is driven every couple of days. When the temperatures are above 40 degrees, the battery stays charged - at least at an amount that's sufficient to start the vehicle.

Once the nightly temperatures dip into the 30's, if the vehicle is not started and run every couple of days, the battery will have an insufficient charge to start the engine. It only happens when evening temperatures dip into the 30's, although I find the whole experience as unacceptable


Sounds to me like you have a charging issue or a parasitic electrical draw. One of the failures a friend had on his 2001 Ranger over 200k miles was the alternator, and it failed slowly in the way you describe. The battery would be weak and under charged, then it just stopped working altogether. A parasitic draw could also cause the battery to be run down while the vehicle sits, making it have less power when you need to start.

My 2009 BMW 328i has it's original factory battery, and kicked over fine this morning in 20 degree temps after sitting for 5 days, so sitting for that short of a time shouldn't cause issues with the battery unless something else is going on.


I appreciate both of your replies.

I am not going to pretend to have knowledge that I don't have; I wouldn't know how to test for parasitic draw. But here's the thing: this is happening now as temps drop, and it happened last winter. This only happens when temps drop into the mid 30's and below. In the spring, summer, and fall, I don't have the issue that I described.

Now...could something be amiss? Sure. But my mechanic - who is very qualified, patient, and detail oriented, tested the output of the alternator, and all was okay.

How could I test for parasitic draw, and again...I thank you both for your time



You can just google or youtube how to test parastic draw and charging system.

Parastic draw, get a DVOM, set to amps, disconnect negative battery and connect in series. Red lead to the negative cable, and black lead to the negative post. If it shows negative, flip the leads. Usually anything under 30 milliamps is consider good, depending on the vehicle and what add ons you got in the vehicle.

A basic charging system test, turn on high beam, AC full blast with defoggers on front and rear, rev engine up between 1500 -2000 rpms. Battery voltage should ideally be from 13.5 - 14.5 Volts. This is only a guide, vehicles will vary.
 
Originally Posted by painfx
You can just google or youtube how to test parastic draw and charging system.

Parastic draw, get a DVOM, set to amps, disconnect negative battery and connect in series. Red lead to the negative cable, and black lead to the negative post. If it shows negative, flip the leads. Usually anything under 30 milliamps is consider good, depending on the vehicle and what add ons you got in the vehicle.

A basic charging system test, turn on high beam, AC full blast with defoggers on front and rear, rev engine up between 1500 -2000 rpms. Battery voltage should ideally be from 13.5 - 14.5 Volts. This is only a guide, vehicles will vary.



I am going to do that, and I am most grateful for your time and explanation.

In the meantime....there's a learning curve involved here (for me); in the few video's that I saw, I didn't (yet) get a good grasp of how to set up a jumper cable.

Added to all of this, we just relocated to a new City, 2.5 hours away from our former home, contacts, and my (former) mechanic. We're renting a garden apartment temporarily, and they don't allow vehicle repairs on the premises.

I just had an "ah, duh" moment: until I get better situated, and have a better handle on how to diagnose this properly, disconnecting the battery terminals should solve all of my problems, correct?

I went out today to a battery that was too weak to start the vehicle. Once the truck was jumped, I drove it - HVAC blower on high; high beams on and off, with no appreciable difference in their performance, nor did I see a change in the voltmeter. Everything worked flawlessly, even at stoplights.

At least for the next week or two until I settle all of this out, a quick, albeit poor, way to see what's going on would be by disconnecting the terminals, no? With daytime temperatures above 50 degrees, I can operate the truck, do errands, and start the truck with no issues 3 or 4 times, so I would imagine that the alternator is putting out sufficient output.

If the battery is good, if I disconnect the terminals, this would prevent a parasitic loss until I can get down to the bottom of this - even if the truck sits for a few days. Correct?

And again, I thank you for your time and detailed explanation. Once I get a multimeter, a place to work on my truck, and a better grasp of everything, I plan on checking the system top to bottom - and performing all of the tests that you suggested (as it would be wise to do so :)).
 
I made myself look like foolish all too easily, and I cannot edit the above post.

Of course I realize that pulling the battery cables will prevent any parasitic loss...
 
Originally Posted by NDL
I made myself look like foolish all too easily, and I cannot edit the above post.

Of course I realize that pulling the battery cables will prevent any parasitic loss...


Yeah, you could also buy this quick disconnect so you don't have to keep loosing and tightening the connection every time. Also helps prevent car thefts.

https://www.amazon.com/Ampper-Battery-Disconnect-Isolator-Positive/dp/B07W4WBZS2
 
18 year old battery cables,check them thoroughly. As for batteries,Odyssey is the only battery made of 99.9% pure lead,not recycled. My buddy swears by them,but he always has to bigger and better every one.
 
Napa used to be Exide, but Napa switched to Deka maybe 6 years ago.
I have gotten good life from Deka made batteries and they have become my brand of choice.
 
I was at Costco and they are now stocking AGM batteries in Euro/DIN sizes. They are made in Mexico - not Spain or Germany like they used to be.
 
I usually get 6 or 7 years from my original equipment VW batteries. Admittedly i only do two starts daily each day before a 65 mile commute. One thing i do is turn off all unnecessary consumers (a/c or heat, defrosters, seat heaters, etc.) a few miles before I arrive at work or home. Good luck, John
 
Correct me if Iam wrong ,but newer cars will take up to 30 min or more to completely shut down.So wait before checking ,even that ranger could have a slight delay.
 
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