Battery Replacmeent Woes

[NETWizz]

Good Day:

My car lasted about 4 years and a few months on the first battery... Then I put in an Ever Start Max in February 2018. The car won't start unless jumped, but the alternator is working great.

I take the battery back with receipt because it has a 3 year free replacement (no proration) and 5 year pro-rated. They hand it back to me as good saying it has 12.8 volts and tests out good at 85 CCA. The battery is rated at 700 CCA.

They are saying it still has some service life left. Suggestions?

 

[Linctex]

85 CCA would barely turn over a lawnmower!!!

A typical "lawn and garden" type battery says 250 CCA, right on the label on top.

 

[bbhero]

What battery size is this??

What was the manufacturer date on it??

How many CCA did it have ?? Your original post said 85... Can't be right..

Battery size matters because if it is a slow seller and sat for a long time on the shelf then it lost charge just sitting there.

 

[Linctex]

He said:

Originally Posted by NETWizz
. The battery is rated at 700 CCA.


Walmart is playing you like a fool. Politely and calmly demand a new battery.

 

[user52165]

Tested it how? With a carbon pile load tester or something else?

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted by user52165
Tested it how? With a carbon pile load tester or something else?



Correct,
a tester that simulates a cranking/starting load (about 150-250 amps) is the only way to ACCURATELY test a battery.

" 12.8 volts - it's good! " .... really means nothing at all when the battery isn't under a working load.

 

[bbhero]

That is not the battery group size aka number etc ect....

27, 24f or 35.... That size.. The BCI group number.

700 don't mean a whole lot...

Even a group 35 Northstar battery has way more CCA 740 vs a typical group 35 with typically at most 640 CCA and many group 35 have only 550... Group 24 is typically around 700 CCA but other group sizes can easily be the same has well.

A group size that doesn't sell hardly at all is what I was getting at here...

They do happen. And if your vehicle needs a size that is not a common seller.... Pay attention to the manufacturer date on it. If it has sat a long donkey time... It may not be in all too great of shape thus... Early failure.

 

[Kruse]

You might try a different store.
The two closest WM stores near me will test your battery on their "computer battery tester". They say those three words with authority and superiority. The thing is is that their "computer battery tester" takes up to 90 minutes to fully test a battery. The last time I tried to get a battery warranty from one of those stores, they already had a battery on their tester and, theoretically, they couldn't give me a decision on my battery for three hours. No way will I stay in a WM that long. I took it to a store that just put a simple load tester on the battery and the head of the automotive department just gave me a new battery five minutes later.
I've purchased my last battery from WalMart.

 

[DuckRyder]

Walmart site says Group 24, 65, 75 and 124R Everstart Maxx are rated 700CCA.

If 85CCA is correct, it is bad.

You didn't say how it was determined that the "alternator is working great" or if the starter draw was tested.

The advice about getting the freshest possible battery is of course good...

 

[eljefino]

FWIW Midtronics mentions in their tester literature that 60% of stock CCA is marginal and 50% is failable. Exide, at least, and probably all the major makes honor Midtronics' diagnosis for warranty purposes. You could ask the WM clerk that passed your battery what the criteria are. WM will have an instructions "cheat sheet" or training aid under the counter. Act dumb and polite so they pull this up then you can shoot holes in their uninformed theory.

Incidentally a brand new battery will test out at 10-15% better than labelled CCA, though Midtronics says this is a false positive. Still, it's good to convince a customer that your store has the freshest bestest stock.

 

[BigD1]

You sure it's the battery?

I have seen starters cause this type of problem even with a brand new battery.

Had to jump a new battery to get a 2008 Honda Civic to start, and at other times it would start randomly on it's own, but it was getting to the point it would not start most of the time unless it was jumped.

Took the starter off the 2008 Honda Civic, and it passed the test at Advance Auto, but the guy did say it barely passed. Bought a new starter, and that fixed it for good.

 

[Pelican]

Originally Posted by bbhero
Even a group 35 Northstar battery has way more CCA 740 vs a typical group 35 with typically at most 640 CCA and many group 35 have only 550... Group 24 is typically around 700 CCA but other group sizes can easily be the same has well.


I thought that the Northstar is one of the better batteries, together with the Odyssey (it's made by them I believe) you make it sound as though it's middle of the road, what gives?

 

[FordBroncoVWJeta]

Originally Posted by Kruse
You might try a different store.
The two closest WM stores near me will test your battery on their "computer battery tester". They say those three words with authority and superiority. The thing is is that their "computer battery tester" takes up to 90 minutes to fully test a battery. The last time I tried to get a battery warranty from one of those stores, they already had a battery on their tester and, theoretically, they couldn't give me a decision on my battery for three hours. No way will I stay in a WM that long. I took it to a store that just put a simple load tester on the battery and the head of the automotive department just gave me a new battery five minutes later.
I've purchased my last battery from WalMart.

We have lost a lot of customers that way. Problem is if the "computer battery tester" shows that the battery is fine, Walmart doesn't get a credit. Also a lot of times people bring in good batteries, when in fact their alternator is failing. If you ever do buy a battery from Walmart, I would recommend just dropping it off there. That tester is pretty weird, i've seen it shoot out results instantly, sometimes it takes 90 mins. Im pretty sure every other auto store in town has the exact same policy.

 

[FordBroncoVWJeta]

Originally Posted by eljefino
FWIW Midtronics mentions in their tester literature that 60% of stock CCA is marginal and 50% is failable. Exide, at least, and probably all the major makes honor Midtronics' diagnosis for warranty purposes. You could ask the WM clerk that passed your battery what the criteria are. WM will have an instructions "cheat sheet" or training aid under the counter. Act dumb and polite so they pull this up then you can shoot holes in their uninformed theory.

Incidentally a brand new battery will test out at 10-15% better than labelled CCA, though Midtronics says this is a false positive. Still, it's good to convince a customer that your store has the freshest bestest stock.

There is no "cheat sheet" you do what the machine says. The machine will say either "REPLACE BATTERY". "GOOD BATTERY".OR "TEST REQUIRED". More than likely if it is a failing battery it will say "TEST REQUIRED". Then put on the "Computer Battery Tester" then that will give you the result. Which is what they go off.


OP: Did you mean to say 850CCA? If it is 85, that person working is a jack***.

 

[ragtoplvr]

There are many components in the starting system. The battery is only one

I have seen poor battery connections and grounds cause the problem you describe.

A weak starter solenoid might refuse to close unless presented with 14 volts.

Bad brushes in the starter might not start to conduct until presented with a higher voltage. This is common when the commutator films over, and brushes are worn and spring pressure is weak.

A bad starter relay might also refuse to work unless it gets 14 volts.

Rod

 

[chainblu]

Something isn't quite right. If the person doing the testing put in the tester that the battery was 700 CCA. it would not spit out a ticket saying that the battery was 'good' with only 85 amps. Either the OP left out a zero or the tester operator left out a zero.

 

[SatinSilver]

Return it to a Walmart that doesn't have a TLE attached to it then they won't test the battery. Then you get a new one to replace the bad one. Only downside is you have to take it out and install it back in.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted by SatinSilver
Return it to a Walmart that doesn't have a TLE attached to it then they won't test the battery. Then you get a new one to replace the bad one. Only downside is you have to take it out and install it back in.

+1 I did this with my Camry and my dad with his FJ Cruiser, no questions asked.

 

[SatinSilver]

Nick,

I think you must be the person i got the idea from since it was someone from here.

Also the JCI made batteries for Walmart seem to gunk up a bit on the positive terminal. For $3.50 Walmart TLE will perform a NOCO battery treatment service that will keep the gunk off the terminal for good. Worked on two batteries I did this to 3 years ago. But previous to that I couldn't keep the gunk off the terminal even with battery protectant spray. They install the felt washers and some thick red goop. Works great.

 

[Whimsey]

This past June my 6 year old AAP gold battery was totally dead, .03 volts, after sitting for 3 weeks while we were on vacation. I figured it was just "old" and bought a new Motorcraft battery. It was ok until it sat for 2 days unused. Then the voltage was .03 volts again, totally dead. Brought it back to the Ford dealer they charged it overnight and tested it and said it was fine. Turns out the wiring harness into the fuse box had lost it's sheathing and it was shorting out quickly. Getting a new wiring harness was extremely expensive, ~$3,000 with labor

this was due to it being a 1996 Contour. My mechanic was able to use a wire shrink coating for the harness wires and it solved the problem for $265

. Chances are if a newish battery dies there usually is an external problem causing it.

Whimsey