Does anyone make a quality battery anymore?

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Might be worth testing charging voltage. Try before starting and after running for a bit. If it's high it could cause cell failure, AGM's don't like being cooked, there's not much to cook away.
 
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
I can think of two:

East Penn/DEKA batteries are superb. They're available as the Batteries Plus "X2Power" brand if you have trouble finding a distributor.

The other equally good brand is Enersys, makers of the Odyssey and also most sizes of the Diehard Platinum.


EXACTLY. Get a DEKA and be done with it. Deka also make Duracell car/boat batteries.

Here is my big battery discovery...and it mostly applies to DEKA: DEKA makes a deep cycle battery with high CCA's....and whenever I can wedge one of those under my hood, I always do. Never had a problem. Some of my batteries are 12-15 years old. Still strong as an ox.

Here is the battery I like to use: DEKA 8A31DTM (800 CCA's)

http://www.tristatebattery.com/8a31dtm-d...ery-p-1356.html

Here is Exide version if you're stuck on Exide:

http://www.amazon.com/Exide-XMC-31-MEGACYCLE-AGM-200-Maintenance/dp/B003FFVI8A
 
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I would second the charging voltage test-apparently the XJs are temperature compensated & the alternator field is directly controlled by the computer (guessing PCM), I also had a flaky positive cable on mine that caused poor charging (I see you replaced yours).
 
Suggest you only buy battery that comes with a simple 3 year full replacement warranty. These are sold by places like Costco or Walmart. Supposed premium batteries that come with extended prorated warranties are nothing but a pre-paid high priced insurance policy with too much fine print. Batteries with extended prorated warranties cost extra money and provide little to no value if you look at the numbers carefully ...definite sucker move.
 
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My Bosch battery has been doing pretty good. It's the only one I could find in town that was made to go under the back seat.
 
depth of discharge is another killer, I'd get a diehard platinum or other high quality AGM
 
All my vehicles have WalMart batteries, work as advertised, had to replace one, no charge.
thumbsup2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: JDW
What year did "Optima's quality has tanked" go down ? My yellow top is going on 5 years with no issues .


Most will say this happened when manufacturing was sent to Mehico.

I am not sure of the year for this, but I believe it was somewhere around 2007/8??
 
Originally Posted By: dailydriver
Originally Posted By: JDW
What year did "Optima's quality has tanked" go down ? My yellow top is going on 5 years with no issues .


Most will say this happened when manufacturing was sent to Mehico.

I am not sure of the year for this, but I believe it was somewhere around 2007/8??



They closed the Aurora plant on January 31st 2009 to more production to the new Mexican plant. Even made workers train the new people.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1320247
 
Originally Posted By: JDW
What year did "Optima's quality has tanked" go down ? My yellow top is going on 5 years with no issues .



A long time ago, I think before the actual move to Mexico. My last Optima was gone by ~2008, and I'd bought it around 2005. They were a great small company that lived the dream- created a niche product, developed a stellar reputation, sold the business to a big company for a lot of money. US production stopped, shifted to Mexico. Lots of quality issues. They may be fine now if all the changeover of production got sorted out, but I'm not touching them again. That sort of problem shouldn't happen with a "premium" product line, especially for the kind of dough they were charging for batteries that died quicker than the cheapest conventional flooded-cell I've ever owned.
 
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I have found it difficult to really do apples-to-apples reviews of batteries. Each vehicle has its peculiarities that make, for example, an Optima Red Top a POS in one car and the greatest battery ever in another, all other things being equal.

I had a 1989 Honda Accord LXi for many years. The battery had no box or blanket around it and it was located in the hottest part of a very hot engine bay. The car came from the factory with a Delco Freedom battery (yup - the coupes were all built in Ohio). It lasted around three years. I replaced it with a Pep Boys labeled Delco battery that lasted about as long. I went through two Wal Mart batteries in two years. I don't recall who made them in the mid-90's, but they were no good for that car. I'm sure they were good for many, though. After a "commercial" Delco battery from a specialty battery dealer lasted another three years I bought an Optima Red Top. As I mentioned earlier, it lasted over six years. That was 2002 vintage. I didn't get to find out how long the 2008 vintage Red Top lasted since I didn't have the car long enough after that, but four years was already beating out any flooded battery that was ever in that car.

If you want to ask someone about battery "quality" I think you'll have to ask those who have the same kind of car you do. Think about all of the variables. The heat here kills car batteries, but a friend of mine lived in Phoenix for a decade and battery life spans are even shorter there. All batteries are affected by vibration so the type and quality of your roads can play a role. They used to show Sears Die Hard commercials in which cars would be frozen in blocks of ice. Big deal! That's only 32 degrees! It takes more current to crank the motor in extreme cold, but that type of weather doesn't hurt batteries like heat does.

Just keep that in mind when asking for anecdotal evidence on a site frequented by people from all over the world.
 
Another vote for East Penn/Deka batteries.

I've used and installed them for several years with no out of the ordinary issues. Besides being a reliable starting battery, one thing that really scores well with me (as opposed to anything Exide and many JCI batteries) is that they stay clean without any additional maintenance. If you don't jostle them during install or over tighten the hold downs and the terminal clamps- they don't leak. No need for sprays, pads and other acid absorbing goods.

I can't tell you how many Exide and JCI (Interstate, I'm looking at you) batteries I've seen with acid all over their tops.... Nasty. Just think of what that's doing to the tray and rest of the car. Now many will say that's a symptom of overcharging- and that may be the case sometimes, but always. The other batteries are just plain messy in my experience.
 
Who sells East Penn/Deka batteries? I've never heard of them before.

There isn't a parasitic draw, since I can start the Jeep after it sits for two weeks and there is no problem. I do think heat could be a problem though. The engine bay in a Cherokee gets very hot. I have a battery blanket around the current battery, but I imagine it can only do so much.

I noticed tonight that while sitting at a stop light with my headlights on, the volt gauge seemed to drop a bit while idling. I'm wondering if my alternator isn't charging very well at idle.
 
Many O'Reilly and NAPA stores. You can tell them from Exide and JCI because the East Penn/Deka batteries do not have a removable cell cap.
 
Freshness has the most to do with long battery life. I have always bought mine at Walmart where there is a fast turn around. I have one still in use at seven years old. Don't go to an autoparts store. They will have a dust covered, overpriced battery that has been sitting around for nine months.Sears used to be my favorite but they are over priced and quality has gone down the drain.
 
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
I have found it difficult to really do apples-to-apples reviews of batteries. Each vehicle has its peculiarities that make, for example, an Optima Red Top a POS in one car and the greatest battery ever in another, all other things being equal.

I had a 1989 Honda Accord LXi for many years. The battery had no box or blanket around it and it was located in the hottest part of a very hot engine bay. The car came from the factory with a Delco Freedom battery (yup - the coupes were all built in Ohio). It lasted around three years. I replaced it with a Pep Boys labeled Delco battery that lasted about as long. I went through two Wal Mart batteries in two years. I don't recall who made them in the mid-90's, but they were no good for that car. I'm sure they were good for many, though. After a "commercial" Delco battery from a specialty battery dealer lasted another three years I bought an Optima Red Top. As I mentioned earlier, it lasted over six years. That was 2002 vintage. I didn't get to find out how long the 2008 vintage Red Top lasted since I didn't have the car long enough after that, but four years was already beating out any flooded battery that was ever in that car.

If you want to ask someone about battery "quality" I think you'll have to ask those who have the same kind of car you do. Think about all of the variables. The heat here kills car batteries, but a friend of mine lived in Phoenix for a decade and battery life spans are even shorter there. All batteries are affected by vibration so the type and quality of your roads can play a role. They used to show Sears Die Hard commercials in which cars would be frozen in blocks of ice. Big deal! That's only 32 degrees! It takes more current to crank the motor in extreme cold, but that type of weather doesn't hurt batteries like heat does.

Just keep that in mind when asking for anecdotal evidence on a site frequented by people from all over the world.


Thus Consumer Reports. They test per group size. The Walmart MAXX comes out on top for most group sizes last time I looked. That's irrespective of price.
 
Originally Posted By: Lubener
Freshness has the most to do with long battery life. I have always bought mine at Walmart where there is a fast turn around. I have one still in use at seven years old. Don't go to an autoparts store. They will have a dust covered, overpriced battery that has been sitting around for nine months.Sears used to be my favorite but they are over priced and quality has gone down the drain.


+1
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
Thus Consumer Reports. They test per group size. The Walmart MAXX comes out on top for most group sizes last time I looked. That's irrespective of price.


I have been a subscriber for thirty years. Yes, they do try to eliminate as many of the variables as possible, but it's till pretty tough to test under the exact conditions YOUR battery will encounter. That doesn't include a weak alternator or heavy use of power accessories, either. They basically verify reserve capacity and CCA. I haven't really seen anything in their testing that indicates how long the battery you buy might last.

I'm not trying to be argumentative. I went down this road because there has been a lot of negative criticism of Optima batteries and I have had nothing but good luck with them. So, I thought it might be due to the conditions in which mine were operating.
 
Actually the biggest predictor of battery quality and long life in your car is freshness of battery, and its weight and size. Most shops will try to sell you their oldest stock battery....don't be a fish. Always buy a fresh battery (check the manufacture date code), and buy the largest, heaviest battery that will fit. Heat is the biggest enemy of standard wet cell battery. Cold temps actually make battery last longer. Your battery's heart stops in the summer but it doesn't fall over and die until winter.
 
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