Interstate Batteries

[brianl703]

Could be true, on the other hand, in a hot weather climate you should be checking the fluid level and adding distilled water as needed.

I do notice that many cars come with a battery insulator that seems to often get tossed away with the old battery when replacement time comes. The underhood temperature has been going up with newer cars due to the tighter engine compartments, so the battery insulator becomes necessary to protect the battery from the heat.

My Saab has a duct that directs air from in front of the radiator to cool the battery which is under a cover.

 

[Turk]

My Delco is 5 years old, a 600 CCA Battery that was just cheched to be at 630 CCA !!!!!

Terminals look great, also !

I highly recommend Delco

 

[JustinH]

Yeah the delco in my 03 saturn is OEM.

They put the battery in the truck on this car, the battery looks like brand new still.

My girlfriends neon has this heat wrap that goes around it.

I think putting them in the trunk from the factory makes for a long battery life.

 

[rriddle3]

Originally Posted By: brianl703
Could be true, on the other hand, in a hot weather climate you should be checking the fluid level and adding distilled water as needed.

Well, I'm not going to be popping open a battery that's not designed to have water added to it (i.e. a 'maintenance-free' battery).

 

[mechtech2]

We sell Interstate in the shop. They are very good, and we never think twice about quality problems after they are installed.
That is a fair price - but if you find it for $10 less, is it worth your time to hunt around and drive around for it?
And yes, there are other equally fine battery mfrs. out there.

 

[mechtech2]

BTW, trickle charge your new battery if possible before use. Not absolutely necessary, but very good battery advice.

 

[The Critic]

Thanks.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: rriddle3

Well, I'm not going to be popping open a battery that's not designed to have water added to it (i.e. a 'maintenance-free' battery).


Few "maintenance free" batteries are truly not designed to have water added to them. Since Johnson Controls bought Delphi, fewer still. Delphi was the only major manufacturer of sealed wet maintenance free batteries in the USA.

Now even the AC Delco batteries are maintenance-accessible. The photo in the PDF below is of a Johnson Controls battery.

http://acdelcotechconnect.com/pdf/imtn_tss_06TSS-044.pdf

Quote:

“New Look” for Professional Batteries
Recently, ACDelco introduced a new look on select Professional models. The new design is called
"Accessible Maintenance Free." This differs from "Sealed Maintenance Free" solely with the ability to
allow the vent caps to be removed.
The entire ACDelco Professional Battery lineup continues to be:
• Built to ACDelco specifications
• Built using calcium/calcium technology, "The Hallmark of Maintenance Free Technology"
• 100% Pressure tested to ensure seal of battery cover
• 100% Electrical short tested
• 100% Current tested to ensure internal welds
ACDelco batteries continue to be the Original Equipment product installed in General Motors’ vehicles.
Some of the newer GM OE batteries share this new look; the 86-6YR (Corvette) and the 90-6YR
(Cobalt).
There is no difference in quality, performance or application coverage. This will be a rolling change. Not
all customers will receive the "New Look" batteries at the same time due to inventory at the Battery
Distribution Centers.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2

And yes, there are other equally fine battery mfrs. out there.


Interstate does not make their own car batteries, they are made by Johnson Controls. In the USA, today, there are 3 major battery manufacturers. In order of market share:

Johnson Controls
Exide
Deka/East Penn

If you know what to look for you can tell an Exide battery from a Johnson Controls battery 20 feet away.

 

[Rockford Fosgate Fan]

I highly recommend the Autocraft Titanium line. I currently have one of their 800CCA batteries in my Aztek, you can never have to much reserve power.

 

[tunabreath]

I do not recommend Autocraft batteries at all. I worked at AAP and have seen those come back for failure more than any other brand.

However if you want one, go to Wal-Mart. They are the exact same batteries, sometimes $20 cheaper.

DieHard are also good, I believe they are made by Exide.

Some Wal-Marts have Exide brand batteries. You can tell if it's an exide by the cloth carrying strap.

 

[Black_Thunder]

another good practice that i've gotten into is putting the battery charger on at every oil change to help bring the battery up to where its suppose to be, not always will an alternator keep a battery fully charged, especially in colder temps or when it has been run dead.

 

[Mr Nice]

Quote:
Panasonic batteries have been the best ones Ive seen... good luck finding them.



JHZR2,

Aren't Honda batteries made by Panasonic ??

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: tunabreath
I do not recommend Autocraft batteries at all. I worked at AAP and have seen those come back for failure more than any other brand.


Could be because AAP doesn't sell any other brand?


Quote:
However if you want one, go to Wal-Mart. They are the exact same batteries, sometimes $20 cheaper.


Depends, some Wal-Marts, like the ones in this region, sell Exide batteries which aren't the exact same batteries.

Quote:

DieHard are also good, I believe they are made by Exide.


Exide has not made Diehard since at least 1998 and Sears had major quality issues with the Exide batteries. They have since switched back to Johnson Controls.

Quote:
You can tell if it's an exide by the cloth carrying strap.


If there's no carrying strap another way to tell is that on all but those batteries that have vent tube connections (the European group 41/42/47/48/49) the edges of the vent caps on Exide batteries are more rounded. The ones on Johnson Controls batteries have squared off edges. In addition, the vent caps on Exide batteries have the same text/warnings on each cap while Johnson Controls batteries have different text/warnings on each cap.

For those batteries with vent tube provisions, Exide uses "coin" cell caps that unscrew with a coin, one for each cell. Johnson Controls uses a flat plastic piece that unsnaps and covers 3 cells.

 

[tunabreath]

Originally Posted By: brianl703


Could be because AAP doesn't sell any other brand?


I have seen batteries come back 2 months after installation in newer vehicles with perfectly functioning charging systems.

I was not aware Sears had reinstituted JC as its battery manufacturer.

I will stick to Exide.

However for some reason, the AC Delco batteries seem to do very well, even though they are also made by JC? The problem with AC Delco batteries is the threaded side post part can sometimes twist out.


Johnson Controls

Some Everstart
Autocraft
Duralast
Diehard
Motorcraft
Interstate
AC Delco now
Optima

Exide

Exide
Some Everstarts
Champion
NAPA

Delphi

Newer vehicle GM batteries

 

[brianl703]

I'm not a fan of Exide batteries. The Saab 93's OE battery is made by Exide and it's well-known for just failing without warning.

Delphi does not make car batteries anymore. They sold that business to Johnson Controls. Actually they still had one plant they kept which made batteries but that plant has been switched over to producing something else by now.

 

[Black_Thunder]

what i do know is that exide can't make a decent heavy truck battery to save their lives.

car batteries obviously may be different, i know Exide did make decent dry-cell batteries.

i'm tempted next time to buy an optima battery and be done with it

 

[Carmudgeon]

Didn't Exide get busted for knowingly selling, or reselling, defective batteries a few years ago?

For the application group I use, the Johnson Controls battery betters the Exide on paper in both spec and price. In service, the handfuls I've had over the years have never failed prematurely.

I don't know how often they rerun them, but the Modern Marvels series recently did a show on battery technology, which included a segment on battery manufacturing at the East Penn plant.

 

[dave1251]

I have not had any problems with a Johnson battery. My wifes explorer battery finally died after 5 months not use. I bought an Duralast and I have not had a problem since.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: Carmudgeon
Didn't Exide get busted for knowingly selling, or reselling, defective batteries a few years ago?


Sears sued them for selling used batteries they claimed were new, among other things. You could search google for sears exide lawsuit to find newspaper articles about it.