Mine is a remanufactured Autolite with a lifetime warranty that I have used at least 5 times. I do not know if it/they were rewound. I doubt it.
If I did not have this lifetime warranty I would have sought a better alternator, but money's tight these days, and I have 130 watts of solar on my roof anyway. I have not had an alternator failure since I acquired Solar.
If I did not have a battery monitor, I would be blissfully ignorant of the alternator's pathetic hot idle speed output. It does explain why I exchanged so many batteries beforehand under warranty. They were chronically undercharged, which is not the fault of the battery.
My posts in this thread were to inform others that their charging systems could be just as ill performing, and praising the longevity of one battery and assuming the longevity = quality is quite wrong. It is how well the vehicle can fully recharge the battery. The distance driven between starting and stopping, and the average engine RPM to get there, how much the battery is depleted, and if it ever has to be jump started, how important it is to fully charge the battery with a wall charger instead of thinking a 15 minute drive across town will do it.
One problem with alternator recharging is once the voltage regulator see's it's maximum programmed voltage, it limits the alternator's amperage to hold that voltage, which can be quite low despite the batteries ability to accept much more that a 120 volt charger could provide. Mine as opposed to most chryslers, seems to have a ~14.5 volt limit, which is pretty high. But when my lights and blower motor are on high, there is no charging going on while I am sitting at a traffic light.
My current engine starting battery is a Walmart 'Deep cycle'/ RV/Marine/trolling battery. Mine does not list Exide or JC on it. It is not a true deep cycle and not a starting battery, but a dual purpose which compromises both features. I bought 3 of them at the same time, over 3 years ago. One failed in 13 months, the other at 27 months, and this one is on it's last legs and has been removed from cycling duty since January this year. They were recharged fully each day, and I'm not happy with their performance, but with batteries, you get what you pay for.
Whoever made the batteries for walmart, they were told to make them for a certain price, so corners were cut to meet that price, and still make a profit, so the execs would get their bonuses. Sadly battery quality has fallen since Walmart got into the game and started undercutting everybody, and demanding a price, and the manufacturers have to cut quality to meet it.
I will soon have to replace the engine compartment battery.
I will be getting the biggest, heaviest, flooded starting battery with the best warranty, and certainly not the cheapest model. It will probably be an Autozone battery. I think the more expensive ones are simply made better,and if they are offering a longer warranty, they are confident How well Johnson Controls made it for them.
The warranty is an excellent indicator with a battery. So is weight. If you are comparing two of the same size, bring your bathroom scale with you. The heavier the better.
It should also be said that AGM's have higher cranking amps, meaning a smaller battery can provide the same cranking amps as a larger heavier Flooded battery. If you vehicle is sporty, then you can save some weight with an AGM.
If I did not have this lifetime warranty I would have sought a better alternator, but money's tight these days, and I have 130 watts of solar on my roof anyway. I have not had an alternator failure since I acquired Solar.
If I did not have a battery monitor, I would be blissfully ignorant of the alternator's pathetic hot idle speed output. It does explain why I exchanged so many batteries beforehand under warranty. They were chronically undercharged, which is not the fault of the battery.
My posts in this thread were to inform others that their charging systems could be just as ill performing, and praising the longevity of one battery and assuming the longevity = quality is quite wrong. It is how well the vehicle can fully recharge the battery. The distance driven between starting and stopping, and the average engine RPM to get there, how much the battery is depleted, and if it ever has to be jump started, how important it is to fully charge the battery with a wall charger instead of thinking a 15 minute drive across town will do it.
One problem with alternator recharging is once the voltage regulator see's it's maximum programmed voltage, it limits the alternator's amperage to hold that voltage, which can be quite low despite the batteries ability to accept much more that a 120 volt charger could provide. Mine as opposed to most chryslers, seems to have a ~14.5 volt limit, which is pretty high. But when my lights and blower motor are on high, there is no charging going on while I am sitting at a traffic light.
My current engine starting battery is a Walmart 'Deep cycle'/ RV/Marine/trolling battery. Mine does not list Exide or JC on it. It is not a true deep cycle and not a starting battery, but a dual purpose which compromises both features. I bought 3 of them at the same time, over 3 years ago. One failed in 13 months, the other at 27 months, and this one is on it's last legs and has been removed from cycling duty since January this year. They were recharged fully each day, and I'm not happy with their performance, but with batteries, you get what you pay for.
Whoever made the batteries for walmart, they were told to make them for a certain price, so corners were cut to meet that price, and still make a profit, so the execs would get their bonuses. Sadly battery quality has fallen since Walmart got into the game and started undercutting everybody, and demanding a price, and the manufacturers have to cut quality to meet it.
I will soon have to replace the engine compartment battery.
I will be getting the biggest, heaviest, flooded starting battery with the best warranty, and certainly not the cheapest model. It will probably be an Autozone battery. I think the more expensive ones are simply made better,and if they are offering a longer warranty, they are confident How well Johnson Controls made it for them.
The warranty is an excellent indicator with a battery. So is weight. If you are comparing two of the same size, bring your bathroom scale with you. The heavier the better.
It should also be said that AGM's have higher cranking amps, meaning a smaller battery can provide the same cranking amps as a larger heavier Flooded battery. If you vehicle is sporty, then you can save some weight with an AGM.
