battery replacement

[MONSTERMATT]

just wondering how long the stock battery lasted you guys, im goin on 4 years and im thinkin its about to go, just a "hunch"

[IRA51]

yes ,do it now

[Hellz]

Originally Posted by IRA51

yes ,do it now

wow, i think you really helped him out there...

sorry, but i dont believe in posting on a thread just to hear myself talk or to pad my post count. if your going to post, offer some advice or something.


anyways, you most likely have reached the life of the battery, but then again im not going to say either way to buy or not to buy a new one. thats on you.

have you had the battery tested?
has it been dying on you over night, or just in general?

i havent had a single battery in a vehicle long enough because of deployments. doesnt help a battery to sit for nearly 2 years and not being used.

but my wife's car which is a daily use car has had he battery in now for bout 5 years now, and still holding strong.

its one of those things that, if it aint broke, dont f with it.

but i would at the very least get it tested. any auto parts store will do it for you for free or a very small fee. go from there.

[TXSUT]

Originally Posted by Hellz

wow, i think you really helped him out there...
sorry, but i dont believe in posting on a thread just to hear myself talk or to pad my post count. if your going to post, offer some advice or something.

You might want to get the "lay of the land" here for a while before you start trying to run the place. Monstermatt's been here long enough to know that people like IRA51, who has also been here a while, is just having a little fun with him while implying that it won't be long before Matt's battery sh!ts the bed. Lighten up.

[TXSUT]

Originally Posted by MONSTERMATT

just wondering how long the stock battery lasted you guys, im goin on 4 years and im thinkin its about to go, just a "hunch"

About 2.5 years before mine went. Yes, do it now.

Replace it with an Interstate or Optima (though I had crappy luck with 2 Optima batteries before I went with Interstate).

[HummerMann]

I got two years one month out of my original battery on my '06 H2. It had a cell go bad. I replaced it with a Sears Diehard International and it's going strong.

[IRA51]

I prefer to replace the battery B4 it leaves me stranded in the middle of nowhere,how ever if you enjoy being stranded with a dead battery that's up to you . I never trust a battery that is more than 3 years old . if you can afford an H2 you shouldn't worry about an $85.00 battery . as for me not being very helpfull that is BS ,I gave him the short sweet answer to his question and thought it would leave no doubt in his mind . get a group 79 battery at Checker or Costco ,they fit right and willl give you the 880 CCA your truck needs . I tryed Optima's and they Do NOT have as much power . if you are realy hard core and are willing to work you can put 2 batterys in your truck .

[timgco]

I;ve been considering the yellow or red tops, but I keep hearing all the ones that fail. It seems common they do.

Outside of the optima yeelow/ red tops, what else is out there for an HD battery that is built to hold up to getting banged around.

I take it 860CCA is what we need than?

[SummitUp]

Originally Posted by timgco

I;ve been considering the yellow or red tops, but I keep hearing all the ones that fail. It seems common they do.

These forums are littered with posts about premature failure of the OEM battery. Mine failed in less than two years.

Also, people only post about the Optimas that fail, not much motivation to post about battery's that don't fail.

I've got two Yellow Tops in my deuce for 2 years now with no problems, and I've got a 7 year old Red Top in my Chevy Blazer Snow Plow which is parked outside and always starts even in sub zero temps. I have a total of 5 Optimas in my vehicles including one in a piece of heavy equipment (Case track loader), never have had one fail yet...

BTW, Costco has good prices on Optimas.

[timgco]

Originally Posted by SummitUp

These forums are littered with posts about premature failure of the OEM battery. Mine failed in less than two years.

Also, people only post about the Optimas that fail, not much motivation to post about battery's that don't fail.

I've got two Yellow Tops in my deuce for 2 years now with no problems, and I've got a 7 year old Red Top in my Chevy Blazer Snow Plow which is parked outside and always starts even in sub zero temps. I have a total of 5 Optimas in my vehicles including one in a piece of heavy equipment (Case track loader), never have had one fail yet...

BTW, Costco has good prices on Optimas.

Thanks Summit!!!! Do youhappen to know what PN yellow top I'll need to get. Just doing one for now. I'll do the dual battery down the road sometime....just not now.

[DDWH]

My origional battery lasted about 3 years....when it started to go it would never leave me stranded, but started doing quirky things. Like the clock would be set to 12 and the cd player would cycle through all the cd's and it would barely turn over. If it ever sat over a day I would have to put it on a charger, but wouldn't hold, just give it enough to start.

So, I went to Costco and bought a Optima Yellow Top(best price I could find by far). Anyways, I have had the yellow top in for about 2.5 years now and a couple weeks ago it started doing the same deal as the factory one. So I don't think I am going to be able to get it to atleast 3 years....I will wait and see, not sure what the Costco warranty is on batteries.

On another note, I have zero confidence in Die Hard batteries....I used to only use those in all my vehicles. Then they changed manufacturers and they are $HIT!!!! My suburban ate them like candy, so I put an AC Delco in it and all was good. Maybe Sears has resourced now, but I will never give them a second chance, got stuck in the hood with the family coming home from the airport at 2am is never a good thing!

[IRA51]

MENU: Technology and Internet Guides | Travel | Health | Household | Sports ...independent online guides since 1995

April 10, 2009

Car Battery Reviews and Buying Guide:
The majority of car batteries are created by 3 manufacturers - Delphi, Exide and Johnson Controls Industries. Delphi makes some EverStart models sold in Walmart and ACDelco. Johnson Control Industries makes Duralast seen in Autozone stores, Diehard - sold in Sears, Kirkland - the Costco brand, Motorcraft - which Ford sells, some of the EverStarts, and Interstate. Exide makes Exide batteries, Champion, Napa and even a % of the EverStart batteries. A car battery is one of the few things that you will most likely have to replace if you own a car more than about 3 years. Most other parts and accessories will last longer, but the battery in a car needs replacing every 3 years or so. If you need to get a new battery installed, go to Goodyear, Sears, Firestone or Pep Boys. All these car stores carry large inventories and can install your battery onsite. Other retailers like Target, Kmart, and Walmart might offer cheaper prices for their batteries, but rarely do they install them.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



As we searched online for car batteries, we found only the Optima car batteries for sale. Lowcostbatteries.com/optima-batteries.asp has a nice selection with the Optima Car Battery - Red Top 75/25 Sealed Automotive Performance Starting Battery ($102), Optima Car Battery - 34R Redtop Battery ($122), Optima Car Battery - 34M Blue Top Battery ($131), Optima Battery Car - D35 Yellow Top Deep Cycle Battery ($133). We were able to find some DieHard and Plus Start batteries on the Sears.com site. The top sellers were the DieHard SUV, Truck and Van ($97), Plus Start Automotive Battery ($40), DieHard Gold South ($93). The top Exide batteries are the Exide Select Orbital XCD, Champion Automotive - long life and high power starting battery, Champion SubZero - built to handle the most extreme cold temperatures, and the Exide 60 - an all-climate battery for hot or cold weather. The top Interstate batteries are the Interstate - 65 Months - 575 CCA ($89), Mega-Tron Plus - 85 Months - 650 CCA ($89-$106), and the Workaholic - 675 CCA ($89-$103). Instead of shopping online for a battery (as we found out they are hard to buy), we recommend going down to your local automotive store (ours is Les Schwab Tire Center) and buy the battery from them. Most likely you are going to have the shop install the battery for you, so ordering online only makes sense if you want to install the battery yourself. We suggest going to Amazon for the best selling car batteries. We especially recommend the Optima Batteries which deliver consistent performance in all weather climates.


How often do you need to change your car Battery:
Most car batteries will last 3-5 years depending on the quality and maintenance involved. It's really hard to know when your car battery needs replacing unless you have signs like "it doesn't start easily in the morning" or it cranks over slower than usual. You can take the car to a local shop and have them do a "load test" to determine how well it is holding a charge. I have found that I need to replace my battery every 3 years (I have had 2 go bad after the 36 month warranty). I keep a note in my maintenance files as to the date I should be replacing the battery. At only $85 to buy and get a battery installed professionally, it's a very inexpensive portion of car maintenance. You can also buy a car battery charger that will get you that extra live from your battery even if it is not holding a charge very well. A car battery charger will cost about $30 and you can buy them online at Amazon.com if you want. See the entire list of top rated car battery chargers online.

What is Car Battery RC - CCA:
Reserve Capacity (RC) is just an industry rating for car batteries. It is a technical term for a batteries capability to power the car with an alternator or fan belt that is not working. The higher the reserve rating the longer the automobile can run should your fan belt or alternator go out. The CCA stands for "cold cranking amps" and determines how well a battery will start an engine in colder temperatures. If you live in an area where temps are below freezing, make sure you purchase a car battery that has a high CCA rating.


How to Jumpstart your Battery:
More than likely you will have to jumpstart your car battery at some point. It's really pretty easy if you have jumper cables. I recommend to all car owners that they keep a pair of jumper cables in their automobiles trunk at all times. They can be a lifesaver if your battery ever goes dead. When you want to jumpstart your car battery, you need to pull a car with a good battery up next to your car. The cars should not be touching and both ignitions should be off. Put the positive (red cable) on the positive terminal of the dead battery. Then connect the other positive (+) terminal to the live batteries positive connection. Next, put the negative clamp (black) on the "live" batteries negative terminal. Put the other negative clamp on a metal surface (like the engine block). Once all the clamps are secure, start the car providing the jumpstart and wait a second before trying to start the car with the dead battery. Hopefully it will start with no problems, although you still need to get your battery check for bad connections or corrosion. If it doesn't start you will need to get a new battery. Buying a new battery and having it installed should cost about $85. A pair of jumper cables from Sears cost about $29.99. Amazon carries a huge inventory of the most popular jump starters online.

[Rene S. Nielsen]

I think I'm going to move to the US. 133$ for a optima battery ??

I just got a quote for 2 Optima Blue top 5.000,- DK that's about 860 US$.

Damn to freight cost is so high on just 2 batteries.

Rene

[IRA51]

Yes but you have free medical insurance,you should see what I pay a month for it. and don't tell me that your tax rate is higer ,because we have the Obamination and his crew in power now and they will tax our nuts off in the next 4 years and leave my grand children to pay the tab . you don't know how good you have it .

[Rene S. Nielsen]

Hi IRA51

Well we do have free Medical insurance. If you need an operation you just get in line and wait around 3 to 24 month (hope it isn't serious).
Otherwise you buy a private medical insurance and get the operation within 3 days.

About tax I don't know how that works in the US, but here we have a kind of step up tax. So for the first 1000$ a month you don't pay tax for the next up to arund 4000$ you pay 43% in tax and after that you pay 65%.

Gas prices are 5.19 us $ a Gallon around 9 kr. a liter

A used H2 will cost you around 95000 US $ if you remove the rear seats (stupid Danish regulation) and around 208000 Us$ If you don't remove the seats.

Of couse the salery might be higher to compensate for this so all in all it must be almost the same.

But it will take 2 years to get a handgun license in Denmark

Rene

PS. The freight priceses are still to high

PPS. here is a Danish site selling Hummers (mostely H3) price around 100.000 US$ - http://www.bilbasen.dk/Cars/UsedCars/ResultView.aspx?Seller=1&CategoryId=P&Category=P&M ake=Hummer&YearFrom=1975&YearTo=2010&PriceFrom=0&P riceTo=9999999&Distance=0&ZipCode=4040

[HUMMERICH23]

How and where do you mount the second battery? Any pics and what would be the advantages? Is it hard to do?

[dvl57]

when you're replacing the battery, is there anything you need to know in regards to having the stereo or nav "lock out"?

in my previous vehicle (Land Rover), when you replace the battery, you get your head unit locked out...you need to enter in a PIN #.


I'm wondering because....in my 08 H2, the battery meter on the dash fluctuates ...in the morning when it starts up...it's strong...during the day (after driving it), the meter is lower....(not to the point where it's extremely low), lower than in the morning.


I was wondering what other owners' thoughts were in regards to this.

thanks.


will a blue optima top fit w/o any modification?

I had terrific success w/ the blue optima D31M on my Land Rover..
In addition, I heard some failures from others in regards to the Optima Yellow tops.


Cheers.