Car Battery Tips?
 

When your choosing a car battery, what are you looking for exactly?

I came across some post somewhere that said to ONLY use a certain car battery for the dodge neon, Is this possible that you can only use a certain battery? I cant find the post online so I don't know what the battery was they mentioned, I think it was a interstate 750 or something. :confused:

If you don't P&G, I'd just get the cheapest one. For P&G its helpful to have something a little heftier for driving with headlights on in winter. For people with alternator deletes, you need a deep cycle battery.

Any 12V battery with enough power to turn the starter over will be ok to use. The only special batteries in cars are the batteries the electric motors in hybrid vehicles use.

I would recommend going with a deep cycle battery. Since it is a neon, and not a large diesel engine, it should still have enough power to crank the engine over. A deep cycle battery will last you longer than a standard car battery, it'll give you a longer driving distance if your alternator ever dies on you somewhere, and it'll stand up to large loads a lot better if you ever put in a large stereo system.

Interstate 750 is a brand and rough crank size designation. I searched O'Reilly auto parts for you, using a 2003 Dodge Neon as an example and came up with the following...
2003 Dodge Neon Battery | O'Reilly Auto Parts

It appears that the group size is "26R" or sometimes called "26r72"
The cranking amperage on this particular battery is shown to be 540cca
(540 available "cold cranking amps" meaning expects to put out that much amperage at 0 degrees F.)
This is above the minimum requirement for a Neon, so you will be fine in installing something like this. When you go to your local auto parts store for a new battery, just make sure to ask for the group size "26r" and that will ensure the correct dimensions (size) of the battery. :thumbup:

(editorial addition) It will not matter the brand you use... Interstate, Exide, Sears, AutoZone, etc etc, only the group sizing and minimum CCA rating. Just about any auto parts store can verify that for you. Have fun.

If you're in to recycling, go to the junkyard and buy the freshest battery they have that you can fit in the car. There's a date code on most batteries, and C8 would indicate it was made in March 2008. If it's more than, say, two years old, I'd pass on it.

Aside from that, a smaller battery will weigh less, but it will give a shorter service life due to being cycled to a greater depth of discharge. Size 51 (Honda Civic) batteries in non-Hondas are fun.

If you've got a hybrid and you need a vestigal 12V battery, why not get one of these: Braille ''No Weight'' Batteries - JEGS

I went to Advance Auto Parts to get some brake parts a few days ago, and I got my battery checked (always good to know how it's surviving), but the terminals were too messy/corroded and I needed to clean them off for a good reading.

I came back yesterday, got my alternator checked, and it's great! However, something was bugging me . . . in a very good/odd way.
I believe my battery has 550 CCA (Cold cranking amps), but when we tested it it had 1100 CCA :eek:
The person that checked my battery was soooooo confused but didn't think there was an error. She even told me my battery was superman.

Any idea how my 550 CCA battery could possibly have 1100 CCA? I rather like it, but it seems a little off.

CCA is rated at 32F, or something cold thus the rating Cold Cranking Amps. A battery doesn't put out nearly as much amperage at lower temperatures. Obviously it was warmer than 32F out.

CCA is rated at 0F. CA is rated at 32F.

I learned with a small subaru..
motorcycle batteries are so close to the CCA number..but so far away...


anyway. if there is a listing for your car stick with it.
and I chose to make a cover..but not completely, to cut back on venting.
As one paints and welds, and gets the system going again, the battery changes.,..because the chassis is the ground.
the all sealed batteries has had my imagination. Not good reviews, but my engine is tiny. could work...don't know yet.

the big lesson was: never go too big. find specs work with them as close as possible.
the old gm /ford routine doesnot apply anymore. get that big truck battery out of the little ricer bay!

I always pick a battery with the best warranty and from a place that the battery is stamped with that store brand and the date, if they require to you keep your receipt then go some place else, if the warranty doesn't cover full replacement then avoid it.
As far as deep cycle batteries go, they have a rated discharge rate and a normal car starter is a higher load then alot of deep cycle batteries can handle, thus you can kill a deep cycle battery by using it as a starting battery if it's not rated for the load.

I think my battery might need replacing. I've been suffering from starting problems for several months, but put it down to the frequent, short journeys. I bought a charger and have used it several times to top the car battery up. But as the weather gets colder, the battery is getting worse. Where do you buy yours?

I think I might be having problems soon too. I was doing some heavy P&G at night (2 nights ago), and I was so worried about my new partial boat tail falling off or something, that I forgot about my heavy P&G. After minute+ light, with m headlights and radio on, I tried to start my car and it did not start.

After the jumpstart (thanks jumper!), and the errand I was on, apparently I forgot to take the key out of the ignition, and left the fan on the lowest setting and my idiot lights on all night. Needless to say I felt very stupid to have to jump my car twice within 24 hours. I did scrape off a lot of white corrosion from on top of the battery, and so far it starts like it should, but I'm worried.

Remember my 1100+ CCA post (page one)?
I went to advance auto and it was only 450 CCA :(

And it must have been 90+ degrees outside . . .

I really want an optima yellow top but they are so expensive . . . any suggestions? I live in a very hot climate, so I don't need a good winter battery, but I do P&G a lot, sometimes at night.

batteries! good topic. i subscripe to the recycle type of mindset, i am cheap too. so i always buy junkyard batteries. they are $20 each, and i will only buy a battery that is 6 months old or newer. i abuse my batteries pretty bad, but they still last about 3 years a piece. i think this is due to the increased size that i use. let me explain.

my car has the battery UNDER the driver side headlight, in front of the wheel, and its inside the front bumper. kind of an odd place, but it helps create more engine room.

due to the limited size area in there, i cannot upgrade to a larger battery, but i can add extras! i added 2 diesel truck batteries to the trunk of the car and i put them in those plastic boat battery boxes. i ran 2 gauge cable from the front of the car to the trunk for my 2 extra batteries. my alternator is about 90amps max, so it charges all 3 pretty good. i am guessing the extra batteries and cable add about 70 extra lbs. but running alternatorless more then makes up for the weight penalty, with increased mpg's. remember my car is about 3000lbs, so an extra 70lbs is nothing. i don't even notice it.

the reason i have extra batteries is because i remove the alternator and a/c belt in the cooler months. during the summer i just disable the alternator with a switch on the dash so i can keep using a/c. since it's summer right now, i have the alternator switched off but still i use the a/c. i also turn the alternator ON when coasting to a stop to help keep the batteries charged. (part of the reason i change the charging voltage to 15.5v is to help charge those batteries quick under the situation when i am coasting to a stop and charging the battery at the same time) as soon as the engine rpm's drop to idle and i stop, i turn the alternator switch back off.

because of my nearly constant a/c usage, stereo, 12" sub and amp, headlights, etc i find that having 1 battery is not enough for running alternatorless in my car that seems to take a million amps. deep cycle batteries are too expensive. so junkyard batteries it is then! on a cool day with a/c off, subwoofer disconnected, and only the stereo on i can drive for a few hours with no alternator. but this is torture on normal batteries that are not of the deep cycle kind. that is why I chose to use larger diesel truck batteries. they store more energy, and are more forgiving when deeply discharged, and at the junkyard all the batteries are $20 each no matter if it's a tiny honda battery, or a large diesel truck battery. so why not buy larger if they are the same price?

if you do not ever run with the alternator disabled, then there is no point in upgrading to a larger battery, from a fuel economy point of view anyways. you might as well run a small honda civic size battery and enjoy some meager weight reduction savings.