PSA - check/replace your battery

[spidey07]

Cold weather means time you'll get surprised by a weak battery. The batteries the manufacturers put in stink and your lucky to get 3 yeras out of them. Had to replace my girls after a short stint of 30 degree temps. It would turn over at a good clip, just not enough to start. So if you have a weak battery, replace it.

 

[holden j caufield]

don't you have an 04 or 05 TL? Those are notorious for having flakey batteries.

 

[robphelan]

btw, noticed on my 2004 chevy that after i replaced the batt, my A/C vent controls were out of whack - apparently, this is a VERY common problem across the truck/SUV line of Chevrolet.

Cost a few hundred to replace the actuators(if i remember correctly).

On a Chevy forum, the guy suggested keeping a portable battery connected to the cables while changing the battery.

 

[spidey07]

This was the girls 07 Saturn aura. When buying the baterry the autozone guy said they sold 20 batteries that day do to the cold temps. And it wasn't even that cold.

 

[Splork]

The opposite happens here in Texas. I seem to replace my wife's battery every two years because of excessive heat during the summer.

 

[exdeath]

Going 5 years on my Optima.

 

[CRXican]

mine has been dying for a while, too cheap to replace it

 

[brblx]

i think my crappy advance battery is out of warranty by now. it'll probably be fine, though.

you do generally see an increase in dead batts during the winter months, but it's not that huge. just the really weak ones that get taken out by the first cold snap (in tennessee we tend to go straight from 60 to 30 and vice versa, fall and spring are odd).

 

[LTC8K6]

Got a Champion from K-mart 6 years ago and put it in our company Lumina. Decided it was too old to trust about 6 months ago, so I replaced it. Employee took it and put it in his 5.7L Tahoe. It's still cranking that V8 fine. It's now past 7 years old.

 

[jhu]

How about using a float charger at home? Should be cheaper than replacing a battery.

 

[brblx]

a bad battery is a bad battery. over time a lead acid battery loses its charge capacity, and when it's sufficiently weakened it may fail to turn the engine over as temps get lower.

there are also just outright failures. usually bad cells, afaik not related to the weather.

 

[fleabag]

How about using a float charger at home? Should be cheaper than replacing a battery.

This is a lot more common problem then people are aware of, unfortunately...

 

[pray4mojo]

Cold weather means time you'll get surprised by a weak battery. The batteries the manufacturers put in stink and your lucky to get 3 yeras out of them. Had to replace my girls after a short stint of 30 degree temps. It would turn over at a good clip, just not enough to start. So if you have a weak battery, replace it.

What kind of battery do I get? Does it say on the door jam or the sidewall?

 

[DivideBYZero]

The Battery in my M3 is massive. It's in the trunk so it's more isolated from the elements than those under the hood.

 

[LTC8K6]

What kind of battery do I get? Does it say on the door jam or the sidewall?

It's on the battery itself and probably in your owner's manual.

However, stores have either books or electronic books where you can look up the proper battery type for your vehicle.

You can also do it on line at several places, here's one:

http://www.showmetheparts.com/n2ebattery/

 

[rh71]

Sears made $85 off me last week. Of course the old one came from another car and it only gets driven once a week for short distances.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Mine's a Group 66 in the trunk. FoMoCo batt = Johnson Controls = pretty good.
Of course, I throw it on a charger every once in awhile.

 

[hanoverphist]

i have never had a battery crap out due to cold... extreme heat, yes but not cold. i always get the higher cca battery option for my truck. ive had my battery since i bought the truck 3 years ago. it was the one that came with it, but it looked fairly new so i let it go. so far so good.

 

[Saga]

This is why I buy a yellowtop.

Fuckin 7 years on the TA and still going strong as sin.

 

[Kalvin00]

Had to buy one new battery for the Dodge last weekend... damn $160 optima batteries..

They tested how many amps is was able to put out. Out of the 800 CCAs it came with, it put out 2