'89 SHO Needs a Battery - Some Questions and Observations

[DeepPower]

The Sears Diehard battery (Model 33334, 795CCA) in my SHO is 16 years old. It's been more like an experiment to see how long I can keep the battery going. And now, I might need a new one.

Back in the day (remember the day?), Sear Diehard and Interstate were the best batteries made. But I've been told now that basically all battery technology is the same and I should just buy from Walmart or Costco. True?

I've also been told that batteries with lower cold cranking amps (CCA) last longer because the electrodes are thicker. Is this true as well?

Thanks!
UPDATE 11/8: Battery is not 12 years old, it's 16 years old!

 

[rubydist]

Well, I doubt that you will get 12 years from any battery you buy new now...

I find that the Diehard Gold are still pretty good batteries, but the "lower" versions of the Diehard are pretty standard quality. I have had good luck with the one WalMart battery I bought, but that's not much of a sample size to draw conclusions from...

 

[TimboSHO]

I've also had good luck with Walmart batteries. Consumer's reports rated them really well years ago, I'm not to sure about now a days. The one I put in my old rust 89 lasted from the day I bought the car (and the battery) to the day I sent it to the junkyard over 9 years later. Then I used it as a spare for awhile, but sitting around killed it finally. I have one in my Malibu right now, and it went bad in 3 years, but with the pro-rated warranty (which they don't do anymore) I only paid about half for a new one.

 

[sperold]

I have used the Costco batteries (group 34), and no issues with them.
They don't seem to last as long as they used to, 6 years is a very good run.

 

[zoomlater]

I've been using Napa batteries and I have yet to replace one yet. I think the oldest is at least 6 years old now. If you can get them when they have the bucket sale, they are 20 percent off.

It looks like its going on right now until Nov. 14th

http://www.napaonline.com/Savings/CurrentPromotions/WashBucket

 

[itwonder]

IMO, Interstate batteries are top notch, and are a great choice. My boat hhas an Interstate battery, and will always have an Interstate. NAPA batteries have a warranty advantage - If you turn one in under warranty, it's replacement will have a brand new warranty. My SHO has a NAPA battery. I buy Costco batteries for my truck and lesser used cars because the warranty is generous and exchange no hassle. They are satisfactory, but not the best. Our SUV has a Walmart Maxx battery. It seems to be lasting alright.

 

[DeepPower]

Charged the battery overnight with my slow charge battery tender. By morning it showed the battery was not fully charged (light was amber, not green). Oddly enough it appears to be holding a charge - an hour after the car is shut off the voltage is the same as when I turned it on, 12.69V.

I'm going to try reviving the battery using the Epsom Salts trick to remove sulfates from the plates. I figure what the **** - worst case I replace the battery anyway.

I checked the voltage while running the car with a cigarette lighter battery meter and oddly it shows the voltage as 14.25 Volts. I'm worried that's a bit high - might I have a voltage regulator problem?

 

[SHOdded]

Nope 14.xx is perfectly normal (don't want above 15V for sure) with the engine running. If it shows 12.xx when its' running, you got alternator/battery/wiring issues

 

[luigisho]

Yeah you need to state the values with and without the alt running. I wouldn't monkey with batteries that old unless money was hovering near homeless tight.

 

[DeepPower]

I just changed my OP, this Frankenstein battery is actually 16 years old. Must be some kind of record!

For the **** of it, I tried the Epsom Salts trick. I took 1/2 a cup of distilled water and boiled it in the microwave, then added as much Epsom Salts as it could dissolve. I let it sit and kept stirring until the glass container was not too hot to touch, then added four tablespoons of the mixture to each battery cell. To stir the mixture I took the car out for a spin with some sharp lefts and rights

What was unusual was that when I turned the car off, instead of watching the battery voltage drop to about 12.6V and stay there, the battery voltage bounced up and down between 12.6 and 12.9 volts for a couple of minutes.

I'm leaving the car on my Schumacher 3A battery maintainer for 12 hours until tomorrow's work drive. I'm only ten miles from home, my mechanic is 1/2 mile away, and there are plenty of people to give me a jump. I'm going to measure the drop in voltage every day from when I park the car to when I go drive home. If I don't see an improvement by the end of the week, then it's time for a new battery.

It's just pure stubbornness is why I'm trying to extend the life of this battery...

 

[luigisho]

12.6 +- is considered fully charged. bouncing around might just be a chem reaction. does it hold at 12.6 over night?

 

[DeepPower]

12.6 +- is considered fully charged. bouncing around might just be a chem reaction. does it hold at 12.6 over night?

Don't know if it holds the charge. Yeah, the bouncing is probably the Epsom Salts doing their job.

Yesterday (Saturday) I charged the battery then let it sit, and it was losing 0.1V per hour. At 12V I connected the charger and left it overnight.
After today's Epsom Salts trick I'm charging for 12 hours. I have a ten minute ride to work tomorrow which will charge the battery at 14V while stirring the mixture. I'll know by Thursday if this works.

 

[rubydist]

One of the challenges here is that all these volt meters are not necessarily dead on with what they read. However, 12.8V is considered fully charged on a car battery, and the running voltage should be 13.8 - 14.2V Anything over 14.25V is potentially a problem.

 

[thegreatbriguy]

Costco no longer has Kirkland brand batteries. I thought those batteries were awesome, by awesome, I mean 6-8 year life... but, Costco now has interstate. they cost more than the Kirkland did and the core charge is $15, so make sure to bring in an old one even if it's 16 years old and should be in a museum...
the interstate don't have the cca that the Kirkland did.

 

[DeepPower]

One of the challenges here is that all these volt meters are not necessarily dead on with what they read. However, 12.8V is considered fully charged on a car battery, and the running voltage should be 13.8 - 14.2V Anything over 14.25V is potentially a problem.

Thanks, that's good to know! I use a battery charging and system monitor with voltmeter that plugs into the cigarette lighter. I checked it against the voltage directly at the battery, tested with a highly accurate Beckman multimeter. The Beckman showed either the same, or 0.01V higher.

Car has been sitting for two hours and the battery voltage was initially 12.48V and is declining only 0.02V per hour, an improvement over 0.1V per hour. Damn, it looks like the Epsom Salts trick is working, but I'll feel better if I see the voltage rise in the next few days as 12.48V is still kinda low.

*** How I check the battery voltage: I turn the headlights on with high beams for 10 seconds, turn them off then wait to see where the voltage settles.

My charger only charges at 3A so it's slow going at night. I've been looking at a newer charger that charges at 2A, 6A & 10A, but that charger automatically desulfates the battery, which would interfere with my Epsom Salts desulfation experiment. It's supposed to take a few days before the salts finish their work. Just to be safe, I'm not planning any long trips this week.

I found this reference online:
Battery (car off)
Charged: 12.4 to 12.6V
Recharge: 11.8 to 12.35V
Dead: <11.75V

Alternator (car running)
Too high: >14.8V
Normal: 13.4 to 14.75
Too Low: <13.2V

 

[luigisho]

That reference is pretty good. Like I said, I wouldn't mess with an old battery too much. It's just a plastic contained chemical reaction and once the internals oxidize it's an experiment to rejuvenate it and, unless you drive a '50's Studebaker in Cuba, you should just get a replacement and worry about the next 11 things that will soon break on this car.

 

[DeepPower]

Epsom Salts experiment has officially failed.

Charged the battery for 1½ days using a 3A charger. Drove the car ten minutes to work, after two hours showed 10.5volts and needed a jump. It's possible that the 3A charger is too weak, but I'm done.

I'm going to Walmart and getting the Everstart MAXX-34S, great ratings from Consumer Reports.

 

[SHOdded]

Well, at least there's a trick for emergencies, if not for full resuscitation!

 

[DeepPower]

Interesting, before installing my new Walmart Everstart MAXX-34S battery, I checked all six cells on my Diehard Gold with a hydrometer. Five of the cells tested brand spanking new. But the one cell at the negative battery terminal tested all bad - the hydrometer needle was pointing towards the floor. That explains why when left sitting the battery always settled at 10.5V (2.1V/cell x 5 good cells = 10.5V).