The Only Battery Thread You Should Ever Post In

[Moessteezy]

You dont know what you dont know.
  :

[gargantula99]

No.  That's an old school trick, and doesn't apply to our cars.  The best way to test your alternator is to get a digital multi meter and see if you're getting over 12.6 volts while your car is running, with all your electronic accessories turned off (stereo, headlights, hvac).  Your battery should be 12.6 volts when not running, and above 12.6 volts when your car is running to show that your alternator is charging your battery.

Do a search for alternator.

[Moessteezy]

I found out what my problem was my I wasnt getting a proper connection  to my battery. so i cleaned off the battery terminals with some water and baking soda. and sanded down the terminals. Havnt given me any problems since.


ok thanks for the info, well definitely use this if i have altenator problems in the future.

[timot_one]

For the record, you should be getting around 14 volts with your car running.  Paul had cleared that up in that thread.  I'm not really sure why people keep pulling the negative or positive battery terminals from their battery to test their alternators.  If you have half a brain and a multimeter you can test your alternator a lot faster.

[Moessteezy]

For the record, you should be getting around 14 volts with your car running.  Paul had cleared that up in that thread.  I'm not really sure why people keep pulling the negative or positive battery terminals from their battery to test their alternators.  If you have half a brain and a multimeter you can test your alternator a lot faster.

haha well i guess ill know for next time. thanks for the info.

[booley]

Well, the Optima's are still around... Are they really as crappy as you guys say?

Also, does anybody have any feedback on the Odyssey pc925? I know the 680 would be too small, but the 925 might work, yes or no??

[alpha]

Well, the Optima's are still around... Are they really as crappy as you guys say?

Ever since the production plant moved from Aurora, CO to Mexico, yes.  The design changed when the production plant was moved; I believe it went from a 6-cell design to a 3-cell design.

[Mike]

Well, the Optima's are still around... Are they really as crappy as you guys say?

Also, does anybody have any feedback on the Odyssey pc925? I know the 680 would be too small, but the 925 might work, yes or no??

Working part time in a parts store we get more optimas back than we do our store brand. We sell 10 store brand to 1 optima. The quality is really bad

[timot_one]

Mark and Mike are correct. While they are still around a a brand, Optima has cut corners with design and manufacturing. Only 3 of the cells are spiral cells now.

I would choose the Odyssey battery instead.

[Pascal]

Appart from odyssey (expensive as hell but about the best) and optima (that now seems to be not that good for the price), what are other options in the middle class of batteries, something with a good amount of CCA (Canada winter) and still affortable. I've heard some good reviews on kirkland batteries but it's "only" 640 CCA for a group 35, I actualy have a 450 CCA group 51R carquest battery with some years on it, but it always was hard to crank on cold days. Would a "standard type" group 35 battery for around 100-150$ make a good difference over my actual 51R or paying almost 300$ for a optima really makes that much of a difference so it justifies the extra bucks ?

[timot_one]

Give the kirkland brand stuff a try if you want.  I was able to fit a 34/78 in my battery tray, so you can go bigger if you want to.  I went in the other direction this time though.  I wanted to save room and relocated my battery to the sub frame in front of the transmission, so I went with a small Braille battery.

[Pascal]

The kirkland group 34 is rated at 795 CCA, not bad ! it you say it fitted in the tray that could be a good choice. The average cost of them is 80$ and they have a awsome waranty. For the price, I don't have anything to lose !

[ikethegreat]

I love my Optima yellow top.  I sit in my car everyday for my hour long lunch break and listen to the radio or ipod without the car running.  It always starts right up afterwards.  You can find them for under $200 if you look hard enough. 

[Pascal]

Having a optima, it would be a red top for their CCA rating

[timot_one]

I had a red top back in the day, it was a good battery and lasted for years. It's in my mom's Cadillac now. This was before they were shit though.

I can't remember if the 34/78 I had fit in the tray or not. I think I removed all the plastic crap and just had a rubber mat under the battery on the tray and the upper battery holder piece.