Issues with car batteries

[frank einstein]

what do you have in mind when buying car batteries? Price? A friend's referall.. TV ads? help...

[cyclopsxmen]

5 important factors in choosing a car battery:

   1. Size
   2. Brand
   3. Reserve capacity
   4. Age
   5. Cold-cranking amps

Size

Size or Group Size refers to the height, width and length of the battery. They come in different group sizes to fit most car's battery tray. It is important that the battery should fit snugly and securely. Always refer to your car manufacturer's manual to know your car's specific battery group size. You may also consult the reference guides, which battery retailers provide, find out the appropriate battery size for your car.

Buying a wrong-sized battery will just be a waste of money and might just set off more damage to your car.

Brand

Brand refers to the trademark given to a certain product. Sometimes it is the same with the manufacturer's name (i.e. Exide company produces batteries with same name).

Buying the battery brand specified in your owner's manual is the best way. But if that particular brand is too expensive and you want to do some cost-cutting, follow the specification requirement also found in the owner's manual.

Do not be tempted to buy the cheapest brand because it could turn as the most expensive battery you've ever bought. Cheap batteries may also be loaded with defects and can also be poor performers. A frequent battery change, which also entails repeated installation, will just definitely sucks up the money you've initially saved when you chose a cheap car battery.

Reserve Capacity

Reserve capacity rating (RC) refers to the battery's ?standing power'. This is the amount of minutes the battery can continuously supply minimum voltage needed to run a car should the car's alternator or fan belt fail. With an excellent reserve capacity rating, your car can run on the battery alone when the alternator stops working.

The RC rating of a battery is listed in minutes. You may not find the RC rating on the battery because it is not usually printed on the label. Check the product literature or ask the store assistant to find out the true RC rating of a particular battery.

The longer the operating time of the battery' reserve capacity, the better; because this is the one quality of the battery that could save you from getting stranded. Consider the RC rating as your car's emergency kit. In times of unexpected trouble, you can still run to safety instead of getting stuck somewhere.

IMPORTANT: You cannot just pick and buy a battery with the longest reserve capacity you can find. Consult your owner's manual to learn the recommended reserve capacity rating for your particular car model. It is best practice to choose the exact RC rating that your vehicle can handle.

Age

The age of the battery gives you an idea on how long it should be able to perform. A battery is considered ?fresh' if it is less than 6 months old.

Look for the manufacturing date. Most date codes are stamped on the battery case or label. Important battery information usually starts with 2 characters:

   1. Letter - indicates the month (Example: A is January; B is February; C is March...), and
   2. Digit - indicates the year (Example: 9 for 1999, 0 for 2000, 1 for 2001...)

Cold-Cranking Amps

Cold-cranking amps (CCA) measure the battery's ability to start your car even on an extremely cold weather. During freezing condition, your car will be hard to start (or to ignite) because the car's engine oil thickens and chemical reactions, in turn, slow down.

The cold-cranking amps also refer to the number of amps a battery will be able to support for 30 seconds at 0 degree temperature (until battery voltage reaches below minimum level).

Choosing a battery with a high number of CCA is better; particularly to those vehicles being driven in a cold climate. A higher cold- cramping amps assure that your car's engine will start obediently even on snowy mornings.

what do you have in mind when buying car batteries? Price? A friend's referall.. TV ads? help...

[Julsben]

 :wav:

Better safe than sorry. Buy the brand that has a good track record.

Don't be misled into buying cheap brands - I saw a news item in Manila Bulletin the other week that a car battery is being investigated by DTI because it is suspected to be substandard.

[cyclopsxmen]

if i may suggest better buy philippine made batteries like motolite or outlast coz they are designed based on our weather conditions.

i have read of this new battery from Indonesia i think called "GS Tropical Battery" it was recalled by DTI because it failed in some series of tests conducted last march.

SO BEWARE OF THIS BATTERY.  :police:

[chicong22]

if i may suggest better buy philippine made batteries like motolite or outlast coz they are designed based on our weather conditions.

yea, thats true. our weather condition should also be considered in buying batteries.

OT: not that im advertising motolite, but i really just have to commend their delivery service. apparently, i left my lights open so my batteries discharged. it was already late, good thing they have a delivery system. in just 10 mins, my brand new battery came. hehe lalang, galing. im just amazed.

[Brent]

Avoid Outlast like a plague. It perspires with acid, and sometimes spits it out through the filler caps. Had a bad experience with it before, and so did some friends. Hope they rectified this issue. Note that this was from a brand new battery.

There's also Rocket batteries, they conk out before the warranty period ends (2 batteries from different cars) and the supplier doesn't want to replace it. The shop I bought it from just refunded my money based on how long was left of the warranty period.

[udoymann]

i agree with cyclopsxmen. i've been using motolite in all my vehicles (cars, bikes, and trucks) and it last longer than other batteries I've tried.

also read about the article about the GS Tropical batteries as what cyclopsxmen have posted.

PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS IN BUYING THIS KIND OF BATTERY!!!

[Julsben]

i agree with cyclopsxmen. i've been using motolite in all my vehicles (cars, bikes, and trucks) and it last longer than other batteries I've tried.

also read about the article about the GS Tropical batteries as what cyclopsxmen have posted.

PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS IN BUYING THIS KIND OF BATTERY!!!

This seems to be a problem for that battery brand - parang i-recall nga ng DTI e - http://www.philstar.com/archives.php?aid=20080712156&type=2 -- are we dumping ground again ng substandard products na hindi nila mabenta sa ibang bansa?

[cyclopsxmen]

This seems to be a problem for that battery brand - parang i-recall nga ng DTI e - http://www.philstar.com/archives.php?aid=20080712156&type=2 -- are we dumping ground again ng substandard products na hindi nila mabenta sa ibang bansa?

Kaya nga e. bakit na allow pa yan in the first place na napasok dito yan sa pinas. ano ba ang akala nila sa atin substandard din na hindi na natin kayang bumili ng good quality battery.

:protest:

[incoming!!]

Kaya nga e. bakit na allow pa yan in the first place na napasok dito yan sa pinas. ano ba ang akala nila sa atin substandard din na hindi na natin kayang bumili ng good quality battery.

:protest:

hmm i think this is not an issue about filipino's purchasing power but rather living in a 3rd world country where almost everybody think the cheaper the better. so we are being taken advantage of countries like china.
substandard products entering pinas, i'm not surprised. got 2 words for it RED TAPE.

motolite  :thumbsup:
would you believe the motolite excel i used w/ the acid indicator. last produced 2003. replaced it just last month. do the math. 

[zoids]

Avoid Outlast like a plague. It perspires with acid, and sometimes spits it out through the filler caps. Had a bad experience with it before, and so did some friends. Hope they rectified this issue. Note that this was from a brand new battery

same here, had a bad experience with Outlast battery . . . it didn't last Last long  :furious:

[Conan®]

Avoid Outlast like a plague. It perspires with acid, and sometimes spits it out through the filler caps. Had a bad experience with it before, and so did some friends. Hope they rectified this issue. Note that this was from a brand new battery.

There's also Rocket batteries, they conk out before the warranty period ends (2 batteries from different cars) and the supplier doesn't want to replace it. The shop I bought it from just refunded my money based on how long was left of the warranty period.

My experience with Outlast is actually ok. If the battery conks out before the warranty, no hassle in replacing it. With Motolite my battery was leaking acid through the side of the body that's when I decided to get Outlast instead.

[speedyfix]

i've had a ok experience with outlast naman. same din with a/c delco.

[gowthead]

dont know if this is ot:

but my battery is going to be 2 years old this october.. still not having probs with it... but do you think i should change it now before it suddenly  dies out on me without warning or is it ok to wait until october?

[deep]

sa enduro laging less than 2 years lang tinatagal sa mga car namin dead na saka sobrang expensive nya ngayon kaya now nag try ako AC delco naman