TheSamba.com :: View topic - Thoughts on best battery? Am questioning my Autozone Duralast...

Mon May 01, 2017 9:19 am

Hi all,
I'm always impressed with the wisdom on this forum so would appreciate your thoughts. I have a Duralast battery in my '84 VW vanagon -- something seems to be draining it and have had to jump start twice recently. I'm looking into what is draining it...but I was told today that Duralast batteries are a piece of crap and I should get an Interstate battery. Any thoughts on best battery to try?
Thanks!
~Renee

Mon May 01, 2017 9:36 am

Well, take this for what it is worth, I bought an Interstate battery and it also ran great for about a year, then I started with same issue you had.

My problem was the badly corroded large cable from the lug on the starter to the positive terminal on the battery, it wasn't charging properly even though alternator seemed fine.

I replaced the thick wire with welding cable, replaced my Interstate under warranty with a fresh one (no charge) and now have 2+ seasons under my belt with zero issues.

I appreciated the 5 year warranty, 3 years of it not prorated and in the end, it was not the battery that was the problem. The PO went through batteries every few years by looking at the receipts he gave me.

So maybe Duralast is bad or not bad, but maybe it is something else. Try and find your Parasitic drain. Also see if a good manual charge brings your battery up to where it should be.

Mon May 01, 2017 9:36 am

1. battery is worn
2. charging system is not working right
3. you got a large power drain

so you can take the battery to a shop and have its capacity tested, some places will do this for free.

make sure all connections in charging system are good. measure voltage at battery with and with out engine running at speed to determine if alternator is putting out

disconnect battery, if it no longer dies in short time, then assume it was ding becuase some drain is aoccuring in the van.

good luck

Mon May 01, 2017 9:49 am

Dont buy anything from AutoZone aside from oil and bulbs.

How old is the battery?

Mon May 01, 2017 10:20 am

There is a factory in Oregon, lead and plastic go in one side-batteries come out the other...everybody's battery.

Mon May 01, 2017 11:06 am

AC Delco is what we have used at the shop for years. I have had one or 2 in every vehicle except the deep cycle group 31 house RV battery under the seat

Mon May 01, 2017 4:06 pm

Take it to autozone, they should be able to do a load test on the battery. Desulfation may help. The more a battery is discharged and the deeper it is discharged will cause sulfation on the plates. This will reduce the level of charge it is capable of. There are only a couple of manufacturers that supply the auto battery market. Exide, Johnson controls, Interstate and Penn. Exide filed for bankruptcy a couple of years ago when Walmart dropped them and switched to Johnson. I know Johnson sources it's lead from dirty plants in Mexico, not sure about the others. Penn is a family owned US company and US made. When you buy, like tires you want fresh. Check the date code which is Month/Year format. Last two batteries I purchased were from Costco, Interstate, $74.00 with a 42 month replacement warranty. 6 months longer than most places. No question asked return.

Tue May 02, 2017 4:05 am

See if there is an Interstate Battery Systems "blem" store anywhere near you. I've been buying batteries from ours for nearly 20 years and have had excellent luck with them lasting a long time.

The only one that didn't, died because the voltage regulator in my Golf went bad and was pumping high voltage into it (pegged the volt meter at 18, was enough to burn out both DRL bulbs). I had originally put the battery in there in November or December.

I took it in fully intending to use it as a core to buy another one, as I figured that wouldn't be warranty-able. It might not have technically been, but the guy did just give me a new battery.

Tue May 02, 2017 5:58 am

It is my understanding that most auto batteries are are made by a small number of manufacturers (possibly just two) so all you are differentiating on are labels and how fresh the product is.

Johnson Controls is the big name that comes to mind and those are hecho in Mexico.

I get all my batteries at WalMart or Costco - cheapest, hassle-free warranty and they sell a lot so supplies are fresh.

The problem the OP describes sounds like something that can be diagnosed and fixed - but a new battery isn't the answer.

Tue May 02, 2017 6:46 am

Agreed with above. Johnson Controls makes the basic batteries every chain store sells. Walmart, Autozone, Advance, etc. etc. They are easy to pick out as the casings all look just alike.

I prefer East Penn/Deka and sometimes the better (AGM, sealed or marine) batteries from these same stores are from them and not Johnson Controls. Once again, easy to pick out the casings if you know what to look for.

Nothing wrong with a Duralast (Johnson Control) battery. It's a battery. Millions of cars are getting around with them. For a camper van, however, I would definitely have a second battery!

I've gotten some great deals lately on deep cycle/marine batteries made by East Penn/Deka from Batteries Plus (Batteries N Bulbs) and they have coupons floating around on a regular basis too.

Tue May 02, 2017 7:42 am

Ahwahnee wrote:

I get all my batteries at WalMart or Costco - cheapest, hassle-free warranty and they sell a lot so supplies are fresh.

X2 on WalMart. Batteries are about the only thing I'll buy there, but if I ever have any battery trouble on the road, there are WalMarts everywhere.

Tue May 02, 2017 10:56 am

On the other hand - my Costco battery is a Kirkland... same brand as my underwear and wine.

Tue May 02, 2017 12:11 pm

Ahwahnee wrote: It is my understanding that most auto batteries are are made by a small number of manufacturers (possibly just two) so all you are differentiating on are labels and how fresh the product is.

Johnson Controls is the big name that comes to mind and those are hecho in Mexico.

I get all my batteries at WalMart or Costco - cheapest, hassle-free warranty and they sell a lot so supplies are fresh.
...

the above is correct and I've seen it in Consumer Reports, where they actually did traces on battery manfs. Possible the same factory manfs. to different specs. tho...

Do NOT take it to Autozone, they will use a small handheld tester that does not put a proper a load test on the battery; instead, it uses a capacitive network to approx. a real load test (and not very well either)

DO take it to an automotive electrical shop who will have a big cart with wheels on it to do a proper load test.

ironically, my own NAPA battery is reading below 12.6 V at rest, so may be getting tired - it is maybe 10 years old, but I keep it on a maintainer when parked.

Tue May 02, 2017 12:30 pm

OP - AFAIK, the best battery maintainer for a lead-acid battery is the CTEK. I have the C-TEK MUS 4.3 Battery Maintainer, and just moved it from the Optima in my sports car to the lowly Vanergoon and set it to recondition that battery.

Don't spend a lot of $$ before you check the battery properly (my post above) at an elec. shop.

Do buy yourself a Battery Maintainer. I used a "Jr." for many years before getting the C-TEK MUS 4.3 which is about $60; maybe $70.

You can also disconnect the battery while not driving to kill any drainage circuits. A disconnected battery will still self-discharge over time, but at a very slow rate.

Tue May 02, 2017 1:00 pm

Merian wrote:

Do NOT take it to Autozone, they will use a small handheld tester that does not put a proper a load test on the battery; instead, it uses a capacitive network to approx. a real load test (and not very well either)

Load is a load. What a load. :-) The handheld units you can acquire at say harbor freight (got one, btw...) utilize a resistor to load the battery. The resistor is a cheap 20% tolerance but is adequate for the job of drawing some amps. Same deal at Autozone. You can smell it burn in initially and if you need to put more of a load on the battery than that you can short circuit and weld something until it explodes. The weak point on the handheld load testers is the cheap meter movement, it is not as accurate as it could be, but is sufficient to evaluate the battery. Autozone sold you the battery, they will want to load test it before replacing it if it is weak. If it was bought recently and it tests weak, get a free replacement. If it is under pro-ration, then weigh your options and costs . I have recovered some gnarly batteries by putting a desulfacation maintainer on them for a couple of weeks. One final thought on Auto zone and their load tester. If you question the meter and it shows your battery is weak, ask them to load test a new battery in front of you so that you can see the difference on the meter for the new battery.

Tue May 02, 2017 1:09 pm

Ahwahnee wrote: On the other hand - my Costco battery is a Kirkland...
Costco does not sell Kirkland labeled batteries any longer, They now sell Interstate. Kirkland does not have a battery manufacturing plant. It is just a relabeled interstate battery with an extended warranty and possibly improved specifications from Costco .

Tue May 02, 2017 1:43 pm

you are mistaken about the handheld units and about what constitutes a full load on a large car battery

I did not bother to read the rest of your post and hope the OP doesn't either :cry:

Tue May 02, 2017 3:29 pm

>> The handheld units you can acquire at say harbor freight (got one, btw...) utilize a cement resistor to load the battery. >>

I have a large Milton hand held Cement battery load tester.

It tests up to 100 amps for multiple battery applications.

I sure don't know how much cement it's got in it, it has operated flawlessly for me for 40 years.
Dead nuts on.

Tue May 02, 2017 3:30 pm

https://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-BT-100-Battery-Load-Tester/dp/B000AMBOI0 100 amp load tester. Basically the same as harbor freight. Mine had a rattle out of the box so I opened it up to remove a solder splash from assembly. It has a switch to apply load, a wirewound resistive load and a meter. When the load is applied the resistor (heater) gets very warm, very fast. I do not know what a capacitive network on a load tester would look like? Capacitors that handle 100 amps are huge, think HVAC motor starter caps that would cost as much as this load tester on their own without a meter. In this application they actually reduce starter load on the motor. Are you possibly thinking of a conductance meter that measures internal battery resistance? You want a FULL load? That would be a dead short on the battery, not something I would recommend. It would be loaded completely and as I stated before would probably explode. I think 100 amps for a brief period is acceptable and certainly emulates the load the starter will briefly apply to the battery. If you want a professional tester than you need something that can test around half of the rated CCA of the battery in question, around 300 amps they utilize carbon discs for resistance. Cheapest method under actual normal load would be to have someone engage the stater while the fuel pump is disconnected while monitoring battery voltage with a voltmeter. Drop below 10 volts on a fully charged battery and it is weak. Some people like to make things far more complicated than they are.

Tue May 02, 2017 3:45 pm

No cement resistor, I edited my post, it uses a wirewound resistance, same as a cement resistor, just without the cement. In contrast to a carbon based resistance. It's cheap. Reactance changes as it heats up. Tolerance is not great but it gets the job done in this brief application. You would not want to test 5 batteries in a row without letting the tester cool down. I do not know what a capacitive network load tester is.