Battery

[Blackcoog]

I installed a smaller battery I picked up from Walmart on my SVT Contour recently. I picked it because it's smaller and left room for the cold air intake I'm running. It's been great up until I left the light on inside the car one night. I tried to start it last night and found out about the dead battery. I put my charger on it and my charger won't charge the battery because the battery is at .046V. My charger doesn't even think it's hooked up to a battery so it won't charge it. The charger is a spendy Craftsman 2/12/40Amp charger with 120Amp start. So I hook up some jumper cables and get the voltage up a bit and then I hook my charger up and leave it for a bit. The battery gets up to about 67% and the car won't start. Stupid Walmart batteries. Is the battery toast? I suppose I'll just bring it back and get another one but that isn't very comforting to know that it will be dead after one full discharge.

 

[getsum111]

I've used a Wal-mart battery for 4 years now. One died last summer, prorated replacement for a bad cell. Other than that, mine has been great. :shrug: I'd grab an Optima if I could afford it, but other things first.

 

[Dyoel182]

Batteries fail all the time so dont blame the brand. The WalMart batteries are usually the best in the consumer reports studies but problems like that are very common.

 

[Harrry]

Batteries fail all the time so dont blame the brand. The WalMart batteries are usually the best in the consumer reports studies but problems like that are very common.

Do you have a link to that one?

I'd really like to believe that walmart has the best. But since everything that they sell is from china, it kinda scares me.

 

[Dyoel182]

I dont have a link handy. I get the magazine for some reason and their line was #1 or #2 in almost all the sizes.

 

[elraido]

Just get a motocraft.....best battaries I have seen yet. Haven't had to plug in either Tour in the winter....ever. And the 95's bat lasted 10 years.

 

[Harrry]

Just get a motocraft.....best battaries I have seen yet. Haven't had to plug in either Tour in the winter....ever. And the 95's bat lasted 10 years.

I buy almost all my replacement parts through motorcraft. They make really good parts.

 

[n2n2o]

dyna batt is the only way to go

 

[TomNJ]

I buy almost all my replacement parts through motorcraft. They make really good parts.

My original Motorcraft battery lasted 6.5 years so I replaced it with the same and have over 3 years on it.
I'm pretty sure they are still manufactured by Johnson Controls.

http://www.galttech.com/research/cars/buy-car-battery.php

The majority of car batteries are created by 3 manufacturers - Delphi, Exide and Johnson Controls Industries. Delphi makes some EverStart models sold in Walmart and ACDelco. Johnson Control Industries makes Duralast seen in Autozone stores, Diehard - sold in Sears, Kirkland - the Costco brand, Motorcraft - which Ford sells, some of the EverStarts, and Interstate. Exide makes Exide batteries, Champion, Napa and even a % of the EverStart batteries. A car battery is one of the few things that you will most likely have to replace if you own a car more than about 3 years. Most other parts and accessories will last longer, but the battery in a car needs replacing every 3 years or so. If you need to get a new battery installed, go to Goodyear, Sears, Firestone or Pep Boys. All these car stores carry large inventories and can install your battery onsite. Other retailers like Target, Kmart, and Walmart might offer cheaper prices for their batteries, but rarely do they install them.

 

[loggerbomb]

Replacement needed every 3 years??? What are they smoking??? Aren't most decent batteries guaranteed for at least 3 years?

 

[Dyoel182]

Yes but they can lose performance pretty quickly after that or randomly based on temperatures and duty. I used to sell batteries and some I pulled out were 10 year old original batteries and others were a year old and got a free replacement. Those wet batteries are weird.

 

[Sprebound]

Well a decent battery should last around 6-7 years. I'll be putting a Diehard Platinum in the trunk, so I won't have ANY fitment issues at all under the hood for my CAI.