whats a good battery to buy?

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68valiant400

68valiant400

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i'am sick of buying batteries every years i've had three motomaster eliminators and an optima that didn't last. i've heard other complaints about motomaster but what is a good battery to buy, my car is a 68 valiant 383bb
 
I bought one at Costco for the duster 4 years ago. Still going strong. think it was only $49 too.
 
you are going through a battery a year? sure there isn't something wrong with your car that is causing the problem?
 
The Mopar battery that came new in our mini-van lasted over 7 years, & the one in my Mom's '99 Intrepid is still the original!
 
the 3 motomaster batteries were crap i bought 1 it went in 2 mths they gave me another 1 on warranty and it went 1 year later, then my buddy gave me his motomaster eliminator battery and it was junk, had car looked at by someone cuz i couldn't find anything and they determined it was a bad line of batteries, bought an optima thinking it was so great at $200 worked fine but when i parked it for winter battery wont stay charged anymore, and i guess i have now been told those batts a good just cant let them sit without use, i need a batt i can let sit for a couple mths and still take a charge
 
bought an optima thinking it was so great at $200 worked fine but when i parked it for winter battery wont stay charged anymore, and i guess i have now been told those batts a good just cant let them sit without use
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who told you that? my car sits every winter and i haven't had a problem... its been 3 years now . i have the red top.
 
I agree w/abodjoe... I've used these red and yellow top batteries for yrs in the Coast guard and haven't had a problem w/one yet.
 
According to CONSUMER REPORTS the batteries from AUTOZONE are some of the best on the market! I have had one in my truck for 3 years now!
 
I also have an optima red top and it just kicks a$$. I've never had a charge or start problem going on 2 years.
 
I have had excellent service out of my Interstate Megatron batteries. I have them in just about everything I own.
 
abodyjoe said:
who told you that? my car sits every winter and i haven't had a problem... its been 3 years now . i have the red top.
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i bought a yellow top is was great had in my valiant, and in my avenger ,and it was fine, but when i let it sit for a couple mths my battery was always dead when i went to start the car, now it wont keep a charge, asked the local stereo guy i bought it from and he said it's because i let it sit without charging, maybe just a bad batt?
 
Could be, there are some bad ones of everything in a batch. My 97 GMC 4X4 is still using the original battery, and it has done some cranking during very cold winter weather without the block heater being plugged in. Don't recall the brand right now though...
 
One thing that I make sure to do is always go out and crank anything that has a battery every three weeks. I don't think that a battery setting for a couple of months would last to long. But who knows. Batteries sit for longer periods of time before they sell but they aren't connected up either. I would suggest either cranking the car more often or get a battery tender. Also buy a disconnect that mounts at the battery for the negative terminal. I would do both if I was having battery trouble.
 
Don't get a EXIDE!! I used to sell them for Grand Auto and they were junk right off the truck. I started to test them right off the truck after getting a gun stuffed in my face for selling crap. 80% of the time they were junk before they came off the pallet. Interstate or Optima for me thanks. I have an optima in the Dart. The key to an Optima according to the local battery reconditioner is to slow charge them if they are dead flat. I bought a "reconditioned" red top that was turned in that only needed a charge, a slow charge later and it's all good. Well worth the $25.
 
I have a optima red top battery in my car and I really like it! I have used it for about 5 years in my 74 Satellite before I got the Valiant on the road. My battery doesn't get used november till april and I have never had any issues with charging. I always disconnect the battery cables when not driven for awhile, also store in a warm place in the winter. One thing I like is these batteries are gel filled and have no liquid acid to leak out!
 
64dartwagon said:
Don't get a EXIDE!! I used to sell them for Grand Auto and they were junk right off the truck. I started to test them right off the truck after getting a gun stuffed in my face for selling crap. 80% of the time they were junk before they came off the pallet. Interstate or Optima for me thanks. I have an optima in the Dart. The key to an Optima according to the local battery reconditioner is to slow charge them if they are dead flat. I bought a "reconditioned" red top that was turned in that only needed a charge, a slow charge later and it's all good. Well worth the $25.
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Guy with the gun didn't like the Exide huh?? :eek:ops:

I bought a Exide Orbital battery for my truck because I have subwoofer amps that need all they can get. Orbital line of batteries is like the Optima line of batteries which are the gel cell. The battery was rated at 1000 CA amps at 30* and 770 CCA at 0*. That battery didn't last long and quit holding a charge. I guess the sub amps just put a whooping on it. I haven't tried to use it any longer because my truck wouldn't crank so I took it out.

So you have to slow charge them? Do you know what kind of charge and for how long?
 
If your car does more sitting than driving (not a daily driver) try a deep cycle marine battery. The only down side I've found is the need for post adapters to use them in a car. I've got one that has been around for 10 years and has been through 3 cars. Only have to charge it if the car has been sitting more than 4 months. One hour quick charge and it's good to go again. May not be cool and the latest hip gadget but it works. Just my $.02.
 
Optimas are nice, if you can afford them. Don't leak, seem to last longer than most. But if you are going to leave a car sit for long periods (weeks or months) it is a good idea to put on a float charger (1-2 amp trickle charge) once in awhile to keep the battery full. This is especially important for newer vehicles with electronics that constantly drain the battery, ablet tiny amounts for the computer, ABS, whathaveyou.

Any car used mainly for short trips will also eventually kill a battery quicker that one whose battery gets a full charge on a regular basis. My wife's Sebring is murder on batteries because she has a 2 mile trip to work and does alot of shopping and running the kids around within a three mile radius of home. That car gets a new battery almost every year. I calculated it had 9 starts for 10 miles of driving one particular day last week.
 
If you leave a battery hooked up for 2 months & just sitting it is going to go dead. if the car sits, unhook the negative cable. Cranking it every so often isn't going to help you out either as cranking just drains the battery more. I love the optima batteries, I have them in all my cars. (best thing about them, it they don't leak acid). I suppose you might have gotten bad batteries but I would have to say you have the worst luck in the world lol. Ask whoever checked your car out if they did a parasitic draw test. If not , have one done. I would almost be willing to bet that you may find a problem there. Best of luck to you with your concern.
 
An additional comment about disconnecting the negative lead - on my 73 I have one of those knob type quick disconnects on the negative battery terminal. When its parked, I loosen the negative lead using the quick disconnect and its all good. Car sits all winter under a cover, and in the spring I give the knob on the negative terminal a twist and fire her up, battery stays charged that amount of time since its not hooked up to anything. The quick disconnect also saves the lead battery cable end as well since it doesnt have to be installed and removed when ever I park it for storage, whether a day or for a month or 4 months even. Same battery in the car for almost 7 years now. Still works great.
 
I buy the optimas , I buy them from the same place, and have them in two or three vehicles, they have a 3 yr warr, and if you take it to the parts place you bought it from and they hook it up and it dont read(really dead) they will just hand you another, its also come in handy that i bought one a yr after the other cause I knew the one ran out of warr, so i told them it was out of the other vehicle, funny how i was just happening to be driving that vehicle with the dead battery to the store :D
 
68valiant400 said:
i bought a yellow top is was great had in my valiant, and in my avenger ,and it was fine, but when i let it sit for a couple mths my battery was always dead when i went to start the car, now it wont keep a charge, asked the local stereo guy i bought it from and he said it's because i let it sit without charging, maybe just a bad batt?
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sure it isn't something in the car draining it? just sounds funny to me that you keep going through batteries like this...
 
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