Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 13:36:53 EST
Reply-To: Oxroad@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jeff Oxroad <Oxroad@AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: battery questions
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
In a message dated 3/31/2004 4:39:32 PM Pacific Standard Time,
dkahler@UPS.EDU writes:
> I've
> replaced the battery twice now in 3 months (on warranty luckily). I
> checked the alternator and it's giving the right voltage, and nothing
> else seems to be draining down the battery.
I had used Sears Die Hard batteries in all my cars for years and years. I
don't any more because I hate dealing with Sears anymore and I haven't like the
performance of the last two Die Hards I bought. I went with an Interstate this
time and have had no problems.
Walk in a Sears store and you'll see it ain't the old Sear's selling
craftsman tools and quality. Yeah, I know you can still get Craftmen tools--and so far
they still seem pretty good. But somewhere along the line, Sears made a plan
to increase profits and compete in the current market by changing it up and
becoming "brand central." So they're doing WalMart, but not as well. And Don't
think I'm a fan of WalMart, I didn't mean that. What I meant is that our
standards are being lowered by WalMart and Sears, and then don't get me started on
the myth that Americans don't want to work ,and finding the cheapest labor
worldwide and selling sub-standard products....
Oh, back to Vanagons! Sorry. In my opinion Sears is barely hanging on from
the looks of the Sears stores in my area. And however they've done it they've
lowered their standards and quality of batteries. I brought my DieHard in to
Sears for testing when it stopped working--and I've gotta say I got three years
out of it, although with dubious results. In the past when I brought in the Die
Hard they would do a cursary 5 minute test and sell me a new battery with the
pro-rated discount depending on the warranty of the battery--usually 72
months, I think. Now they did an hour or an hour and a half test, keeping me there,
wasting my time. Then told me that the battery was fine, even though it only
held a 12.4 volt charge after being fully charged and sitting for an hour on
their bench. Let's assume the battery was charged to at least 13 volts and it
lost over half a volt sitting on the bench in an hour. The guy hinted around
this voltage drop complied with their "new standards" for a battery's health.
I'm guessing that meant lowered standards. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but a
12.4 volt battery, while yes is above 12 volts, is about a half a volt short of
what I would want in a car especially a Westfalia where the fan for the
fridge is gonna cycle when the temp inside gets about 75 degrees and the power has
to pass through about 10 or 20 feet of 20 year old wire to get to the starter
and all.
And don't blame the age of the car. This is the battery they have
manufactured for specifically for the Vanagon and Westfalia. Also I seem to remember
their CCA have dropped for the same name battery over the years with the same
International name or whatever they call it. It used to be the 700 CCA and dropped
to about 600 or maybe 650. The website and literature won't exactly tell you
this because Sears is deceptive.
Also the last die hard I had, this one of which I speak, never held voltage
above 12.5 after being fully charged from the day it was new for more than
about a minute. Then it cranked slow for years when starting the car unless the
bus had been running and charging the battery in the last few hours.
Interstate makes a Vanagon specific battery called MT-41 for somewhere
between $80 and $100 with Cranking amps of 815 and CCA of 650. I bought it an like
it, and barring the return of Roebuck who was the real brains of the operation
I won't go back to Sears for a battery and be talked down to by a 17 year old
kid in a mechnics uniform. (Don't tell the kid, but quite frankly I don't know
what cranking amps means as I've always heard reference to cold cranking amps)
Oh, and by the way, Sears even gets you on the web site sayin the Vanagon
Battery has up to 750 CCA. Yes it has "up to" that. In the same way I have "up
to" 200 years to live. The actual CCA amps of their inferior battery installed
by inferior mechanics is, I'm guessing, about 600 or 650 CCA according to
sticker on the battery which technically falls into the "up to 750 CCA." The snot
nosed "mechanic" at Sears will explain to you, in the requisite condescending
tone, that some batteries in this "series" do have as much as 750 CCA but they
do not fit in the Vanagon, and in my estimation don't exist at all.
I loved Sears for years. It was the store. But it ain't what it used to be.
Oh, wait. Was this about Batteries. I recommend the Interstate Batteries,
specifically the MT-41.
Thanks for listening.
Best
Jeff
83.5 Westy
LA,CA
