# battery choices?



## lotus197 (Apr 27, 2003)

I have to purchuse a battery in next couple of days. I have lots of electrical work on my car. My battery is strained contiuiosly. I have interior neon kits,glowgauges,400watt amp, CB radio, custom fog lights,underbody neon kit,new engine compartment light,custom tach pretty soon on-board laptop. Now, all of the wires have been wired profeesionally, so theres no hazards and 1/3 of allof these need to be running when vehical is in motion. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What brand of battery should I go with?, How many Cranking Amps should I look for in my situation? My last battery had 610 CCA and it barely had enough power to run the amp,gauges,& light kit at night. I live in arizona, is that efectting it? I have a budget of 75$------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Im at a dead end____answers please


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## myoung (Apr 15, 2002)

please don't double post.........


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## 2SR20DE (May 17, 2003)

lotus197 said:


> *I have to purchuse a battery in next couple of days. I have lots of electrical work on my car. My battery is strained contiuiosly. I have interior neon kits,glowgauges,400watt amp, CB radio, custom fog lights,underbody neon kit,new engine compartment light,custom tach pretty soon on-board laptop. Now, all of the wires have been wired profeesionally, so theres no hazards and 1/3 of allof these need to be running when vehical is in motion. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What brand of battery should I go with?, How many Cranking Amps should I look for in my situation? My last battery had 610 CCA and it barely had enough power to run the amp,gauges,& light kit at night. I live in arizona, is that efectting it? I have a budget of 75$------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Im at a dead end____answers please *


First off I think your onto something... Arizona is a known trouble spot for batteries. Secondly it's probably not your battery so much as it is your alternator. Try running a capacitor or something.


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## sr20racer (Jun 29, 2002)

Optima


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## lotus197 (Apr 27, 2003)

Ok, so go with an optima red-top battery. Now, is there a certian type of "red-top battery" I should buy for the ga16?(like a model number)?


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## toolapcfan (Jul 10, 2002)

Can you buy an Optima red-top for $75? If you don't care about weight, go to Wal-Mart and get their big ass Everstart Max It has 1000CA and 900CCA, plus it has both top and side terminals which is nice when you add a lot of circuits and need to run another large gauge cable to the battery. They're under $75 and they have a long warranty, like 96 months or something. But the Optima is a better battery. Regardless what you do you should put in a 1 farad cap, it'll help prevent damage to your electrical system.


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## StevenLK (Jul 15, 2002)

whats the difference from optima colord tops? i have a red top , did the drop the price that much to $75?? mine was for $130 deduct $8 for core haha..


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## Gsolo (Sep 11, 2003)

$75 wont get ya much for a battery....but sounds like you need more in the way of alternator and capicator thingy. I've never been that big in stereos so dont know the technical name ofit so i'll call it thingy


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## Gsolo (Sep 11, 2003)

toolapcfan said:


> * go to Wal-Mart and get their big ass Everstart Max It has 1000CA and 900CCA, plus it has both top and side terminals which is nice when you add a lot of circuits and need to run another large gauge cable to the battery. They're under $75 and they have a long warranty, like 96 months or something. *


First of all...you dont need 900CCA!! thats alot..600 should be fine. Second of all there is a reason why walmart sells it for so cheap. the only thing i've ever bought automotve at walmart that worked good for me was motoroil and fuel injection cleaner.....and while i'm dissin walmart automotive stuff never get tires there. And if you needed to run more large guage wires just do a two battery setup. Its really not that hard to do, just need alot bigger alternator, but its more efficient


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## sentrasersr20de (Jun 1, 2003)

www.optimabatteries.com

go here and it will explain the different types. I use a Optima Yellow Top deep cycle battery that was intended for my 78 Chevy Blazer 4x4 because of the extra lights, winch, stereo, etc.


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## lotus197 (Apr 27, 2003)

ok, now I need a bigger alternator? instead of a red-top battery? Does anyone know where to find a bigger alternator? I searched but can't find. All I find is the new OEM alternator and thats the same as mine.


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## lotus197 (Apr 27, 2003)

If a red-top bnattery is what I need I can get one for under 75$.


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## 2SR20DE (May 17, 2003)

lotus197 said:


> *ok, now I need a bigger alternator? instead of a red-top battery? Does anyone know where to find a bigger alternator? I searched but can't find. All I find is the new OEM alternator and thats the same as mine. *


It doesn't sound like your running that big of a system... what exactly is the problem w/ your electrical system? And I thought there is an alternator that guys swap to... but maybe it's a ga car to an sr alternator? I don't remember. The cranking shouldn't matter because that stuff should be off untill the ignition is on. I don't know.. maybe your alternator is just a little weak you could get it checked.


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## toolapcfan (Jul 10, 2002)

Agreed Wal-Mart does suck but I bought that very battery for my truck and it's been a good battery for the few years I've had it thus far. Not to mention I buy my 5 quart jugs of Mobil 1 at Wal-Mart for $18, that doesn't mean that it's shitty Mobil 1, it's just cheaper because Wal-Mart has a larger buy-in with Mobil than other retailers, so they get it cheaper. Those batteries at Wal-Mart are relabled batteries made by someone and they may very well be decent batteries. But I agree, if you're pulling a lot of power while the car is on, I'd try a cap first and if that doesn't help then you'll have to go with a higher output alt.


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## Gsolo (Sep 11, 2003)

toolapcfan said:


> * Not to mention I buy my 5 quart jugs of Mobil 1 at Wal-Mart for $18, that doesn't mean that it's shitty Mobil 1, it's just cheaper because Wal-Mart has a larger buy-in with Mobil than other retailers, so they get it cheaper. *


Thats the only thing i've found wal mart automotive good for...and yes the batteries there are reliable but i think you can do better


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## lotus197 (Apr 27, 2003)

>>>>toolapcfan<<<<< , Ok you told me to try a , " 1 farad cap". I dont know hat this is, What does it look like (need a picture) where can I find it?(website or store and what do I ask for?) Thanks


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## 2SR20DE (May 17, 2003)

It's basically a "battery" for when you system needs it most. You would run this inline with your amp and when it needed punch for bass hits it draws power from there... instead of straining your electrical system.

You can buy these at any good stereo shop. You probably won't find one at walmart... although you might... I think for the price they have some pretty cool stereo hook up kits... anyway....

I'm not sure how much they cost... but I would guess ~70 to 100?? Look on the net. 

check this out... all about capacitors...

Capacitors


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## 95 SentraB13 (Jun 14, 2002)

*Battery Info...*

The batteries at WalMart, depending on brand are made by Johnson Control's Inc. or Exide. Everstart Max, a private label for WalMart, is made by Voltmaster which in turn is owned by Exide. 

The only car battery I can get at my local WalMart's is Energizer which are made by JC Inc. who inturn make Optima batteries. Interstate is said to be very high quality and coincidentally are made by Johnson Controls as well.


I personally wouldn't buy an Exide battery unless it was very inexpensive or came with long term, full trade in warranty. Exide production standards/quality, from what I've read based on Sears brand DieHard isn't that promising. Sears had their batteries made by JC for 27 years but switched to Exide, perhaps a better deal. Over a few years customers were reporting a lot of problems and Sears terminated the contract and went back to JC and the problems seem to go away.

If you're still confused about what to buy perhaps this site may help:

http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/

I'd start with the Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ) #7 section. Knowing how to check the age of the battery when buying might be a good thing as well and they cover that on the page.


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## toolapcfan (Jul 10, 2002)

I'll be carrying capacitors through my business soon if you want to wait, I'm sure I can get you a decent one cheap. If you buy one in the meantime you need to charge it first before you connect it permanently to the system. To do so ground the negative terminal of the capacitor and use a 12volt test light to make the connection between the capacitors positive terminal and the positive terminal on the battery. This will reduce arcing that might corrode the terminals on the capacitor. You hold the light in place until it goes out. Once it goes out the capacitor is charged. Then you hook it up in parallel to the circuits you're going to use the capacitor stiffened power wire to operate. You hook the positive up to the positive wire you have coming from your battery, and the negative from the capacitor goes to ground. Then you hook your positive wires for your circuits up to the positive terminal on the capacitor.


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## toolapcfan (Jul 10, 2002)

Well about the cheapest cap I can get is a 20V 1 farad for $75 shipped.


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## lotus197 (Apr 27, 2003)

Ok I found this capacitor on ebay for 65$ brand new, is this what I need.....? (copy paste link) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3050738375&category=1498 If I buy this , will i have to buy a new battery?


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## rer329 (Mar 25, 2004)

lotus197 said:


> I have to purchuse a battery in next couple of days. I have lots of electrical work on my car. My battery is strained contiuiosly. I have interior neon kits,glowgauges,400watt amp, CB radio, custom fog lights,underbody neon kit,new engine compartment light,custom tach pretty soon on-board laptop. Now, all of the wires have been wired profeesionally, so theres no hazards and 1/3 of allof these need to be running when vehical is in motion. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What brand of battery should I go with?, How many Cranking Amps should I look for in my situation? My last battery had 610 CCA and it barely had enough power to run the amp,gauges,& light kit at night. I live in arizona, is that efectting it? I have a budget of 75$------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Im at a dead end____answers please


 you probably dont want to hear this cause your thinking that there is some miracle answer out there...but....a sears die hard would probably be your best bet and would probably be somewhere if not maybe just a little above your budget..you might want to upgrade your alternator too remember not all things run off the battery a lot work off the alternator as well and a voltage drain there could be the culprit also . you know what go to www.sunautomobile.com and check out the Hyper Voltage System it probably would help check it out and good luck. Oh and I dont think where you live (other than living in alaska) would have a direct corrlation to your battery drain..lol


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## toolapcfan (Jul 10, 2002)

Dude, this thread is almost 6 months old, I'm sure he's already done what he needed to. BTW, I do carry caps now. Right now I can get 24V 1.2 farad caps with a digital voltage display on top, $60 shipped.


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