I own an 04 C5 A4 and was concerned about the battery? Are most of the problems incurred on this site from side post batteries? My car came with a Delco top mount conventional posts, no problem so far, but will change if necessary. Thanks

 

Most probs were from non-dry cell batteries...

Your '04 should be ok

 

Delco had a rash of side-post battery leaks a few years back. It wasn't just with the Corvettes, it was across the board. The Corvette suffers more from this by having the battery over the computer. For this reason many folks here with the side terminal battery have switched to AGM or Gel cell batterys, Optima, Orbital, Odyssey, etc.

Delco has in my opinion always made pretty good and reliable batteries, with the exception of the previous mentioned problem that seem to have been corrected. I have used Delco batteries for years and will continue to do so in some of my vehicles... but I will keep track of my side terminals.

I think you will be fine with your top terminal Delco and I certainly wouldn't replace it unless you see evidence of leakage. You should get at least 5 years of service from it under normal usage and likely more if you use a battery minder/tender during extended periods of non-use.

Good luck... GUSTO

 

On our 04, have the top mounts, no problems.
Had the 04 about a year and half now..........

 

The original side terminal lead acid batteries in the '97 - '00 cars were problematic with leakage. At issue is what's underneath the battery - the PCM (Performance Control Module) and the wiring harness. Here's a pic of that....



In '01 - GM went to an AGM (absorbed glass mat) battery that cured the leakage issues for the most part, but the AGM's were notorious for unexpected and premature failures. GM went to a conventional top post lead acid battery in '04. I haven't heard or read much negative about those.

To clear up a misconception - the Exide and the Optimas are not "gel filled". They are sealed lead acid batteries that are much more vibration and leak resistant. The Optima is a spiral cell, that the manufacturer claims can be mounted sideways or up side down and won't leak. Both are considered AGM batteries.

If you have no issues with the battery - I wouldn't replace it just because you can. I would however keep an eye on it and make sure that the terminals remain clear of corrosion and the connections are snugged properly.

 

Thank you for the responses, think I will keep an eye on this battery

 

My thoughts on here

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...5&forum_id=103

 

I got an Optima Red Top for piece of mind!

 

After reading about earlier battery problems, I remembered my side terminal broke off on my '99 some years ago. Last night I remove battery and tray and found where the acid leaked down. Fortunately it missed the cables and the computer. I am now sanding the rust and white residual stuff off the frame and undercarriage and preparing to repaint it. If you buy an earlier C5, it pays to remove the battery and check it. Takes about 5 minutes.

 

Good advice here!

 

I think Randy (blacksedan87) covered it quite well and provided some excellent advice in his post above. I too have yet to read or hear of anyone having any major issues with the top post AC-Delco batteries that GM went to in '04, but keeping a watch on them is excellent advice.

Regular maintenance can help extend the life of any automotive battery. Even the so called "maintenance free" batteries require some regular maintenance. As Randy mentioned, regularly check and clean the terminals of any corrosion and insure the terminal connections are kept properly secured, but be careful not to over tighten them. Also, one of the hardest things on any automotive starting battery (not to include the deep cycle type batteries) is repeated deep discharging. Several articles that I have read in the past have stated that automotive starting batteries can withstand only so many deep recycles (generally thinking is around 10) before sustaining sufficient damage to the point of permanent failure. The articles concluded that battery life can be prolonged by keeping automotive batteries charged to at least 80% of their capacity. If your car is not driven regularly, you may want to consider purchasing a battery tender if you haven't already. Battery tenders are inexpensive and work well for keeping your car's battery properly charged.

I often wonder how many of the battery failures we read about here on the Forum are really the fault of the battery and poor quality versus the owner's failure to keep them properly maintained.

Hope this helps.

 

My car came with the Delco too. I decided not to wait until any problems and bought a new Optima red top. Not that much $ and you know you have a fresh new battery - no regrets.

Jeff

 

I was worried that I would suffer from battery leakage and subsequent computer damage so I called AC Delco today. The tech told me that the AGM 78P-7YR is no longer made and that the battery that I purchased in Feb. 2005 (78CYR) has shown no signs of leakage. Anyone have a comment on this?

 

Haven't heard of a lot of problems with the '04 batteries. Unless you see some leakage, I'd just keep it in the car.

 

I had the side terminal Delco AGM in my '03, but it failed after about a year and a half in service. One day it was fine, the next day it was gone. I replaced it with an Optima Red Top, but there were no leakage issues.

 

top posts in 04's . You should be fine as the side posts were prone to leakage... just check it once in a while.