optima red top here . first one lasted 11+ years .

 

Has anyone tried "interstate" as a replacement for a battery? I left the interior lights on and drained the battery that was in the car when I bought it. I charged it but I'm thinking of replacing it in the spring.

 

I will save money on tools (ie harbor freight) but not on Vette parts. Buy the best that I can afford.

 

The last set of DieHard Golds that I replaced in my 7.3L Ford Powerstroke F-350 which was always tough to start, when I rarely went to fire it up... were brand new Interstates. Those Interstate batteries were ALWAYS perfect; WAY better than the Sears DieHards EVER were; even when brand new, at the same specs.

 

Anyone try an East Penn / Deka Intimidator AGM group 78 battery? I have used this series of batteries with great success in other vehicles.

http://www.remybattery.com/intimidat...t-battery.html

 

These types of threads are ridiculous.
Like what is the best color car to have?
What are the best tires to buy?
What is the best oil?
Ask 100 different people, you will get 100 different opinions, each one better than the last. If the battery is the right size, buy it and learn how to maintain it, you and the car will be happy. Most batteries die of neglect, operator error, not manufacturer's defect. Learn how to take care of your things and they will last.

 

I can speak with no authority on the subject whatsoever, only anecdotal. I bought my Corvette last month, it is an '01 manual. The battery was on its last legs (the car needed a jump on the dealer's lot). My car has had only one of the column lock recalls done (the 1st in 2004) and it was asking me to "Pull key wait 10 seconds." Within a week of buying the car, the battery threw craps (it had been in the car for 6 years). I was in a bit of a pinch and went to Costco and bought one of their batteries. Made by Interstate. I had used these batteries before and have had a good experience with them. However, the OEM specification for the battery is a RC (reserve capacity) of 120. Although the Interstate web site said their battery was for the Corvette, and it fit perfectly, the RC on the battery was 95, so short of the specification. After installing the battery I continued to get the "Pull key wait 10 seconds message". I would never get that message after I had run the car, it would only happen after the car had sat for at least 12 hours [ forum members, I had the LMC5 ready to install, but was waiting for warmer weather to install it, no worries, I got that done last Sunday].

Now here is where the speculation comes into play. Because I would never get that message after I ran the car...I speculate that the car had brought the battery up to a state of charge where the electronics (particularly those dedicated to reading the key and relaying the all clear to the BCM) functioned normally. When sitting for several hours, my car may have had enough passive drain that the battery did not have sufficient reserve capacity (RC) to fully power the electronics when the key insterted. The only way to know for sure if the battery's RC was critical to the proper function of my car's electronics, would have been to take the Interstate back and install a battery with the 120 RC (or better). Which I did not do for 2 reasons. I had a hard time finding a battery that actually fit my car and had the specified RC, and mostly because I had already bought the LMC5 and it was ready to install and figured once that in my car, the Interstate battery (which fit perfectly and had the side posts I needed) would do fine (it had already proven it could start this car in sub-zero Chicago temperatures). So the battery might (emphasis on the might) matter if your car is within the class of cars with steering column lock issues. Some on this forum, far more knowledgeable than I, have traced the problems with this system to the batteries. Most irrespective of the battery, would recommend installing the LMC5 and never having to worry about the battery doing more than starting the car.

 

Thanks for all the good input. Who manufactures the Odyssey battery?? I am definitely interested in an AMG battery

 

I used to swear by the Sears DieHard Batteries... Today I just swear at them!

 

I'm looking at replacing my battery this spring. I currently have an ACDELCO that has been flawless, but will be 5 years old in April.
I want to go with an AGM battery for peace of mind and am leaning towards an Optima Red Top (75-PC1230). I have a couple of questions:
There are comments that the RCA should be 120 while the Optima is around 100 with a CCA of 760. Has this proven to be adequate for those of you who have this battery?
I use a CTEK 3300 on my car whenever I don't plan on driving it during the upcoming week or two. Can the CTEK be used on the AGM batteries?
I don't believe it's a problem, but someone in our local Corvette club indicated that he thought it wasn't compatible.

 

wdcraig - first off, you admittedly are using a battery smaller in capacity than specified for the car, which may be giving you some of your problems. You may also have an excessive current drain which can be slowly drawing down your battery and there are numerous threads on here of how to find that. (Easiest way to start is to disconnect the neg battery terminal and measure the current between the neg battery terminal and the ground cable). And if you install the LMC5, your problems with that message may be solved but it's more likely you are getting that message because of a low battery voltage. Have you measured the battery voltage after the car sits before you start it? The car may start with as little as 10.5-11V in the battery but that low level will give you all sorts of warning messages from the computer's electronics.

 

I have a Optima Red Top in my 99 and a Yellow Top in my 02. I would recommend the Yellow Top for a longer life. The only reason I have a Red Top is it came with the car.

 

I ordered an Optima Yellow Top from Amazon and it was lost in transit. So they sent a replacement, which arrived the same day as the "lost" one. They told me to keep it. So now I have two, and only need one. If anyone near Charlotte, NC wants a yellow top at a big discount, PM me.

 

Is it compatible with a CTEK charger?

 

With apologies to the OP- I did not mean to hijack his thread. I totally agree with you- the battery I bought is not to the proper specification for this car and this battery may be the source of the past error message (and knock on wood, since the LMC5 install, it does appear to be a thing of the past). Or perhaps my car may be causing some passive drain. I have not driven my car since Sunday and went out to check the battery this evening to see what the voltage is before start up and the DIC showed it at 11.6.

Regarding the battery- according to the Interstate Battery web page, the battery I purchased is a group 75: "Recommended for 2001 Chevrolet Corvette V8 5.7L 350CID."

The battery is indeed a perfect fit in the battery tray and has the side terminals. However, the Interstate battery specifications are 650 cold cranking amps (CCA) and a RC of 95. If my research is correct, believe the OEM AC Delco group 75 had 700 cold cranking amps and a RC of 120.

 

I went to Odessey this last time (so far, so good). I had a couple AC Delcos and a couple red-tops previously. This battery has a noticeable difference in cranking power...

 

wdcraig - a battery with 11.6V is only 22-25% charged. Either you have an excessive passive current draw on it or you possibly got a bad battery. Put it on a charger for 6 hrs, or so (on a real battery charger at 8amps, not a trickle charger at 1.5amps) and get it load tested. If the battery checks out OK, the problem is with your car and the current draw can be measured easily like I said above.
You said that after installing the battery you started to get these messages, which indicate that you had low voltage from the very beginning, and that means either the battery was bad or it wasn't fully charged.
Did you get a regular lead-acid battery or an AGM?
Just for information to all -
All AGM's MUST BE FULLY CHARGED before being put into service or they are doomed to prematurely fail after first use, like after starting the car for the first time. This is from Yausua and every other AGM battery manufacturer and in the directions that come with the battery, as well as from my personal contact with a few of them. You should not rely on the guy in the battery store or garage or auto supply store who put it in and says it's good to go - if you don't personally insure it's fully charged you will be back getting another one under warranty.

 

Yes, have one myself.

 

I would not consider the voltage on the dic to be very accurate. Also a group 78 Delco battery will fit. It is a little tight but drops right in

 

Thank you very much! I've not got the instruments to test the battery and all I have in the way of a charger at present is a tender (which is currently hooked up to another car).

I'll keep an eye on the battery via the DIC- I do wonder if the DIC is actually reading the voltage correctly because it seems like no matter how long the car sits idle- I am getting the same pre-start reading of 11.6. The car starts and runs fine in the month since I bought the battery and since I installed the LMC5 there have been no error messages. If I was having a serious passive drain issue, would not the battery pre-start readings vary depending on how long the car sat? One would think the reading would become progressively lower corresponding to the amount of drain....but I may be missing something.

Regular lead-acid: https://costco.interstatebatteries.c...206&Country=US