Is the factory battery really this bad?

[smithb]

My battery would go dead after about 15-20 minutes of sitting in there with radio/nav everything going (I also hear the 6 disc changer cycling through all the discs). It finally started dying after about 5-10 minutes a couple weeks ago and then I found a puddle of acid underneath the car. I bought the 101 battery from my local dealer for $178, including 8.5% sales tax. I saw the other threads here about the different batteries and then went to walmart and bought their brand, 78N sizel, for $74. It fit right in (was a little tight), but one of the 2 side clips does not fit in due to the carrier strap. However, you wouldn't know it if you didn't look for it. It has a higher capacity, 780 CCA vs 660, if I remember right. Works great for me, I would recommend it.

[ucyiwork]

Sounds pretty good. like the higher cranking amps. 4 years is a while on a battery too.

[david1]

Batteries are rated 2 ways. Cranking amps and reserve capacity.

Reserve capacity is how long the battery should last with a constant slow drain.

I really think your battery is just too old. You may run into same problem sooner with inferior battery, crap shoot.

Old job I had, was to compare batteries to find the longest reserve life. There are only a few large battery manufacturers and they just use different stickers and cases.
Example, I beleive Exide used to make the Pep Boy battery. Any battery that came off the QC line questionable got a pepboy sticker. Hence some PB batts. were great and the next one was marginal.

I found Interstate was the truest in their ratings (this was 10 years ago) Deka was a great battery but their ratings on some were slightly higher than reality (probably advertising war).

[ewill3rd]

I didn't mean to imply that I didn't think there was anything wrong with the OP's battery.
It should last longer than 15 minutes.
Just wanted to point out some factors that come into play and by no means did I list them all.
Sometimes even when I know a battery is bad it can be a chore to prove it to GM.
Not everyone takes the time to do it. If the tester says "good battery" they back it out.

[ucyiwork]

Originally Posted by david1

Batteries are rated 2 ways. Cranking amps and reserve capacity.

Reserve capacity is how long the battery should last with a constant slow drain.

I really think your battery is just too old. You may run into same problem sooner with inferior battery, crap shoot.

Old job I had, was to compare batteries to find the longest reserve life. There are only a few large battery manufacturers and they just use different stickers and cases.
Example, I beleive Exide used to make the Pep Boy battery. Any battery that came off the QC line questionable got a pepboy sticker. Hence some PB batts. were great and the next one was marginal.

I found Interstate was the truest in their ratings (this was 10 years ago) Deka was a great battery but their ratings on some were slightly higher than reality (probably advertising war).

I had used interstate batteries forever prior to shirting to red tops. Just don't know what size I should use. Interstate had always worked great for me.

[hcvone]

I have had over 30 GM cars/trucks, I keep my cars/trucks about two years, I have had to replace or had the dealer replace over 20 batteries over the past 20 years. My 03' Escalade's stock battery died do to leaking terminals when it was 3 months old, the dealer replaced it under warranty and the warranty battery died after 6 months, I replaced it with a Optima red top and there was no other problems for the next year and a half.

[conedoctor]

I will go interstate or delco as I have had good luck with them in the past, I just don't want the 101.

I have a 78 out of my Sierra that I will try this weekend and see how it goes, I know it will fit as others have but just need to see how good it fits.

[Fyreman235]

Posted this on another thread: Battery on my 05 n*AWD failed several times, but when I took it to the dealer they couldn't make it fail. Finally the service writer told the mechanic "make it fail". Sure enough, the service writer told me that the battery had failed (wink, wink), and replaced it under warranty. It is not a good battery, but I took another OEM rather than paying for an aftermarket. I would expect it to fail again in a couple of years like the first one did.

[PhoenixSRX]

I guess mine started failing about a month ago when I was picking my car from the dealer after a repair. I had noticed all my settings were gone and the clock needed to be set as they had to replace my CD player on warranty.
I thought nothing more of it and set everything back up.
But last week after sitting for 10 minutes with the radio on and the engine off sure enough... It has never done it before but the dic said "Entering sleep mode" then it said battery failure.
After calling roadside assist and trying several times I was able to get it started and get it to the dealer.
It was late and they tried to get a battery code but nothing. There was codes in the system to show "something" happened but?
They told me to bring it back the next day where they were able to get a code and replace the battery on a 2005 and 45842 miles
Same battery type and have yet to have it fail after 5 hours with the radio on.

[keendog]

Had 3 batteries in 3 years in my 05 V8 AWD SRX. I actually have a video of a battery smoking, yet it still tested good. Delco batteries stink, period.

[john d]

Maybe it's not the battery...............
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Chrysler LLC is recalling 212,347 Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger passenger cars worldwide to fix an electrical problem that could lead to engine stalling and other issues.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a posting on its Web site the recall involves 2007-2008 Sebring and Avenger vehicles with standard tire pressure monitoring systems.
NHTSA said unused electrical connectors for the monitoring system could become corroded and short circuit, leading to problems starting the engine, a dead battery, an inoperative cruise control or engine stalling.

[MortnCyn]

Just ran across this in the '07 manual while looking for something else.

The battery could be drained if you leave the key in
the ignition while your vehicle is parked. You may
not be able to start your vehicle after it has been
parked for an extended period of time.

[conedoctor]

Ya like 10 min. LOL

[ucyiwork]

Wow....I had no idea. Maybe that is what is draining my battery because I have a key hidden in the dash to allow the transponder to let the truck start with the viper alarm. Would that be the same thing as having it in the actual ignition?

[john d]

Maybe it's not the battery.....see link
http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/nov2007/techtips.htm