Walmart Car Batteries

[MommyTaz022200]

I bought my battery from Walmart Last October. By May it wouldn't hold a charge so I got a replacement. Now two days ago I had to put it on the charger again cause it wouldn't start my car AGAIN! The last few times it did start the car it seemed like the car was having a harder time starting each time. Has anyone else had a problem with Walmart batteries lasting like 6 months?

 

(I know the alt. is charging it, my volts meter reads 14 on the battery cables when it's running. Nothing is draining it, it reads 0 when the car's not on.)

[TeeJay3800]

I still don't understand why people shop at Wal-Mart for auto parts. No one in the auto center knows enough to be helpful (at least in my experience).

[94CutlassSLCoupe]

mine have lasted just as long as any other battery

[GnatGoSplat]

I put a Wal-mart battery in my Cutlass back when I didn't have a jobby job. It lasted 2yrs or so. I got it replaced under prorated warranty and the new one so far has lasted much longer. The only thing I like about it is it's got dual terminals, so I use a conventional top-post battery terminal and 4-ga cable to power my amp while the side post hooks up as normal.

Only reason I would ever go to Wal-mart for a battery in the future is if I still have any prorated warranty left.

 

When you replace a battery, make sure the positive terminal is clean and free of crust. I usually pull the bolt out and use a Dremel wirebrush on the whole thing. Also make sure not to overtighten the positive terminal. Something tends to break in them causing battery acid to leak and crustify the battery terminal.

[Robby1870]

Just b/c the voltmeter says the alternator is working doesnt meant it is. Ive had alternators still put out 14V, but only like 10A, when it should push around 100A. Just a thought.

[DiscoStudd]

I was a little skeptical of WalMart batterys myself, but my wife's car had a yellow EverStart (probably their top-of-the-line model) in it when we bought it. I've kept close watch on it for the last 1 1/2 years and have had absolutely no problems to report.

 

On a side note, whenever I buy a new battery, I only buy Sears DieHard Gold, cause they're worth every penny. I usually average 6 years out of a DieHard Gold battery (and I live in the frozen tundra of Minnesota!)

 

I would suspect that the battery cables would need replacing if a brand new battery has difficulty cranking the motor over. I would imagine you could at least get 2 years of life out of a cheap EverStart battery.

 

I just had a thought, though. On our old Cavalier, the battery would completely drain down overnight, and it turned out to be the mercury tilt switch (for the light) in the trunk was stuck "on" and draining the battery. Just a suggestion to check because it's not something you would normally think about...

[Kalgorn]

I have a Wal-Mart battery and it works perfectly fine. Haven't had a problem with it. I replaced it about 6 months ago and it's still kicking.

 

I probably would have bought one somewhere else had it not been 9pm when my battery decided to be a dick.

[Guest Anonymous]

I always buy the Wal-Mart batteries. I like having the dual posts. Never had any problems either.

[HokemBokem]

How much are wal mart batteries?

[93CutlassSupreme]

How much are wal mart batteries?

 

for us, about $30-35. not much at walmart

 

 

mine's been great for the last year, can't say the same for my reman alt though....

 

 

don't care for diehards, had a 2 year old diehard crap out and take my alt with it.....

[GnatGoSplat]

$30 for the dual post version that I got.

I definitely like the dual post, it's great for amps.

[HokemBokem]

Well im getting 2 10" audibahns, a box, and 1000 watt amp off of ebay soon so i might get a new battery at Walmart if they have the dual post's

[MommyTaz022200]

hmmm, mine's not dual post. I bought it from Walmart because there isn't anywhere else to buy a battery at 1 am and the car won't start and if it's not off the road by 2 it will be towed. (My driveway is also uphill, so pushing wasn't an option) I know the trunk light isn't on, nor any interrior lights or hood light since the hood isn't on the car and the interrior lights fuse is pulled. I put the battery on my charger last night for 2 hours, when I put it on the dash lights still lit up. After eing on the charger it still won't start and now the dash lights won't even light up, but if I put my charger on the jump start setting the car will start right up and runs as it has for the last 6 months. After leaving it run for 20 minutes if I turn it off, then try to start it again it won't start, and the dash lights won't work again. I think I'm going to leave the battery in it and get the doors & hood back on, then drive the car to batteries plus and have them test it. Not sure what I am going to do if it's bad again, it's under warrenty but this will be the 2nd replacement in the first year of the warrenty. 'm not going to be having an unreliable battery every 6 months or so.

[DaveFromColorado]

Just so ya folks know, wal-mart batteries, autozone batteries, napa batteries, checker batteries, all car batteries are the same - they just have different stickers on them - it's just that simple.

 

I always get my batteries from wal-mart mostly because of the warranty on them - you can go to ANY walmart and exchange the batteries for a new one.

 

--Dave.

[loominaz34]

I've gotten two free batteries from sam's club in the last 6 months because they wouldn't hold a charge. If they weren't under warranty, I would have been pissed.

[GnatGoSplat]

The battery that has impressed me the most is the AC Delco battery I put in the TGP. The TGP sits most of the time, and sometimes the battery goes completely dead... sometimes for weeks! Normally this will kill a battery and has killed generic batteries I bought from O'Reillys. But if I charge it back, it holds a charge for several months. My Wal-mart battery will only hold a charge for a few weeks before needing charged.

 

Delco is great for those project cars that you hardly ever drive.

[DaveFromColorado]

I keep my old car batteries and just recondition them myself.

 

I empty out the electrolite, attack a light to the battery to help kill any charge that may be left - fill it with vinigar/baking soda, let it sit for a couple hours, empty that crap out, rinse it out with water a few times, and then fill it with clean electrolite. (real cheap by the gallon) and they end up holdin' a charge for a LONG time after that, and I've had no problems with them.

 

--Dave.

[john99gtp]

I've gotten two free batteries from sam's club in the last 6 months because they wouldn't hold a charge. If they weren't under warranty, I would have been pissed.

 

 

sams club batteries are good.

 

i had one in my lumina and one in my jetta

 

and a 3 yr free replacement on top of that, not bad (used to be 3yr, i think they got a new type (NASCAR) or something. those champions kicked ass)

 

 

 

cranked hard during the cold winter months

 

 

i have on from VIP in my GTP cause my battery died, and it was the only place in town to get one

[White93z34]

i had a die hard in my old ciera, it took one hell of a beating and kept working great

 

i have no clue what brand battery is in the z, i'll find out when it dies, i don't feel like tearing up everyhting just to find out.

[WhiteOut]

I've gotten two free batteries from sam's club in the last 6 months because they wouldn't hold a charge. If they weren't under warranty, I would have been pissed.

 

Same story with the one I got from them when I had my last car. I had three of them die within a total of six months. I finally said screw and returned it for a refund and proceeded to buy a Die Hard from Sears. Never had a problem after that.

[sonyman87]

well it sounds like your starter is going bad or you might have a short.. batteries are made of the same internals regardless of brand just put together in a diffent proccess and amounts.. im not saying it could haev been a defect it might be but you cant say a battery is bad b/c of the name on it...

 

smaller personal batteries AA and AAA C D etc thats a different story lol.

[WhiteOut]

well it sounds like your starter is going bad or you might have a short.. batteries are made of the same internals regardless of brand just put together in a diffent proccess and amounts.. im not saying it could haev been a defect it might be but you cant say a battery is bad b/c of the name on it...

 

smaller personal batteries AA and AAA C D etc thats a different story lol.

 

Sir I think your full of it. Just because they have the same basic design and use the same chemicals to produce 12 Volts of power certainly does not imply that they are all the same as far as quality goes. Even if every car battery in the world is made at the same factory there's still a differance in quality. Every battery is built to spec for the vendor and I somehow doubt that ever vendor in the world somehow came up with the same exact engineering specs for their batteries, so there WILL be differances in quality. And from an electrochemical standpoint in order to produce a 12V potential there MUST be an exact concentration of the two chemicals reacting with in the battery. There is no possible way to cheap out and put half the active ingredients in in order to save money as you seem to suggest. Incorrect concentrations will directly affect the batteies voltage. Differances in the amperage of batteries is a direct effect of the amount of plates and thus reactive surface area within the battery. The differance between cheap-o batteries and quality ones is how well these plates are mounted and how accessible fresh electrolytic solution is. Battery design is a freaking art form, some companies get it right, others don't.

 

Oh, and Dave not to critisize, but you do realize that from a chemical standpoint all your doing with the vinegar and baking soda is adding a buffer solution to the battery. It would be more effective to simply add the baking soda alone which should purge the excess acid from the battery while not harming the lead plates as acetic acid (vinegar) could, also please note that adding vinegar nullifies the addition of calcium bicarbonate (baking soda) through an acid base reaction so if you do keep using both do them seperately using the baking soda first.

[TeeJay3800]

The battery that has impressed me the most is the AC Delco battery I put in the TGP. The TGP sits most of the time, and sometimes the battery goes completely dead... sometimes for weeks! Normally this will kill a battery and has killed generic batteries I bought from O'Reillys. But if I charge it back, it holds a charge for several months. My Wal-mart battery will only hold a charge for a few weeks before needing charged.

 

Delco is great for those project cars that you hardly ever drive.

My AC Delco Professional battery has gone dead 3 times (thanks to a horn switch that made the horn go all night), and it has been trouble free for 4 years now. Still has a strong kick even on very cold mornings.

[DaveFromColorado]

White Out..

 

Thanks for the pointer, I've got a battery in the garage I'm gonna be re-conning here soon, typically I add the vinigar towards the end of the cleaning process, but I'll mix a solution of baking soda and water this time, and report the results. I always keep my baking soda solution near in case I spill the electrolyte on myself anyhow (that stuff makes you itch real BAD as it burns thru your skin)

 

I can say for a fact that MOST of the "generic" batteries are all made from the same place. I worked for a parts delivery company and battery whole-seller (Lowells) and in the edina warehouse we had over 25,000 batteries at any given time, and when we'd make a shipment to a local store, we'd pull the style battery they needed and slap the appropriate stickers on it. he had them sorted black case and clear case, then size, height, side/top post and so on down the line - all the stickers do is change the warranty and price.

 

HIGH quality batteries are made different from that.

 

Personally if I had the money I'd get a pair of optima batteries and mount them in the trunk runnin' a full 1/0 gauage wire to the front.

 

--Dave

[Brian P]

I was able to fit the big AC delco side terminal battery in my car (75 series? cant remember). Got it at a good price from my job, I had left a light on overnight, next morning the battery was nowhere near dead. I trust it without a doubt.