Battery replacement

[Donald B.]

Re: Battery replacement

I purchased a Delco and put one of those plastic/fake tar tops on it. On a '62 the battery is hardly noticeable.

I have used the Restoration battery in the '65 Mustang and the "69 Z28 where the battery stands out for everyone to see.

Haven't had any problem with the Restoration batterys - just expensive. Not worth it for the '62 in my opinion.

[Michael H.]

Re: Battery replacement

I use Delco Group 24's in all my "toys" (model #24-7YR); you'll still get half the points as a GM service replacement, and they're reliable. I haven't bought a battery in 8-9 years, and have never had one die. Horror stories abound about the over-priced "reproduction" batteries.

John,

Like you, I have always used Delco batteries, since the 60's. Never a problem..... until the last few years.
The 2 year old 6 year Delco battery in my 66 died. A friend down the street that also used Delco over the decades just had the same problem with two of his vehicles and one of the new replacement Delcos died in 6 months.
The horror stories go on and on. Seems Delco batteries are NOT what they used to be. From what I understand, they're now made by some "other outfit" somewhere across the ocean.
I spoke with the owner of a repair shop near here that USED to handle Delco batteries and learned that he quit dealing with these things about two years ago because of the incredible number of early failures. Most new ones just barely make it past the two year mark.
I returned my battery to the local Delco store and they offered $20 off the price of a new one. Problem is, that $20 is off of LIST price! ($119.) I could have bought a new one without the defective battery much cheaper if I just walked in off the street.

I also noticed that with the latest Delco, my car never spun over the way it did with the older good quality Delcos. It just sounded a little weak, even if fully charged.

Wound up going to WalMart (yea, I know) Bought their best Everstart for $71, and it comes with a 100% free replacement guarantee for the first three years with the balance of the 6 year warranty pro rated.

Loosing Delco was like loosing an old friend but I wasn't going to trust their stuff after hearing all of the "bad battery stories" lately.

[Edward J.]

Re: Battery replacement

Im with Mike on last response, delco batteries are not what they use to be, Ive had delco batteries at my automotive shop for about 19 of the last 20 years. shop, they are now out pricing them selfs and quality is not what it use to be. I was always a faithful to delco, it seems that there parts are are made all over the world where labors cheap and quality is taking a back seat.

[Joe L.]

Re: Battery replacement

I haven't looked at any Delco batteries lately. However, can folks please report on what country of manufacture that they've found on recently purchased Delco batteries and what model battery is involved?

[Terry M.]

Re: Battery replacement

Terry (3966) your posting of Delco positive terminal battery leakage was the first I had ever read of this and you had experienced it with two batterys.
I discovered leakage on my 85 Corvette yesterday at the positive terminal. The bolt securing the battery cable is going to take a lot more torque to remove. Did you have trouble removing your bolts?
My 85's battery is an older type Delco that has sealed top. Fresh off the charger it shows 13 volts.
Do you know if the newer Delco batterys still have this positive leakage problem?
I have three other Delco battery side terminal battery equipped cars I am going to now do regular checks on for leakage.

[Joe R.]

Re: Battery replacement

Joe, my 2006 C6 had a Delco that was "Hecho en Mexico".

[Richard D.]

Re: Battery replacement

I have used AC Delco batteries in ALL my cars for years and years. In the last 4 years two have developed leaks from the positive terminal -- both were side terminals made by AC Delco. I just bought my first AC Delco that was not made by them -- well actually it is the second if you count the AC Delco that is OEM in the 2008 Corvette. I'm hoping for better luck now that they are made by someone else. It is getting expensive replacing the 00 welding-cable battery cables after the acid leaks into them.

Had 2 AC Delcos that also did the same exact thing.

[Joe L.]

Re: Battery replacement

I made 2 stops this morning to check out Delco batteries. First, I stopped at Pep Boys. They carry Delco batteries in addition to several other brands like Everstart, Bosch, etc. The "marque" over the battery racks still has the ACDelco name and logo as well as those of the other battery makes. However, they don't have ACDelco batteries anymore. Might be a "clue" in this. None of the other brand batteries had any indication of country of manufacture on them. However, most of them said "Distributed by Johnson Controls", regardless of brand.

Then I went to my local ACDelco parts distributor. They have a large shelf full of just about every ACDelco battery made for just about anything. I was surprised at all the different battery configurations. It used to be that all of the Delco batteries of a certain line (i.e. 6YR, 7YR, etc.) were of the same, basic configuration. Not anymore. Just about every battery group (i.e. 24, 25, 75, 78, etc.) were of a different construction and within a group, the 6YR and 7YR were of different construction. This sort of implies different manufacturers. However, I believe there are really only a few actual battery manufacturers out there of which Johnson Controls is the biggest one.

I looked all over a lot of the Delco batteries on the shelf. I could NOWHERE ON THEM find any sort of indication of the battery's manufacturing location. The distributor also had a relatively small line of Motorcraft batteries, too. These were CLEARLY labeled with country of manufacture. Some said USA; some said Mexico.

When I got home, I looked at some old Delco batteries I still have around. These are at least 10 years old (and are scrap). I couldn't find any country of origin on them, either.

When Delco and, later, DELPHI were in the battery business, they had battery plants all over the country. Since batteries are heavy, making them in "local" plants must be "shipping-efficient" or, at least, it USED TO BE considered "shipping-efficient". In fact, Delco and later DELPHI used to have a battery manufacturing plant in Anaheim, CA, but I believe it's closed now.

Supposedly, Johnson Controls took over a lot of the old Delco and DELPHI battery manufacturing plants. That would IMPLY that they still make at least some batteries here in the USA. However, even if they do, that does not mean that they make them the way that Delco used to.

I expect that the battery manufacturing location is somehow coded into the battery serial numbers on Delco batteries but I don't know how to decode them.

By the way, I have noticed that Delco batteries no longer score very well on Consumer Reports battery tests. Years ago, they used to do quite well. No more, though.

[Edward J.]

Re: Battery replacement

Joe, My Last Post About Delco Batterys - Doesnt Pretain To One Certain Type Or Make Of Delco Battery, My Shop Had Stocked The Most Popular Numbers For Most Makes And Models, Corvettes Included. The Past Few Years Ive Seen Many Failures With The Delco Line Of Batteries. As To Where There Made These Days Is A Good Guess, Delco Also Has Many Different Lines, For Example Chain Stores Delco Batteries Dont Look The The Series I Had, (the Professional Series).which Is Like The Factory Batterys. Delphi Is The New Maker Of Gm Batterys Which Seems To Be A Much Better Quality With Todays Computers.

[Joe L.]

Re: Battery replacement

Joe, My Last Post About Delco Batterys - Doesnt Pretain To One Certain Type Or Make Of Delco Battery, My Shop Had Stocked The Most Popular Numbers For Most Makes And Models, Corvettes Included. The Past Few Years Ive Seen Many Failures With The Delco Line Of Batteries. As To Where There Made These Days Is A Good Guess, Delco Also Has Many Different Lines, For Example Chain Stores Delco Batteries Dont Look The The Series I Had, (the Professional Series).which Is Like The Factory Batterys. Delphi Is The New Maker Of Gm Batterys Which Seems To Be A Much Better Quality With Todays Computers.

Edward-----


Unless something has changed very recently, I don't think that DELPHI makes any of the Delco batteries anymore. DELPHI wanted out of the battery business even before they went into bankruptcy. They divested themselves of most of their battery manufacturing operations at that time. As I recall, there was some "quirk" in their union contracts that made them keep one or two of the battery plants. I think one of these was back east and the other one may have been the Anaheim plant I mentioned in my last post. In any event, bankruptcy "took care of most of their union contract problems" and I think that any remaining battery plants are now long gone.

[Joe C.]

Re: Battery replacement

Guys I've caught this terrible NCRS SICKNESS that I have to have the original or something that is an exact replacment. The car may never be judged by anyone but myself, but it is a 62 and it will have 62 parts, an exact replacement or as close as is available or is affordable.

Thanks
John

John,

If you don't intend on having your car judged, you WILL regret it. They are messy, and cause a lot of acid damage.............no matter how careful you try to be. I just recently sold a good, used one from Restoration Battery.

Older Corvettes all take a Group 24 size battery. Best value, by most accounts, including Consumer Reports is the Maxx 24N (north) EverStart battery sold at WalMart.
10 1/4" x 6 13/16" x 8 7/8"
700cca
36 month free replacement, pro rata up to 108 months.
$75.82

Look at the chart on this web page:

http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/showthread.php?t=631689

Battery manufacturer is Johnson Controls, Milwaukee WI.

I plan on putting a Legendary Battery Topper on it, just fer fun.................maybe not.

Joe

[Michael H.]

Re: Battery replacement

Older Corvettes all take a Group 24 size battery. Best value, by most accounts, including Consumer Reports is the Maxx 24N (north) EverStart battery sold at WalMart.

That's the exact battery I just installed in my fat block 66 car last week. No complaints. It now spins over the way it's supposed to, even after a heat soak.
Can't beat the warranty and I KNOW WalMart will be around for many years just in case I do have a problem with it. There's a new battery waiting for me at every WalMart in just about every town in this country if I need one.

[Terry M.]

Re: Battery replacement

I looked at the Delco battery I bought a couple of months ago 75A72, 650 CCA. NO country of origin on it anywhere that I could see. There is a label on the front of the battery which is not visible as installed. I can't get to it tonight in the dark, but I might try in the daylight on the weekend. Although it says Maintenance Free it sure looks like the caps will come off, but I haven't tried to pry them off yet. NO Delco eye on the top. What would be the caps, if they come off, have the corners clipped at a 45* angle which is characteristic of Johnson Controls batteries. The caps look the same on the OEM battery in the 2008 Z06.

[Joe C.]

Re: Battery replacement

In looking at Delco batteries, before I made the decision to purchase the EverStart, I have seen many complaints concerning side terminal electrolyte leakage with more recently manufactured Delcos. The complaints are not unfounded.

One more side note:
Concerning the "Legendary Battery Topper", (about 50 bucks) if anyone here is thinking about using one, "Legendary" only fits Delco batteries, because of the terminal spacing.
If you are thinking about using the cheaper "Tar Topper D/E" (about 20 bucks), then, according to their website, you must use a Delco/Exide or NAPA battery. Website information might be dated, however.

[Timothy B.]

Re: Battery replacement

I put a Delco 6 yr. battery in my 67 in 1998 and replaced it last year because I was sure it was bad. Turned out the neg battery cable was loose and for some reason I did not pick it up because the green knob/switch on the terminal seemed tight and I did not check with my hand.

The battery is now in a F450 diesel flat bed and turns the diesel over and holds a charge fine, this battery is 10 years old. I replaced it with the same, cost me 96. and I can only hope for the same service life.. I remember paying something like 65. back in 98.