Smoke coming from engine bay

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06-11-2017, 06:21 PM

#41

jholley

Senior Member

iTrader: (13)

Join Date: May 2008

Location: TN

Posts: 1,320

Quote:

Originally Posted by CS_AR

I've lost more Nissan alternators from shorted batteries made by Johnson Controls than any other cause. The last shorted battery was 3 months old. I had to completely disconnect the battery in order to jumper the car to start it. After starting the engine I reconnected the battery to drive it home. The parts store said the battery was good but since I am a good customer let me swap it for a smaller but higher priced battery.

Hi CS. For protection what type of Johnson Controls battery shorted your alternators? Was it the Optima?

06-11-2017, 07:32 PM

#42

CS_AR

Senior Member

Join Date: Jan 2011

Location: Central AR

Posts: 3,041

Quote:

Originally Posted by jholley

Hi CS. For protection what type of Johnson Controls battery shorted your alternators? Was it the Optima?

Most from Advance Auto. The latest was a Group 27 Silver that shorted after 3 months. Most were Group 24 Gold. The last AA Silver I bought for the Civic failed at 2 years. I switched that to an AutoZone Duralast Gold, late one night in a bind. I think I will switch the Group 24 vehicles to an Exide that is sold at a store named Tractor Supply Company. Keeping 5 cars in batteries gets old when they only last just over 3 years.

On the last battery short, the car would not start with the battery hooked up to the electrical system. I tried using jumper cables on a running car, battery jump, you name it. As soon as I disconnected the battery from the electrical system, and used jumpers directly to the cables, the car would start right up.

So while the car was running, I had to carefully move the cables from the jumpers to the battery in order to keep the engine running and to drive the car home to avoid a tow charge.

The battery in the picture was about 3 months old when it shorted out. The AA store tested the battery and said it was good. I persuaded them to let me exchange the battery for a Group 24 Gold that worked fine after installation.