I've had my car more than a year and never thought much about the slightly slow cranking, figured it was normal. Didn't really crank slow like a dying battery, just a little slower than my previous cars. In addition, last time I had my oil changed at the dealer and they said the battery was fine. However, once it got down into the 20s a few times the past couple of weeks, my car would definitely shows signs of a dying battery with a hesitation before a slower than normal (even for my car) crank.

I went by Autozone and got a new gold top Duralast battery (seriously, they are GREAT batteries-3 year free replacement, prorated for 5 more after that) and put it in. When I took out the old battery and removed that plastic housing that was over it, I noticed it was rated 530 CCA (the new one is 750 CCA) and poking around later in my copy of the FSM, the factory spec shows that the battery should have 582 CCA, so the battery in the car was about 10% weaker than it should have been.

Not only does the starter crank very quickly now, but at idle my lights and gauges are brighter and the idle is smoother.

 

nice... its cool that a new battery can make your lights and gauges and stuff brighter.. what does CCA mean? does a higher CCA mean that you can keep your battery on for longer while the car is off without it draining too much for the next start up?

 

CCA=cold cranking amps

Means more power even when cold to crank the engine over. Usually higher CCA batteries have a longer reserve should you lose your alternator. When the crank pulley on my 626 blew apart, there was no longer anywhere to put the alternator belt. I was able to drive the car 32 miles home on the battery alone and still had 11 volts showing when I got there and the car would still crank over. Had a gold Duralast then too.

 

I thought the alternator (not the battery) powered the car (incl. lights) once the battery has started the car?

I mean its hard to argue, if you put in a new batt. and your lights are brighter, then its evident. But I was asking more to clarify my thinking of how the system works. Anyone? Tks.

 

hmm..my 02 still has her original battery when i picked her up back in july o2..its cold here in ny and i am noticing the longer startups and the tired windows..time to upgrade!

 

it does... the battery's only jobs are to start the car and run the accessories when the car is off.. maybe the new battery helped the alternator do its job better when the car was running?

 

the new batt has lower resistance that the alternator doesn't need to work hard to charge it.

 

Yup Scott! I had a battery in since I've owned the thing (5yrs) and finally had to replace it a few months back. Makes a huge difference.

 

i got the same battery a couple months ago,it did make a huge difference

 

Just put in an Interstate last month.

 

Hmmm...I was debating whether or not I should replace my battery as well. There's nothing wrong with it at the moment, but visually the battery doesn't appear new (I bought my Maxima used 1.5 years ago).

Any opinion on the Nissan batteries?

 

I work at a Nissan dealership and so many times brand spanking new cars come in with flat batteries right off the truck. Nissan OEM batteries really suck and you'll be glad to get rid of it.

I have an Optima Redtop and it's treating me real nice this winter.

 

I've had nothing but success with nissan batteries. My old car sat for six weeks and started with a nissan replacement battery.

 

Count yourself lucky. My friends Nissan battery exploded under the hood and clean up was a b!+cH. My original OEM battery lasted about three years but I switched to Optima since all my other friends were running Optimas.

 

Doesn't have to work as hard at idle with a good battery vs one that is marginal. It isn't like there is a HUGE difference in the brightness but it is enough that I noticed it.

Bad batteries eat alternators. More than once I've let a battery get bad enough (much worse than mine, waited longer after the hesitation when it strarts, etc) and in less than a week I was replacing the alternator too.

 

optimas suck.
SLA FTW

 

i have optima red top for almost 4 years and it still works the best.

 

haha especially remember the 06 Quest? every single damn one of them failed. You get a pdi with Quest written on it you knew you had to bring the booster pack too to bring it in 1 shot.

 

whats wrong with the optimas?

 

I like the Yellow Optima but not the red...

 

+1 It seems the newer optima redtops batteries are pieces of crap. I never had any people return any yellow tops though. Go figure.

 

that guy in your avatar is hilarious. i loved his infomercial. i'm drunk right now. you got weed i'll store it? lolz...

It's nice to hear the same thing i'v been saying for a while. Since they moved production quality has gone DOWN HILL fast. and if people really wanted a 'good' battery they'd buy an AGM over an optima or traditional SLA.




optimas suck, in my opinion, because of all the points i made in this thread: http://forums.maxima.org/6th-generat...ellow-top.html

However i'll leave you with my final argument:

Can anyone show me how 1 optima is better then 3 flooded lead acids in a car? For the price of one optima you can buy 3 FLA. Or how one optima will outlast 3 flooded lead acids? Even if each FLA only lasted 3 years which is highly unlikely but even then, that would be 9 years vs the optima lasting what? 7 if you get lucky? you're still making out better in the long run while still having more AHs and CCAs with the generic FLA vs the Optima. AND YELLOW TOPS ARE NOT DEEP DISCHARGE BATTERIES.

k i r done.

 

My battery died this morning at Sonic. I got a jump and made it to Autozone. I ended up byeing the red top Duralast; problem solved. I was also told the battery in my car was too small. Good to know they are good batteries.

 

my car starts fine, but everytime I turn off the car, the lights are a bit dimmer than when it's running. the battery is crap, but it's doing good job, any thoughts?

 

i work at autozone and the duralast gold are good batteries and so are the red top duralast but ive seen batteries come back as soon as 1 year from purchase but its ok as as long ur still in the warranty...i have a die hard gold battery in my car and no problems yet 16 months

 

Believe it or not for people living in the Northern US and Canada Consumer Reports rates the Interstate #1 and the MAXX batteries from Walmart as #2. I have a Diehard Gold in my Maxima, but I put a MAXX from Walmart in the wifes van. 3 year full replacement and then 6 years prorated for $75.

Also, most batteries are built in the 2 main battery plants that are located in the US. Either Excide and Gould. They just get slightly different cases and such depending on the end user name. My friend from college is the Plant Manager for the Excide plant and he took me for a tour. Batteries with the same CCA and whether they were deep cycle or not rolled down the assembly lines and then split off and got put in cases for several different manufacturers. Exactly the same guts.

Depending on how many years they are warrented for gets some interesting stuff done to it. It's a real science. They can build them to fail whenever they want. For just a couple3 bucks they can make them last a couple years longer and be able to charge you quite a bit more

Pretty informative stuff.

Now there are some specialty batteries that are made in small plants specifically (maybe the Optima is one), but I think that is the exception rather than the rule.

 

The Die Easy Gold I had sucked. Listen to the radio with the engine off for a while and car dies.

 

suppose to be like that.. Alty puts out 13.5-14v when running so its just running off the battery.. Which is 12v...

I'm running a Blue top optima, and i have a extra ground - battery to chassis, and my lights dim when i have AC Blower + Lights + Rear defrost on at idle.. whats the deal? Grounding kit? I also notice that when i park, and i shift it into park it stops dimming..

 

What many people neglect, is to clean the posts of their battery. I've seen a number of cars not start because the buildup between the battery post and the connector prevented adequate current flow. Cleaning the posts can improve starting and the brightness of your lights. Dirty battery posts are like a kink in a garden hose they prevent adequate current flow to the circuits that require the most, such as the starter and head lights.

 

Good call on the cleaning of the terminals. Probably the number one reason for a batteries life ending early.

 

God, I hope not. Mine came wit the MAx and is only 2 months old. I'm hoping for 5 years of bliss.

 

Got my battery at sears mayb 8 months ago never had any problems with subs and a 7" flip up screen, Those blew i got the same size inch wise but up'd the watts and same with the amp big time all kenwood, anyways subs cut out on hard hits, dash and all interior lights dim when the subs hit too got a compassader solved the cut out but not the lights, Now what? i was thinking optima yellow idk now after what i read...

 

You need a higher output alternator.

 

do the big 3 and buy a good battery for your trunk not an optima. it should solve your problems.

 

lo

 

getting that yellow top cuz of the system hered nothing but good things of it...

 

I think I have an interstate, and it's been fine so far

 

their reliability issues which are horrible now that they moved production down to mexico is only one of the reason's i don't like them. and never plan on buying one.

http://forums.maxima.org/6th-generat...ellow-top.html <---that basically sums up why i think they are not worth the $. a generic SLA is cheaper,has more AH and CCAs then a comparable optima and is 1/3 the price.

just to give you the 'other side' about optimas.

but buy what you want

 

Walmart MAXX!!! Best Buy in Consumer Reports after an Interstate