Hi all,

My 4 yo Volvo battery suddenly died on me at start up, I recharged it and I swapped it in my other brick and there's no doubt after a couple of days, the battery is not keeping his charge. I went to my local Napa store to buy another one and they offer me a new brand that I've never heard before (sorry dont remember the name anymore, but they say that it's better than the Interstate) Question: Wich brand would you recommend? I'm located northern Vermont and I'm seeking a high quality one for winter

Many thanks
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Dennis

Interstate Megatron, hands down....

A great battery manufacturer is Johnson Controls who makes batteries for a number of other brands. They are well known in the industry. A well kept secret is that batteries carried at Costco are manuf. by Johnson Controls. They are a great price too.

An important consideration (IMHO), and one that I don't recall being mentioned often, is that the battery tray will accept a larger size battery than the size originally fitted. I bought my last battery at Auto Zone four years ago, and no problem to date. I bought the best quality with the highest CCA that they sold. I think they only carry one brand. I did buy the larger size battery that was listed as compatible (the full length of the battery tray). Perhaps you already have the larger battery in there. In any case, more lead and acid can only be a good thing as far as battery life goes.

Phantom

I've talked to my neighbour and the battery in his own 850 is a AC DELCO 650 CCA and it is the MAXIMUM size the tray can accept
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Dennis

Ditto -- Sears DieHard, Interstate, Optima, Volvo brands -- I have a Volvo brand (my 4th one, hmmmmm)in the Volvo; might suggest Sears (DieHard) because batteries tend to die on Sunday afternoons when the car is packed and the kid is ready to go to college and Sears' hours are better than most battery outlets, like Volvo dealers. (I have a Sears DieHard Gold in one of the Odysseys for exactly that reason.)

-BTC

'98 V70 T5 5-speed, 169k mi, velour cloth seats, front IPD stabilizer bar, rear factory HD bar, Bilstein HD, Volvo strut tower brace and skidplate, e-codes, XC grill, Lidatek LE30, V-1, Mobil-1 since new. Goal: "Moonshot" (227,063 miles at it's perigee)

"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair." -- Douglas Noel Adams (1952-2001)

Sears' customer service has been surprisingly good, and they replaced a Die Hard that failed 4 days after the warranty expired. If you go to Sears, be sure the technician who is going to take your car to the shop knows how to drive manual (if you have a manual, that is).

Inteerstate and DieHard are both good batteries. Just make sure the cold crank amps are equal or greater than the Volvo battery. Check for prices at discount stores, too.

Klaus
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(V♂LV♂s 1995 854T, 1998 V70R)

What brand did NAPA offer you?

Good brands include:
Volvo's own (not sure of who makes it)
Interstate
Die Hard (Sears)
Odyssey, made by Hawke and possibly also sold under the name Genesis
Optima, Spiral cell batteries. expensive, smaller, more powerful, and last longer
optima red top

I'm sure that as long as it has a warranty and it fits, 12V is 12V and you'll be okay. However, if you live somewhere that gets real cold, consider something with more cranking amps...something over 600cca
--
1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic, 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red, Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon. My cars have been running so well lately they've got me worried.

walmart. just as good as any I ever used. and you can get 3 for the price of one die hard.

Optima red top, Hands down.
We race electric cars and we cant kill these things

Thanks guys for the reply.

My Volvo battery was made in the US in Rockleigh N.J. but dont know the manufacturer. It's written 600 CCA on mine and I'll buy an equiv. or higher

I'm too far from the nearest Sears store (1 hour drive min) and I'll have no choice to buy it from my local Napa auto parts store. I'll check the brand again tomorrow because I still dont remember the name but they dont sell the Interstate ones.

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Dennis

I agree with the walmart (or better yet...sam's club) recommendation. I've had to maintain 5 different volvo's since 1993, and no matter what battery....volvo original, diehard, napa.....all were dead after 5 years. We aren't talking about important engine parts or brakes here. All batteries give a little warning before they die. Just listen for the slow crank and then replace it....for $39.95 at walmart or sam's. If you are buying for the quarantee, it's 2 year complete replacement and 72 month proration at walmart or sam's. I don't mind paying a little more for something special, but just haven't seen any evidence of anything special. Now I've bought two at walmart...when I took in my exchange on the last one, I took my volvo battery to the customer service counter and put the battery in the shopping cart full of car batteries. I placed my volvo battery right on top of the last one somebody brought in for the core credit...it was a volvo battery. True...but a good laugh too.