3 weeks of ownership, second tow to dealer

[abadssr]

leeb went with your link for optima and it didnt show the ssr what part number is everyone useing

[sharptoys]

2003/2004 Chevy SSR...

Optima 34/78 Red Top Auto Starting Battery - 8004-003

Optima 34/78 Yellow Top Auto Deep Cycle Battery - 8014-045

[DOOPHUS]

Originally Posted by sharptoys

2003/2004 Chevy SSR...

Optima 34/78 Red Top Auto Starting Battery - 8004-003

Optima 34/78 Yellow Top Auto Deep Cycle Battery - 8014-045

I thought the Yellow Optimas were for Slingshot Yellow SSRs and the Red Optimas were for Redline Red SSRs!

! ! ! ! ! !

[artsmart]

Originally Posted by DOOPHUS

I thought the Yellow Optimas were for Slingshot Yellow SSRs and the Red Optimas were for Redline Red SSRs!

! ! ! ! ! !

[DansSSR]

Acoording to the scan of the receipt that Ed just sent me, the battery in the car is 14 months old. Not sure if there is any warranty left. It was installed by his Chevrolet dealer.

I have picked up an Optima Yellow Top for $165 plus core charge (they wanted 189 at Advance Auto Parts, but asking if they could do better resulted in a 15% discount) but will hold off installing it until I hear back from Ed. Looking at the flyer with the battery, it looks like the Red Top is the dual purpose one intended for performance cars, trucks and SUVs. What's difference, and is it important enough to go hunt one down?

[larry l]

DanSSR,

Yes, it was I that had a dead battery (almost) this week. WAs at an inspection and went to turn the key and she turned over a couple times and then hit and started and I drove straight to dealer and had battery replaced. $202.00 from dealer and in and out in 1/2 hour and back on the road again. Mine is an 05 so about 2.5-3 years is a good lifespan for battery. If it is getting close to that go ahead and change out so you don't get surprised somewhere away from dealer.

Larry l

[sharptoys]

Originally Posted by DansSSR

Acoording to the scan of the receipt that Ed just sent me, the battery in the car is 14 months old. Not sure if there is any warranty left. It was installed by his Chevrolet dealer.

I have picked up an Optima Yellow Top for $165 plus core charge (they wanted 189 at Advance Auto Parts, but asking if they could do better resulted in a 15% discount) but will hold off installing it until I hear back from Ed. Looking at the flyer with the battery, it looks like the Red Top is the dual purpose one intended for performance cars, trucks and SUVs. What's difference, and is it important enough to go hunt one down?

Dan,
With these R's I think i would go for the Red Top...

[beer100]

Originally Posted by DOOPHUS

OLD AGE is the biggest culprit, Dan.

The Battery in DOOPHUS starting pooping out after a little over two years.

! ! ! ! ! !

Batteries need usage to stay in top form. If your SSR was a garage queen, the battery may well have degraded.

My SSR is a daily driver, 4yrs 2mos and the original battery is still working fine.

[cruzned]

Dan: Sorry to hear about the battery and I am more surprised than most to hear about it since I had a new OEM battery installed at the dealer in April last year. One year for a battery? I suspect there must be something else. Hopefully they will see the receipt I sent you and honor it for what it's worth.
Beer: It was my daily driver and was used plenty and not abused either. The battery should have life in it.

[sharptoys]

Dan... after you get it fixed this time I think its time for a... Exorcism (from Late Latin exorcismus, from Greek exorkizein - to adjure) is the practice of evicting demons or other evil spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed (taken control of). The practice is quite ancient and part of the belief system of many religions....

[leeb]

Originally Posted by sharptoys

Dan... after you get it fixed this time I think its time for a... Exorcism (from Late Latin exorcismus, from Greek exorkizein - to adjure) is the practice of evicting demons or other evil spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed (taken control of). The practice is quite ancient and part of the belief system of many religions....

But is it a part of SSRism?

[Beach potato]

During the Exorcism - make it with Martini & Rossi Extra Dry Vermouth and of course the Swedish vodka, Absolut - 80 proof. I have battery replacements after 8 months, sometimes they dont last very long and the best is the redtop

[crazyrtr53]

Originally Posted by beer100

Batteries need usage to stay in top form. If your SSR was a garage queen, the battery may well have degraded.

My SSR is a daily driver, 4yrs 2mos and the original battery is still working fine.

Looks like batteries have a mind of there own. Garage Queen in service since Sept 04 has little over 20 k stays covered in the garage plugged into a battery tender and still works great on OEM battery..

[TRIPL G]

I had the same problem. My battery went out just over two years old, 26 mos.. Chevy replaced it but next one I get will be an Optima. They have them also at Costco, $130..My problem is I live in Arizona, HOT!

[Patton Road SSR]

Dan,
Living where the weather suits an SSR has it's cost. I was surprised to hear batteries failed at two years, but as Doophus pointed out to me in another post, high temperatures kill batteries. NE Pennsylvania is just the opposite. I just replaced the battery in my 2002 Envoy, only because the positive terminal literally broke off the battery. My 2005 SSR was parked in November (in a heated garage) and restarted the Kennedy way (with great vigor) in March without any charger. Changing a battery is as easy as lefty loosey, righty tighty! Save yourself a hundred bucks and get to know the underside of your SSR!!

[abadssr]

Originally Posted by crazyrtr53

Looks like batteries have a mind of there own. Garage Queen in service since Sept 04 has little over 20 k stays covered in the garage plugged into a battery tender and still works great on OEM battery..

maybe the 04 batteries are better mine 04 spends alot of time in the garage (its kinda shy I guess) no tender and she starts up nicely and all with only 11748 miles

[Marc NY]

Originally Posted by yellow bear

The OEM battery was just marginally adequate. Everything in the truck is electronic. My thought is that I need all the battery I can stuff into the battery box. After the second time the battery went South, I replaced it.
Let's face it, a battery makes it's living....dying.

I will buy a HD GM Delco battery when mine decides to die. Mine gets very few starts and it did die once over my the first winter because I thought I had turned on the charger but didn't. I jump started the SSR and everything has been great since. I only had to reprogram the windows and that was it.

FYI: For my winter storage I use a trickle charger connected into the trunk's outlet and I have had no problems since ... I have now owned her for more than 4 years.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I read somewhere that regular lead/acid car batteries lose 1% a day, just sitting, but I can't swear to that being true.

I have red tops in both my '57 Chevy and my '87 pickup. Sometimes they sit for 3 or 4 months between starts and have never failed me.

[DansSSR]

To bring this tale to a close:

After deciding that a one handed bench press of the battery box while bolting it up with the other wasn't something I wanted to tackle, I had the car towed into Maroone.

Turns out that the Optima Yellow Top that Advance Auto sold me ("fits all GM products") didn't fit because the sideposts were too close to the center of the battery and the negative cable wasn't long enough to reach.

Had the dealership install the 30 month AC Delco battery with 725 CCA (compared to the 12 month warranty on the Yellow Top with 750 CCA) for the same price as the Yellow Top. Auto Advance took the Yellow Top back without any problems.

Thanks to all of you who offered suggestions and encouragement.

Dan

[Mr. Sinister]

Good news.