Battery for my '95 850?

Non-turbo, 20 valve.

Interstate 590 cca @ 0 degrees $80.
or
Sears International 650 cca @ 0 degrees $100.

Both are Group 47 size. Obviously more cca is better, but what about
long term reliability? I've had the Sears in my wife's 240 for 5 years
& it's still going strong. Any others to consider?
Thanks,
Jay

 

More CCA isn't necessarily better. Both have way more than you need,
generally higher CCA is accomplished by constructing the battery with a
higher number of thinner plates spaced closer together. This makes the
battery more fragile in normal use. Of course this assumes everything
else is equal. I had very poor luck with high CCA batteries from
Canadian Tire, the last time I bought one there was a 5 year free
replacement warranty. Under that warranty I had 4 batteries fail in 20
months, including one that was no better at starting the car than an old
shoebox as they gave it to me! By the fifth battery the car versions no
longer had the protrusions necessary for holddown in the 240, so they
gave me a light truck version with lower CCA rating. That one was still
going fine 5 years later when I sold the car. (They've also gone away
from the long free replacement warranties, I guess it was costing them
too much.)

Sorry I don't think I've really helped you, but I have heard good things
about Interstate reliability.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

NOTE: new address!!
Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)

 

Our local independent Volvo shop in the greater Chicago area (Hubbard-Woods
Motors) recommends Interstate batteries to their customers.

Beverly

 

Why not just an official Volvo-branded battery? The original one in my '95
960 is still going strong, at over 160K km. The previous car, '90 740,
still had the original battery before switching to the '95. It technically
failed the hydrometer test, but still put out enough to start the engine
with the car parked outside in a Canadian winter.

BTW my original exhaust is still in good condition. Unless you intend to
turn in your Volvo after just a year or two, I believe that the couple of
extra dollars for real Volvo parts is a better choice. No, I don't work for
Volvo. I just hate wasting my time and money getting things repaired that
shouldn't have broken!

Rein Ende
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

 

Tests in a popular consumer magazine showed Sears slightly better and
less expensive than Interstate. Make sure you have a good short term
warranty for complete replacement since defective batteries usually fail
quickly. Then a prorated long term warranty is good. They rated a
Costco battery tops. It was a Kirkland and the least expensive battery
they tested.

 

Mike is right when he says more cca isnt necessarily a good thing as the
more plates tend to be thinner- however light commercial batterys especially
for a diesel engine, where amp draw from the starter is alot higher than for
a petrol engine is best- i.e. because the plates have to be thicker else
they buckle from the current thats passing through them.

Tim..

 

Tso Volvo batteries, the original 94, and the next one failed without
warning. In warm weather, they started the car promptly. Then, after
a short 15-30 minute park, they wouldn't even turn it over. They
measured about 6V at that point.
A delco replacement (The second one failed in an auto parts store lot)
failed the same way eventually.

The last one was a Batteries Plus store brand. When it went bad, it
gave plenty of warning, with progressively weaker cranking speed.
I replaced it with another of the same.

To reply, please remove one letter from each side of "@"
Spammers are VERMIN. Please kill them all.

 

Thanks for your replies. I went with the Interstate. Since I live in
Minneapolis, I check back in some January morning at -20 degrees !
Jay