UP YOUR CRANKING AMPS
Last week I suggested that wise readers check the warranty date on their batteries and begin
shopping for a replacement BEFORE the motor goes unruh, unruh, ruh, click. That dread click is a
death rattle. Actually it is the activation of the starter solenoid which formerly you couldn't
hear over the roar of the starter. Now that your battery is on its last breath, all it has the
strength to do is move that tiny piston in the solenoid and confirm your worst fears. You need a
new battery.
If the date panel on your battery or the receipt says it was installed in say, Jan, '91, in
other words, 47 months ago--and on the battery it says 48 months is the battery guarantee, the
grim reaper is probably just down the block.
HOW DOES IT KNOW
Battery makers don't just guess at those guarantee numbers. They know precisely how much lead
is in the battery, how large the plates are and how many cold cranking amps (CCA) the battery is
rated for (a measure of power output, similar to horsepower in an engine) and the planned
application of the battery. Smaller battery (lower cold cranking amps) for smaller cars and
larger (more amps) for larger cars.
Knowing how much work the battery will have to do in a given application tells the manufacturer
its life expectancy. They are very good at this calculation and if your battery has outlived its
warranty period there are only three possible explanations. One, you live in the South where the
battery doesn't work as hard. Two, your mileage is low. Three, you are s..thouse lucky. Start
shopping. Because you are looking at sudden, no warning failure in your future and that's when
you will face an immediate need to buy the nearest battery at any price.
THE NUMBERS GAME
Battery manufacturers and retailers have smartened up a lot in recent years and they know that
there are basically three kinds of buyers out here in consumerland--the
Nothing-But-The-Best-Will-Do buyer, El Cheapos like me, and Downright Dummies. Salesmen avoid us
ECs like the plague and just love the other two. Look at the names on the batteries, DieHard
WeatherHandler (comes in Gold, Silver and International grades), Exide Gold, Silver, Platinum.
(Why no Bronze, I wonder.) Something for everyone. And a price to match your purse.
SERVICE BEATS PRICE
Now for the good news. You can afford to put some emphasis on after-sale service and
reliability because, while the range of battery prices across a model line can be great,
reaching from $29.99 to $99.99, the range from retailer to retailer is not. Here's an
interesting rule-of-thumb. You will pay around $1.00 per month of guarantee. Under 60 months
will be under $60 and 72 months and up will be $70 and up. But that's not the most important
issue. COLD CRANKING AMPS IS. Look in your owners manual or ask the retailer to show you the
original equipment specification for your car. If he can't, move on because you're about to be
oversold. If you want to be conservative, buy an extra 10-500 CCA and an extra 12 months of
warranty beyond the time you expect to dump the car. Anything more is for suckers.
GAMES PEOPLE PLAY
Here are a couple games of hide the pea that retailers play. I recently checked the manual on
the battery shelf in a major discount retailer looking for CCA on an old Toyota. The manual gave
me the right number but in the column showing the appropriate battery it offered only one
model--one with 10% more CCA than the car needs.
In a second retailer, all the data including prices are contained in a computer. The salesman
hit the appropriate keys for my car and up popped a full screen of alternatives. I had to lean
across the counter and gently tap the down arrow several times, moving the cursor to a new page
to reveal that instead of the $89.99 battery which was the "computer's" first recommendation, I
could buy a perfectly suitable battery for the car for $29.99. In the words of Hill Street
Blues, "Be careful out there, people."
David Thompson is President
of Auto Testers, Inc., publishers of The New Driver Car Control
Clinic, a program to help parents make
their new drivers safer drivers.
Questions should be addressed to info@carcontrol.com or:
The Auto Advisor
P.O. Box 99466
Raleigh, NC 27624
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