Battery age?
It's either May of 2004 or May of 2014. The laws of physics would seem to indicate the later date but:
- That label looks a lot older than 2014
- I'm pretty sure no one has made commodity/conventional lead acid batteries in the US or Canada for a while.
Could it be the original battery? When in 2004 did your car roll off the assembly line? (You should be able to figure that out by the door sticker.)
- That label looks a lot older than 2014
- I'm pretty sure no one has made commodity/conventional lead acid batteries in the US or Canada for a while.
Could it be the original battery? When in 2004 did your car roll off the assembly line? (You should be able to figure that out by the door sticker.)
Last edited by wssix99; Dec 14, 2016 at 07:27 AM.
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 34,629
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
Hard as it may be to believe, that looks like an assembly line label. The labels used on post-assembly, parts counter AC Delco batteries are substantially different (and have been prior to even 2004.)
FWIW, I've noticed that the Group 78 sized batteries, like yours, tend to be more durable and have longer lifespan than some other models (such as the smaller Group 75 in the F-bodies.)
FWIW, I've noticed that the Group 78 sized batteries, like yours, tend to be more durable and have longer lifespan than some other models (such as the smaller Group 75 in the F-bodies.)
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 86
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From: B.C. Canada
Thanks wssix99. My suspicions and curiosity is the same. I bought the truck a couple years old and have never replaced it. It still works fine. I have now replaced it with a Delco. I wonder what I should do with it - it does deserve a place of honor somewhere.
Maybe you could clean up the case/label with some rubbing alcohol and put a battery tender on it every year for a decade. At that some collector may drop a pretty penny for a factory battery that still runs?
^ Maybe RPM would know if such a market exists?
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 86
Likes: 0
From: B.C. Canada
I may keep it around tho I am trying very hard not to be such a parts collector anymore.
I considered replacing it last winter and the winter before but it showed no signs of weakness. The truck behaves no differently with the new [800amp] battery ... I am listening and it seems to turn over cold with the same ooomph . I thought it might spin faster or something.
I considered replacing it last winter and the winter before but it showed no signs of weakness. The truck behaves no differently with the new [800amp] battery ... I am listening and it seems to turn over cold with the same ooomph . I thought it might spin faster or something.
Last edited by 00fxd; Dec 16, 2016 at 09:40 AM.
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Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Wichita KS / Rancho San Diego
I learned my lesson with old batteries some years ago. I kept having strange electrical issues on my 69 GTO with voltage regulators burning up, flickering lights, ignition modules getting fried (had to put the old points back in) and IIRC, (possibly unrelated) alternator failures.
The battery always cranked the starter over just fine, seemed to have plenty of power ... before I finally discovered it had an internal short. Replaced it and all those other issues went away.
So the moral of the story is ... don't trust an old battery even if it turns the starter over admirably.
The battery always cranked the starter over just fine, seemed to have plenty of power ... before I finally discovered it had an internal short. Replaced it and all those other issues went away.
So the moral of the story is ... don't trust an old battery even if it turns the starter over admirably.
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I learned my lesson with old batteries some years ago. I kept having strange electrical issues on my 69 GTO with voltage regulators burning up, flickering lights, ignition modules getting fried (had to put the old points back in) and IIRC, (possibly unrelated) alternator failures.
this would be related to the capacitance of the battery, as in capacitor not capacity. and a capacitance test can be done but it takes somewhat expensive equipment to do it right... typically more than the cost of the battery so you just replace the battery in most cases.
https://www.motor.com/magazine-summa...tery-of-tests/
Batteries provide an additional less-well-known function of absorbing or dampening transient voltage spikes. This ability is called capacitance. Insufficient battery capacitance can cause perplexing driveability issues. Most of these result from excessive AC ripple current in the charging system, although a few are traceable to insufficient voltage spike dampening, usually originating in the ignition circuit.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 6,216
Likes: 236
From: Wichita KS / Rancho San Diego
this would be related to the capacitance of the battery, as in capacitor not capacity. and a capacitance test can be done but it takes somewhat expensive equipment to do it right... typically more than the cost of the battery so you just replace the battery in most cases. https://www.motor.com/magazine-summa...tery-of-tests/