Best Battery For My Tdi And Why?

seaglf said:

Oh yeah forgot, I went threw the same thing with the guy at walmart...There cross reference book has the wrong battery, the one that is listed in there book for the TDI is Not even the same, and the one That is correct is listed for the VR 6, I don"t know if the VR 6 uses the same battery or not.
So I used my handy bar code reader on my T mobile slide and got the number to the battery co. and talked to someone there and found out that it was the right battery and made the punk at walmart talk to them.

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Hey, remember, these service guys at Walmart and DTire make minimum wage and are not savvy techs. The guys at DTire only put the air pressure marked on the order sheet in the tires. If you specify what pressure you want, you have to tell the guy who takes your order first. How do I know? My good friend is Manager of the DTire in the Woodlands and I have been through this with them.

aja8888 said:

Hey, remember, these service guys at Walmart and DTire make minimum wage and are not savvy techs. The guys at DTire only put the air pressure marked on the order sheet in the tires. If you specify what pressure you want, you have to tell the guy who takes your order first. How do I know? My good friend is Manager of the DTire in the Woodlands and I have been through this with them.

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Yeah they usually put the amount of pressure you want if you tell tehm I guess it depends on the store the one here in FRiendswood Always argues with me an may or may not do it. Anyway I actually put 40 in the front and 35 in the rear and it works well. Anyway that is for another thread.

I remember you now I finally got my own VAG COM and Dongle but have not had the chance to get to my low power and mileage issues. I need to check my Turbo and Actuator, and I have a strong sulpher smell when I start it up Maybe the Cat. Send a PM or call me sometime. I am a captain and have worked in the Oilfield for awhile. Supply boats- Seismographs- crew- utility lightering etc.

seaglf said:

Yeah they usually put the amount of pressure you want if you tell tehm I guess it depends on the store the one here in FRiendswood Always argues with me an may or may not do it. Anyway I actually put 40 in the front and 35 in the rear and it works well. Anyway that is for another thread.
I remember you now I finally got my own VAG COM and Dongle but have not had the chance to get to my low power and mileage issues. I need to check my Turbo and Actuator, and I have a strong sulpher smell when I start it up Maybe the Cat. Send a PM or call me sometime. I am a captain and have worked in the Oilfield for awhile. Supply boats- Seismographs- crew- utility lightering etc.

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Ahh, Ok, it's coming back to me.... Don't you work out of Louisiana? I have another friend locally who is a chief cook on a work boat. That sea work is tough going. Maybe another GTG here sometime soon? Do you know Jay (JDogg) who works at Exxon in Baytown? Has a couple of TDIs.

Yeah, sulfur smell could be a clogged cat backing up. Definitely a possibility. How many miles on the car?

Yeah, ours refuses to sell ANY tires outside of the sizing or ratings that are in their books. I went in for tires for my Crown Vic with Interceptor package-took the tire sizes up to the counter, with the approximate tires-by size. They refused to mount and balance them because they were the wrong rating. I sent her out to my car to look at the Ford sizing chzrt in the car and this old lady blew a friggin gasket!! You can put 2 different sized sets of wheels on a CV, and they have different ratings, according to Ford. She just flipped as it was not in the Walmart books!!?

seaglf said:

Read my post... I had the same problems...basically you cant rely on ANYONE at ANY store for ANY product ANYMORE, you must do your own research these days people working in stores are following the policies of the corporation which are made by idiots..

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I just stopped at advance to get a battery and the cheapest one they had for my 2004 tdi was 166.00! I read several times in this thread that the oem battery was around 110.00 but those posts were from 2009. have batteries gone up that much since then??

The Everstart Maxx 94R battery, made by Johnson Controls, which I bought from Walmart in 2009 for $75, is still cranking fine. I don't know what the current price is. But a Google search shows that BMW owners also like that particular battery.

same battery at Walmart is now 118.00. wow that's quite a jump in only 4 years

ChoadieMcSmalls said:

same battery at Walmart is now 118.00. wow that's quite a jump in only 4 years

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$75 was really cheap four years ago. $118 now is merely average. Presumably it's still a pretty decent battery.

I'm still using my original battery. It's approaching 10 years of use now and still works fine!

When I need a new one, I'll probably just get the same kind. (Original VW)

ruking said:

So for example, my oem battery lasted 33 mo. Tests of the charging systems revealed no issues. So I bought an oem replacement battery and R/R'd the old battery: 2 mins tops & DNDOT (do NOT DROP on TOE) . Then, the old battery was recycled Again DNDOT. So I bought and deployed a battery trickle charger @ $50. (Battery Tender Plus, if you might be interested) 36 mo later, the new battery died with no warning (like the first) and the documentation gave me a cheaper (now) 3rd oem battery and @ less than preferred discount price. (minus the prorated portion)

Outside of defects & unlikely weird stuff, what are some probable causes for why my Interstate 85 month battery lost it's cranking capacity (strength/power/capacity) within 36 months?

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Back in 2001 I bought a 1991 Ford E350 with a diesel that had Interstate Work Horse batteries in it. After a year or so the batteries went bad so I called Interstate to see what new ones would cost as well as see what warranty they had.

When I told the guy who answered the phone what I had he told me the price. I then asked what the warranty was and his response was 3 years and so I asked why 3 years when I could go to just about anywhere and get batteries with an 8 year pro rated warranty. He told me no battery will last longer than 3 years in a diesel and that is wht they do not warranty them past 3 years. It was then I went to Sears and bought two die hard golds that they installed. They had an 8 year pro rated warranty. 3 years later they went bad and they replaced them free of charge (no pun intended) and I asked how long are these warrantied for and they told me the warranty starts over so 8 years.

Then after about 4 years they started going bad so back to Sears I went where they tested them and they tested fine. I told the guy I want you to replace them under warranty and then I will upgrade to the Die Hard platinum's. He asked the manager and the manager agreed. I then paid them less than $100 for two new batteries for the upgrade they gave me full credit on the batteries that tested good and charged me the difference in price. The Warranty starts all over and this time the first four years are 100% free replacement. So in owning this truck for 12 years I have replaced the batteries 3 times but only fully paid for one set.

These Die hard Platinum's are made by EnerSys which is the same company that manufactures the Odyssey battery which is the same exact battery with one exception, the price. The Die Hard Platinum battery is cheaper.

The major battery manufacturer is Johnson controls. They manufacture some OEM batteries as well as the majority of the aftermarket batteries that you can find in auto parts stores, Wally World, Costco etc. That is why they all basically give the same warranty period because they are virtually the same battery with just a different brand name on them.

900 cca, 1080 ca

I've never had a battery last me more than 4 years....so I went to NAPA and found the biggest case that would fit in the tray, a 7549. I had to ditch the plastic cover, but it fit like a glove. 14 inches long. I used the folding handles to secure the fuse/relay panel on top. And wrapped it with a Phillips Temro battery warmer. I was going to post a pic, but can't figure out how.....

Original battery lasted 6 years. OEM replacement is on year 3. OEM tends to be less expensive, fits perfectly, and is readily available.

It's the one thing the stealership is likely not to screw-up...just don't let them install it!

TornadoRed said:

$75 was really cheap four years ago. $118 now is merely average. Presumably it's still a pretty decent battery.

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I paid $85 a few years ago, mine came with a 3 year free replacement + something like 108-month pro-rated replacement. At the time, some of the older batteries in the display had only a 2 year free replacement sticker on them.

In 2012, Walmart changed ALL of their Maxx batteries to 3yr free replacement with NO pro rated period. Most of the other battery companies did the same. Interstate "simplified" (cheapened) their warranty by offering only 3yr free replacement plus another 18-24 months of "half price" replacement.

This year Walmart changed the Maxx back to 3yrs with years 4 & 5 pro rated.

As others have mentioned, walmart prices have gone up rapidly. Sam's switched from a long-warranty Energizer to a 3yr warranty Duracell. I am using the Duracell AGM battery in my Jetta now since it meets the 80Ah specs, exceeds the Reserve Capacity spec, and is truly maintenance free.

The Optima brand of AGM, also made by the same company, does not come in a Group 94R size).

The local (100 miles away, one way) VW dealer took my VIN and looked it up in their confuser. According to it, the specified battery for my TDI is an 000 915 105 DH DSP, for $132. That's within $5-10 of the local (in-town) battery shops, but I was also swayed by the reports of the VW battery lasting a long time. So I bought it from the dealer.

Good choice.

HoneyBeetle said:

Simple TDI 101 Question:

I have a 2001 New Beetle TDI.....what battery should I use in my TDI Beetle and why?


How do I determine cold cranking amps (CCA), battery size and other things that matter (details), how do I read these things on my battery?

Can I test my battery (easily) and is this a good thing to do to ensure my battery is performing up to par?

Outside of defects & unlikely weird stuff, what are some probable causes for why my Interstate 85 month battery lost it's cranking capacity (strength/power/capacity) within 36 months?

Does this have something to do with the fact my car is a diesel?

These are some questions I have yet to find answers for on this forum. This info may be informative for newbies (like me). Inquiring minds like to know!!!!!

Winter is upon us, I'd like to know how to keep my cranking power in tip top shape!!!!! It's November in New England, hoping...NO WORRIES.....

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I like Sears Diehards for my diesels.

$47 to Check a Battery?!

The first battery in my '03 lasted 6 or 7 years. Replaced it with an OEM battery from the stealership. Now, 3 years later, it's acting too tired to start the car. I know, it's damned cold outside today! So, I called the dealer and they told me $139.92 for a replacement and $48 credit for the pro-rated warranty. BUT...$47.50 labor charge to TEST my old battery to verify that it is bad enough to replace!!! ***!

Don't think they will be seeing me today.

JohnD

So, then I thought, if VW of Ann Arbor are going to be dicks about it, I'd check with another dealer to see if that's a common policy. So I called Suburban VW in Farmington Hills, MI and, yep, gotta check the battery, gotta talk to the service department....and service guy says, "Oh. You bought it in Ann Arbor? You have to take it back to them to get the warranty."

Good thing I didn't move to Wyoming, VWOA!

I took the biggest battery that could physically fit. I'm using a Tudor 92ah, bought it a few years ago.

Stinkyfingers said:

The first battery in my '03 lasted 6 or 7 years. Replaced it with an OEM battery from the stealership. Now, 3 years later, it's acting too tired to start the car. I know, it's damned cold outside today! So, I called the dealer and they told me $139.92 for a replacement and $48 credit for the pro-rated warranty. BUT...$47.50 labor charge to TEST my old battery to verify that it is bad enough to replace!!! ***!

Don't think they will be seeing me today.

JohnD

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Take it to some place like Autozone or Advance Auto Parts. A lot of places like that will test a battery for free.

I cant find any 94R batteries on wallmart.com

DieselHuffer said:

I found the Walmart batt, but its different than what others have said, they now call it the Maxx-H7 (which is the same as the 94r).

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http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=404447

.

phaser said:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=404447

.

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Thanks, saw the H7 and figured it was a replacement for the 98R.

Current battery I have ATM that failed on me this morning:
I will have to see if it was parasitic draw or no charge from the alternator, but the previous owner made a good choice. =) As bad as he maintained the car, surprisingly I can find a positive.

I think it instructive to point out that there are two or three battery manufacturers in the USA. VW does not make batteries. They buy them and have their name printed on them. A lead-acid battery is a lead-acid battery. They are all the same. What varies is the density of the plates per cell, the size of the cell, the dimensions of the overall battery and the location of the terminals. Get the heaviest battery that will fit in your car and be done with it.
Oh, in my misspent youth I was aboard a diesel-electric submarine. We had two batteries. Each battery had 126 cells and each cell weighed 1 ton. Oh my, what a headache.

The local VW dealer Parker VW was cheaper than napa, autozone, O'reillys and on par with Wally World. The 94r at VW has the part number of 000 915 105 AG (old number) which supersedes to 000 915 105 DH.
For the bug, the latest part number is 000 915 105 DGDSP for both ALH and BEW through 2006.

The local VW dealer Parker VW was cheaper than napa, autozone, O'reillys and on par with Wally World. The 94r (H7) at VW has the part number of 000 915 105 AG (old number) which supersedes to 000 915 105 DH. It's an 80 Ah battery.
For the bug, it is a group 48 (H5) and the part number was 000 915 105 AF which supersedes to the latest part number of 000 915 105 DGDSP for both ALH and BEW through 2006. This is a 72Ah battery and is for the diesel bugs.

Ok, so luckily wallmart replaced my battery for free.

Went home and installed battery.
I checked for battery drain and measured .28 amps. Is this normal, or should I be worried?

got a group 27 neverstart in mine from when I dumped a couple cheap interstate blemished group 31s into my F350

I've left the headlights on (really just the marker lights) for a few hours and didn't even notice it cranking slow or anything. Just noticed the switch was on while driving home and realizing I turned it on a while before parking the car for 6 hours.

EDIT: I should swap in the pipsqueak of a stock battery for the summer, though. Save some weight up front.

I'm going to try and get my hands on this... Looks like it will fit... but I don't really know the max dimensions. Anyone?

It should fit, its an H7.