Best Battery For My Tdi And Why?

Saw Powderhound try an H8.. How did that go? was it necessary to have resistor for agm?
EDIT: so far on the table
94r
h7
h8
34r
49 or now known as h8
91-h

napa 7549 also H8

https://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=4388799

EDIT: Went with the Napa bat 7549 agm 135.00... Huge.. But fits, cover off. Might need to customise a pass side strap Walmart H8 was 118.00

Stats: Napa BCI 7549
Battery Cold Cranking Amps @ 0 Degrees F : 900
Battery Cranking Amps @ 32 Degrees F : 1,080
Battery Reserve Capacity (Minutes) : 185

Here's my new battery

Bosch L5 AGM
CCA: 850
RC: 160 min
Ah CAP (20 Hr): 90

T_D_I_POWER said:

Here's my new battery

Bosch L5 AGM
CCA: 850
RC: 160 min
Ah CAP (20 Hr): 90

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Most (maybe all) Bosch batteries sold in North America are made by Johnson Controls.

http://bestbatterytips.com/archives/battery-manufacturers/

has anyone had success replacing the mk6 sized batteries? ...mine is getting very weak and i dont think oem is a good option as they are now made by a different company and i strongly feel the quality is just not there.

My 03 had the original battery for 8 years and this one less then 4, and i drive almost always long trips and its never been drained. Not impressed with the mk6 battery quality

Batteries in general are down the crapper, they've been using recycled lead rather than virgin for a few years now and the contaminants in the lead make for batteries that don't last past their warranty period.

I had a battery from early 2003 that was still going strong up to last year.

indysoto said:

Saw Powderhound try an H8.. How did that go? ...

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It is going fairly well so far. My biggest problem is driving far enough as I am too close to work now to justify a TDI. If I didn't already have one...

I make sure that on the way home from work I take the scenic route, so that it is running at least 7 minutes or more. I'm probably going to be hooking up a diode to bump up the volts in another week or two. Just gotta take a look and think a bit about how to hook it up. I already have the diodes.

Cheers!

PH

Powder Hound said:

It is going fairly well so far. My biggest problem is driving far enough as I am too close to work now to justify a TDI. If I didn't already have one...

I make sure that on the way home from work I take the scenic route, so that it is running at least 7 minutes or more. I'm probably going to be hooking up a diode to bump up the volts in another week or two. Just gotta take a look and think a bit about how to hook it up. I already have the diodes.

Cheers!

PH

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how exactly do you plan to use a diode to increase the voltage? and why do you want to do this?

I tried going on a diode... didn't lose any weight...


Yuri

They are generally added internally at the regulator's connection to the alternator. Each one you add lifts the output of the alternator by 0.7 volts...the diode's forward drop tricks the regulator into seeing 0.7 volts less than actually exists.

An old trick common with Volvo owners back in the day IIRC...owners went thru a couple model years with low alternator output.

Google "re-volting idea for regulators" and the first hit will be a HOW-TO on Vortex with pictures.

virigin lead

[486] said:

Batteries in general are down the crapper, they've been using recycled lead rather than virgin for a few years now and the contaminants in the lead make for batteries that don't last past their warranty period.

I had a battery from early 2003 that was still going strong up to last year.

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The EPA shut down the last lead smelter in the US. Haven't had a new battery last more than 3-4 years since 2008. Brand, $$$ doesn't matter. Low voltage and the havoc it raises with vehicle electrics is the first sign of trouble.

The ETA didn't shut it down. They didn't want to spend the money to clean up there emissions. If you want to talk about if the regulations are reasonable or even possible that's another story. I also believe it was the last large smelting plant. There are still smaller plants running in the US.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

niteman9 said:

The EPA didn't shut it down. They didn't want to spend the money to clean up there emissions. If you want to talk about if the regulations are reasonable or even possible that's another story. I also believe it was the last large smelting plant. There are still smaller plants running in the US.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

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As an aside, it was very funny (and a little disheartening) to see everyone on the gun forums farting about it being "to get them boolets off the shelves"
Hah, the dirtiest recycled lead is just fine for such purposes.

Batteries, they like nice clean lead.

Usually scrap batteries are used to make new batteries, as they already have the calcium and other helpful stuff in them, but they're also usually pretty sulfated. Most of it gets cleaned out, but as with everything, it is never truly clean. The bits of lead sulfate in there make a wonderful foothold for new deposits of the same.

Vince Waldon said:

Google "re-volting idea for regulators" and the first hit will be a HOW-TO on Vortex with pictures.

Click to expand...

one would really want to understand the operating conditions, specifics of the car and systems, before such a cob-job work around.


for a 20 year old car, perhaps it could be considered. you would also have to pay attention to the upper end of voltage. Increasing the voltage can raise other issues.

The whole thing should be adjusted for temperature as well.

Anyway, thanks for the reference.

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_the_lead_acid_battery

meerschm said:

one would really want to understand the operating conditions, specifics of the car and systems, before such a cob-job work around.


for a 20 year old car, perhaps it could be considered. you would also have to pay attention to the upper end of voltage. Increasing the voltage can raise other issues.

Click to expand...

Automotive electronics are very hardened against stuff like that.

Walk up to a car at an auto shop out in the lot that's had a charger on it a while, stick a volt meter to it, you'll get something like 17V
Voltage spikes happen when the field in the starter motor collapses, too.

Bumping up the alt output to 15v might eventually dry out the electrolyte in your battery, but it won't cook any decent electronics.

you can safely assume that dried out electrolyte would be included in "other issues"

and what voltage should be used depends on temperature 15 volts has to be used when it is much below zero, if you want to add any charge. but in summer, this would boil out the electrolyte.

HoneyBeetle said:

Simple TDI 101 Question:

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

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And here is a simple and valid answer.

The battery that fits. In other words the one that came with the car; and OEM battery which can be sourced from VW or battery suppliers. I stick with reputable battery manufacturers.

Why are people trying to reinvent the wheel with other batteries? Did this car not start when it was on the assembly line using the VW supplied battery. Guess what, it did and so does my Jetta on the coldest of days.

HoneyBeetle said:

How do I determine cold cranking amps (CCA)?

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

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A CCA test is simple to perform using a load tester which you can get at Harbor Freight. I use the 500A carbon pile model which is adjustable.

A real Ah test is time consuming and is not done in shops. Besides, for cold winter starts CCA is what matters.

HoneyBeetle said:

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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A "quality" battery lasts; mine do for 15+ years.

But you also need a charging system that is up to par. That is why I install a digital voltmeter in all of my vehicles so that I know what my charging system is doing.

Outside of that, too many blame the battery when it most likely is bad connections or a starter that draws more than it should.

993er said:

Why are people trying to reinvent the wheel with other batteries?

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uhhh

because you can get more battery for less money by going with a more common 'merican group number?

or shed some weight in the summer with an itty-bitty battery, like the 51R I dumped in mine for the summer

[486] said:

uhhh

because you can get more battery for less money by going with a more common 'merican group number?

or shed some weight in the summer with an itty-bitty battery, like the 51R I dumped in mine for the summer

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Group 48, 91 whatever...prices are based on size in more cases than not.

If you don't get a group 48 frm VW, you can get it from 10 other manufacturer...same for just about any group size.

The internet...

You average NA could shed some weight if you think it makes a difference.

993er said:

You average NA could shed some weight if you think it makes a difference.

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forced induction cars are heavier than naturally aspirated, you know

also, it makes a difference no matter your induction strategy, old saying was '100lbs is worth a tenth in the quarter'

I honestly don't know what a light duty battery costs nowadays, I just use whatever fits that I've set aside. Customers come in all the time wanting a new battery, so I save the old one.

[486] said:

forced induction cars are heavier than naturally aspirated, you know

also, it makes a difference no matter your induction strategy, old saying was '100lbs is worth a tenth in the quarter'

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Trust me, on a Jetta, a tenth is the quarter or even a second in the quarter is the last thing that would concern me.

If I really wanted to pull quick quarters, I'll hop on a "stock" motorcycle.

Anyway, back on topic...

We don't need a kazillion Ah or CCA...where does that wisdom come from? The stock battery is fine and if it does not do the job, its for the reasons I listed earlier. End of story!

Going for a ride. No bugs out since it is 0C / 32F.

Had an EverStart MAXX-H6 from walmart, battery lasted 38mo and suddenly died.

Heck the919 I figured even that fly by night walmart battery woulda outlasted your 09' TDI. I thought VW was pulling the factory batteries back outa those 09's after the car died due to HPFP or DPF or HIV or whatever they had and reusing them. Since the battery was likely to outlast the car....

Sure buddy. And you have to replace cams in the pd cars at every oil change because they are basically disposable junk, right?

And those dang disposable ALHs with their ELECTRONIC injection pump!
That'll never last.

Ha! That's right, everything after carburated flatheads has been downhill.

turbobrick240 said:

Ha! That's right, everything after carburated flatheads has been downhill.

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Oh that dreadful flathead ford v8... The fuel pump pushrod was through the crankcase vent, mounted high enough to get away from engine heat, so all the condensation would freeze in the fuel pump and stop it from pumping fuel. Farmer fix: pee on it.

Horse and buggy for me.

(it's time for a thread cleanup)

Jeep 4.0L Straight 6. Seen several with over 300k.

Sorry to bump this thread.

Our 2004 Jetta TDI which I believe has the original battery in it is starting to go (tested with multi-meter).
Our 2004 jetta has been getting worse and worse to start in the mornings so I took the multimeter, set it to 20 DC volts and attached the leads to the battery terminals.
I had my fiance fire up the car and saw that voltage drip down to 7 volts and back up. From what I understand, anything below 10 volts is an indication of problems with the battery. I did the same test on my 2003 Jetta and never had the battery go less then 10 volts.

We did a light alternator test by turning on the lights and such and seeing if it would affect the battery, it did not. The alternator is fine

I currently have a EverStart Maxx-94R battery in my 2003 Jetta and it's been great.
I picked up another Everstart 94R for the 2004 and installing it tonight.

I'd say you got your money's worth out of that possibly 12 year old battery. Hope I can get close to that from mine. I've had good luck with the everstart maxx batteries in other vehicles. I've got two in my truck right now.