OEM or any ol' battery?

brandonkraemer

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio
TDI
2003 TDI 1.9L 5spd ALH VE mkIV Jetta Wagon
Not to start a whole thing about this.... but I seem to recall a few years back reading something about only using OEM batteries for the ALH engines. Couldn't find that conversation but before I updated my failing battery I wanted to check about that with the group.

cheers!
 

scooperhsd

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Location
Kansas City KS
TDI
NB, 2000, RED(5 Speed conversion) 2015 Golf SE
If you can still find it, an OEM type 91R battery from your VW dealer should still be the best. If you can't, then a Group 48 / new style H6 that is used in the newer TDI's should be acceptable.
 

02tdivw

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2008
Location
Mn
TDI
02 Golf Tdi
If you can still find it, an OEM type 91R battery from your VW dealer should still be the best. If you can't, then a Group 48 / new style H6 that is used in the newer TDI's should be acceptable.

I would not buy OEM battery from dealer , if you are in north. I hade 3 OEM battery in 3 years... no more. purchased Bosh from Pepboys. No more winter issue. paid $163 whit 5 years replacing warranty. no one can beat that, now they have a little different price and warranty...

https://www.pepboys.com/product/details/838838/01637?quantity=1
 

jmodge

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Greenville, MI
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2001 alh Jetta, RC2 w/.205's 5speed daily summer commuter and 2000 alh Jetta 5spd swap, 2" lift, hitch, stage 3 TDtuning w/.216's winter cruiser, 1996 Tacoma ALh
just make sure it is "direct fit", some of the others don't have a provision for the stock hold down clamp. Data sheets should have dimensions, weight, cca, and reserve info. I tend to lean toward a smaller, lighter battery with good reserve rather than the higher cca. Middle of the pack direct fit, I would term it.
 

STDOUBT

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Joined
Jul 30, 2007
Location
Portland, effing Oregon
TDI
dos jettas
A local shop here "Halsey Import Auto" has a retail side with various parts, and they sold me a Bosch S5 for my Jetta. New last Oct, so far perfect. $135-ish
 

xjfish

Well-known member
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Mar 7, 2018
Location
Minnesota
TDI
01 Golf
Interstate H6/48 seem to work well in these cars. Slightly less than OE with a decent "Nationwide" warranty.
 

brandonkraemer

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio
TDI
2003 TDI 1.9L 5spd ALH VE mkIV Jetta Wagon
just make sure it is "direct fit", some of the others don't have a provision for the stock hold down clamp. Data sheets should have dimensions, weight, cca, and reserve info. I tend to lean toward a smaller, lighter battery with good reserve rather than the higher cca. Middle of the pack direct fit, I would term it.
And by "direct fit" is there a specific size that meets this criteria?
 

jokila

Vendor
Joined
Dec 3, 2004
Location
Houston, Texas
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS, Manual
I have nothing but success with the OEM battery from the dealer. The cost is totally competitive and works 5+ years for me.
 

brandonkraemer

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio
TDI
2003 TDI 1.9L 5spd ALH VE mkIV Jetta Wagon
Thanks for the input. I went with OEM from a dealer, it was competitively priced and they delivered it free of charge which was good, mine was dead.

Of course they delivered me the wrong one and now i have to pull it and install another one.... but that is dealerships for you. At least they caught their error.

BTW, I had an interstate in there from 2006! So it had a good run.
 

Rob Mayercik

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2001
Location
NJ, U.S.A.
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS, Baltic Green/Beige
Got my last one from Advance Auto Parts (an H7 AGM type).

Fits like a glove, has all the proper specs.
 

jmodge

Top Post Dawg
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Jun 18, 2015
Location
Greenville, MI
TDI
2001 alh Jetta, RC2 w/.205's 5speed daily summer commuter and 2000 alh Jetta 5spd swap, 2" lift, hitch, stage 3 TDtuning w/.216's winter cruiser, 1996 Tacoma ALh
And by "direct fit" is there a specific size that meets this criteria?
There are several sizes in that catagory, I believe 3 or 4 at Napa, differing in reserve and cca capacities. The inner plate material and outside dimensions change, higher cca batteries being larger and heavier. but direct fit will have a provision for the stock holdown clamp. If it is not direct fit you may end up having to improvise a holdown.
 

jmodge

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 18, 2015
Location
Greenville, MI
TDI
2001 alh Jetta, RC2 w/.205's 5speed daily summer commuter and 2000 alh Jetta 5spd swap, 2" lift, hitch, stage 3 TDtuning w/.216's winter cruiser, 1996 Tacoma ALh
The reason I reference napa is due to a shop discount, I payed around $105 for Legend Napa batteries, and they easily go 6 plus yrs for me.
 

Fixmy59bug

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Location
Las Vegas, NV
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SE
I would not buy OEM battery from dealer , if you are in north. I hade 3 OEM battery in 3 years... no more. purchased Bosh from Pepboys. No more winter issue. paid $163 whit 5 years replacing warranty. no one can beat that, now they have a little different price and warranty...

https://www.pepboys.com/product/details/838838/01637?quantity=1
I WOULD buy an OEM battery just for the warranty.

The OEM battery lists at $147 which is already better than most batteries. But when you factor in the 5 years warranty (3 years FREE replacement, 2 years prorated), thats a pretty hard warranty to be at the price.
 

P2B

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Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Location
Toronto & Muskoka, Canada
TDI
2002 Jetta, 2003 Jetta, 2003 Jetta Wagon
I have nothing but success with the OEM battery from the dealer. The cost is totally competitive and works 5+ years for me.
Have you asked one to start an ALH below 0F?

I too used to swear by dealer batteries when they were made in Germany by Varta, but I won't buy the Mexico made Enertecs they sell these days due to cold weather fails.

Simon
 

Namakan

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Location
Minnetrista, MN
TDI
2002 Golf, 2011 JSW (gone), 2004 Jetta (gone)
I bought my ALH Golf in 2010 which had an interstate battery the original owner had replaced. It lasted 6 years for me in the Minnesota climate and I only changed it due to age, not trusting it for the next winter.

Having said that I bought a battery from the dealer and have had no issues in 3 plus years.
 

scooperhsd

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Location
Kansas City KS
TDI
NB, 2000, RED(5 Speed conversion) 2015 Golf SE
Have you asked one to start an ALH below 0F?

I too used to swear by dealer batteries when they were made in Germany by Varta, but I won't buy the Mexico made Enertecs they sell these days due to cold weather fails.

Simon



I've asked one to start my 2000 NB at 8F (about 10-12 years ago), and I wouldn't be surprised if this winter I'm asking for a start below zero, with one nonfunctioning glowplug - as I'm moving to Kansas City at the end of August. Probably need to have the head pulled to get that glowplug out and redress the threads for a new one.
 

belome

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Apr 8, 2010
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Mid MI
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2002 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
I've asked one to start my 2000 NB at 8F (about 10-12 years ago), and I wouldn't be surprised if this winter I'm asking for a start below zero, with one nonfunctioning glowplug - as I'm moving to Kansas City at the end of August. Probably need to have the head pulled to get that glowplug out and redress the threads for a new one.
Yeah, but the OEM batteries aren't the same now as they were 8-10 years ago.

What was an excellent battery for years (Varta) has been replaced with a new battery (Enertec) that is incapable of starting an ALH below -10F.

I guess they work fine for those that don't live in cold temps.
 

scooperhsd

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Location
Kansas City KS
TDI
NB, 2000, RED(5 Speed conversion) 2015 Golf SE
If you really want to press the point - when VW was testing the ALH's for the North American market, they took them to Alaska, Yukon and Northwest Territories - without frost heaters, oil heaters etc - and they started fine at -40 .
 

02tdivw

Veteran Member
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Dec 20, 2008
Location
Mn
TDI
02 Golf Tdi
I WOULD buy an OEM battery just for the warranty.

The OEM battery lists at $147 which is already better than most batteries. But when you factor in the 5 years warranty (3 years FREE replacement, 2 years prorated), thats a pretty hard warranty to be at the price.

when your oem battery is dead, dealer charging you $74 for testing the dead battery...for me in 3 years 3 oem battery was dead in winter. no more for me, Bosh AGM work like we need in the tdi car, 2 winter so far so good.
 

belome

Top Post Dawg
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Apr 8, 2010
Location
Mid MI
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2002 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
If you really want to press the point - when VW was testing the ALH's for the North American market, they took them to Alaska, Yukon and Northwest Territories - without frost heaters, oil heaters etc - and they started fine at -40 .
I started mine at -37F, I had a nearly new Enertec that wouldn't roll it over. I did however make sure to have my Jump and Carry all charged up in my warm hotel room. The engine made some pretty good noises for a few seconds but it fired up.
 

pdq import repair

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Nov 6, 2016
Location
idaho
TDI
09 Jetta
AGM batteries in a system not designed for them is NOT an upgrade, in my opinion. Cars that do come with them as factory equipment don't seem to have as long of a life as they should.


I can buy both Bosch and Varta batteries from my suppliers, but when digging a little deeper into the MSDS on them you find Bosch batteries are made by Jonson controls (Interstate), and Varta is made by East Penn (my personal favorite for many years now).



Nobody ships batteries in from Germany anymore due to weight and EPA regs. I checked years ago and found VW factory batteries deep down were East Penn at that time. That was also part of my reason for trying them as a supplier in the first place.


Johnson controls makes a pretty good battery that many places like Costco sell, and I have tried them as my supplier too. My only complaint is that we see many cars come in with three year old batteries that have lots of corrosion due to acid leakage around the posts. That is why I quit selling them. East Penn lasts as well and the battery looks as clean at five years as the day you put it in, as do the factory batteries.


The problem with buying a random battery to try is that it really takes a five year cycle to prove that it is up to the task and wont eat the car away.
 

P2B

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Location
Toronto & Muskoka, Canada
TDI
2002 Jetta, 2003 Jetta, 2003 Jetta Wagon
If you really want to press the point - when VW was testing the ALH's for the North American market, they took them to Alaska, Yukon and Northwest Territories - without frost heaters, oil heaters etc - and they started fine at -40 .
One of the OE batteries that came with my ALHs lasted 11 years, the other 12 years, and never failed to start the car in winter. The dealer batteries that replaced them both failed to start at least once during their first winter. I switched to AGM - have only had them one winter but no fails yet.
Simon
 

phaser

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2004
Location
Oregon
TDI
2004 Jetta PD - 490k
AGM batteries in a system not designed for them is NOT an upgrade,....
Agreed.

Post 92 from this thread: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=391746

That nice looking Bosch battery is an AGM, and from my reading, AGM batteries require a different charge rate then flooded batteries.

Some interesting reading here: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=4718475

and here, post #5: https://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=420022

and here:

"As with all gelled and sealed units, AGM batteries are sensitive to overcharging. A charge to 2.40V/cell (and higher) is fine; however, the float charge should be reduced to between 2.25 and 2.30V/cell (summer temperatures may require lower voltages).

Automotive charging systems for flooded lead acid often have a fixed float voltage setting of 14.40V (2.40V/cell); a direct replacement with a sealed unit could overcharge the battery on a long drive."

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/absorbent_glass_mat_agm
.
 
Last edited:

OlyTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2007
Location
Olympia, WA
TDI
'04 Golf
My Golf is 14 years old and on its second battery. I used the dealer-sourced OEM. It was the least expensive as well.
 

rrgrassi

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Joined
Jul 31, 2006
Location
Royse City, TX
TDI
'06 Jetta TDI 5 speed
I still use Interstate. Auto Zoo used to be good, and Oh Really used to sell Interstate. Costco does sell Interstate.
 
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