Best Battery For My Tdi And Why?

Does your TDI have a VW Battery or not?


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    423

mrrhtuner

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2011
Location
London Ont Canada
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon TDI, 2015 Passat TDI, 2015 Touareg TDI
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.

I agree.

Initially I was thinking of trying to save a few bucks and open the old battery (Varta IIRC) and add some distilled water if needed. I will try to keep it still but for the convenience, we will replace it.

The EverStart battery cost me $137.xx + tax in Canada. The local VW dealer wanted $159.00 for the Enertec battery.

Reading the opinions of many regarding Enertec, I would rather give EverSmart a shot again.
 
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tikal

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2001
Location
Southeast Texas
TDI
2004 Passat Wagon (chainless + 5 MT + GDE tune)
So what is the going rate of the EverStart MAXX-H7/R94? Something around $150?

This is the one I go recently for my Passat:


http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...ttery-group-size-h7-850-cca-h7-agm/10210826-P


Important specs for our TDIs for this battery:


* Reserve Charge = 140 min or 80 Ah
* CCA = 850


Online I got them to match the price of the Walmart EverStart Maxx battery for $150 with better overall specs so I think it was a good deal.
 

mrrhtuner

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2011
Location
London Ont Canada
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon TDI, 2015 Passat TDI, 2015 Touareg TDI
Tikal, the EverStart Maxx-R94/H7 is $137.xx Canadian.

I did find something interesting.

The one I purchased had a circular sticker of 3/15. It had the main sticker that identified the following:

-9 year limited warranty
-Part #: MAXX-94R
-Cranking Amps - 985
-Cold Cranking Amps - 790

There was another battery the same as mine with the circular sticker identying 6/14.

Now to make things interesting, there was a 3rd Everstart R97 battery.
-The sticker on the top of the battery identified a 5 year limited warranty
-I think the cold amps were slightly different and the cold cranking amps were the same as the other two.
-It had a circular sticker of L5 on it.

I do know that Wal-mart no longer has the 9 year warranty, they got rid of that and it's 5 years now.

L5 from what I understand is December 2005.
http://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com/repair/reading_date_codes.pdf

So this 3rd battery was manufactured in december 2005?
 

tikal

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2001
Location
Southeast Texas
TDI
2004 Passat Wagon (chainless + 5 MT + GDE tune)
Wow talk about not-fresh battery!

I just checked and the cost of the Walmart EverStart MAXX-H7/R94; it is $150 plus tax in the Houston, TX area so that's a good price in Canada. Is its reserve charge also 140 min?
 
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GWbiker

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2015
Location
Arizona
TDI
2015 Golf S TDI 4dr.
How many of us remember the good old days, when a battery for an early '70's Mercedes Benz Diesel weighted 60 lbs and the starter weighted close to 80lbs and had to be rebuilt after several years.

Slow heating glow plugs, too. Took forever for the glow indicator to go out....:D

Today's TDI technology is going to spoil us.
 
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tikal

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2001
Location
Southeast Texas
TDI
2004 Passat Wagon (chainless + 5 MT + GDE tune)
The one I got (size 94R/H7) wighted around 52 lbs so not that much lighter.
 
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Mark SF

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2015
Location
SF Bay Area
TDI
2013 Passat TDi
I agree.
Initially I was thinking of trying to save a few bucks and open the old battery (Varta IIRC) and add some distilled water if needed. I will try to keep it still but for the convenience, we will replace it.
The EverStart battery cost me $137.xx + tax in Canada. The local VW dealer wanted $159.00 for the Enertec battery.
Reading the opinions of many regarding Enertec, I would rather give EverSmart a shot again.
You can open the old battery and pour distilled water in if it makes you feel good, but it won't make the slightest bit of difference to the performance.

Any lead acid battery over 5 years old will be extensively sulphated, which has the effect of making it lose the majority of its Ah capacity.

If you're lucky, you might get a 5 Ah, 50 CCA battery out of the exercise which will then die anyway when it loses the last of its capacity in 6 months time.
 
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mrrhtuner

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2011
Location
London Ont Canada
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon TDI, 2015 Passat TDI, 2015 Touareg TDI
Wow talk about not-fresh battery!

I just checked and the cost of the Walmart EverStart MAXX-H7/R94; it is $150 plus tax in the Houston, TX area so that's a good price in Canada. Is its reserve charge also 140 min?


What I find odd is that if the L5 sticker is correct and corresponds to December 2005, then why does it have a sticker towards the top identifying the 5 year warranty?

I've read that EverStart now has the 5 years as opposed to 9 years previously. Somebody at the factory must have put on the wrong date sticker I'd think?

Here is the main sticker.
 
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mrrhtuner

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2011
Location
London Ont Canada
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon TDI, 2015 Passat TDI, 2015 Touareg TDI
You can open the old battery and pour distilled water in if it makes you feel good, but it won't make the slightest bit of difference to the performance.
Any lead acid battery over 5 years old will be extensively sulphated, which has the effect of making it lose the majority of its Ah capacity.
If you're lucky, you might get a 5 Ah, 50 CCA battery out of the exercise which will then die anyway when it loses the last of its capacity in 6 months time.

Thanks so much Mark :)

I was thinking that maybe I should try to re-condition the battery but I didn't know what kind of a bandaid that would be.

I will dispose of the battery at wal-mart to get my core charge back and not worry about keeping clutter in my garage.
 
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Stringer

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2007
Location
Mount Pearl, NL
TDI
1999.5 Golf TDI
Deka Junk ???

Deka's are junk. They won't even last on year in my Kubota diesel zd28 and they leak alot to.:mad:



If you are going to get a non OEM battery I only recommend Exide batteries.;)

I guess there are opinions one way or another. I've had a Deka for years with no problems starting winter after winter in Newfoundland.

Google Deka and there are hundreds of positive recollections by people regarding Deka ... recreation, marine, truck, farm equipment etc.

Here is just one example:

I have an interesting story on Deka batteries! We run them in all our farm equip. and have had great luck. Our 100H.P. turbo diesel 200 Allis Chalmers loader/mowing tractor had 2 of them in it. I went out to blade some snow a couple of winters ago and the tractor would not start, it was only 30 degrees. I don't have electricity in the shed where the tractor was, so I started to take the batteries out to bring them in for a charge. I took the first battery out and reached in to get the 2nd battery out, i did'nt weigh as much as the first one. When I got it out I noticed the positive cable was broke and the entire back of the battery had frozen and busted out!! The surprising thing was the battery had a bunch of shredded grass and crap inside the broken case!! I guess the battery had frozen and busted the winter before cause it was not charging due to the bad cable. The tractor had started weekly for around a year on only 1 battery!!! Oh yeah, the batteries I took out were 11 YEARS OLD, NO JOKE!!! I just threw them both in the truck and went to town and bought 2 new Dekas' Anyway, that is my story. Catch ya later, Brian

So take everything with a huge grain of salt.
 
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993er

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2013
Location
Canada
TDI
None
I guess there are opinions one way or another. I've had a Deka for years with no problems starting winter after winter in Newfoundland.
Same here and at least they manufacture their own batteries unlike others that are relabeled.

Plus East Penn has some excellent technical manuals available for download. People just need to read them.

Any battery is junk if the charging system is junk. My charging systems are spot on which is why I get 15-plus years out of my standard car batteries.
 
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Diesel Larry

Active member
Joined
Jul 27, 2008
Location
Sarasota, FL
TDI
'09 Jetta
So... Now that several years have gone by, I am wondering how those that bought AGM batteries are holding up?
Did the AGM battery last? Did it die before the warranty? Is it still working?

What were the symptoms when it started to die?

Did you try another AGM, and how long did it last?

Thanks!
 
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vincej

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2015
Location
Calgary
TDI
2014 Golf Wagon
I needed a battery for my 64 Rambler. The Motorcraft battery in my mfd 11/97 ford was too big so I put in a piece of 1/2" plywood so it could overhang the box. It is still in the car and working fine. Beat that, 20 1/2 years. No battery blanket and sitting in the car still connected in an unheated garage it has started every spring for years.

For my other cars I find Costco batteries the best bang for the buck.

The original 2013 VW battery lasted only about 6 months but since I bought the car in January suspect it had been sitting in the lot with it dead and frozen.
 
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Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
Batteries will last a long time if they are taken care of. Kept fully charged at all times and filled if needed/required. Not ever run flat. I have one in my 1935 Ford that is 12 years old and doing fine so far. It is 6 Volt. Starts 2 or 3 times a week too.
 
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~TDIguy~

Veteran Member
Joined
May 4, 2017
Location
Romulus Ny
TDI
2005 Jetta Sedan
We have a small engine repair shop and Everstart (Neverstart) batteries are scoffed at here. Weve seen brand new batteries that aren't worth a thing
 
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hymato

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2010
Location
NorthEast PA
TDI
2010 jetta TDI(buyback) Now 2005.5 Jetta tdi
So what’s the best battery for a BRM MKV at this day and age? Is AGM no good? I’m looking for the best battery before winter.
 
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cheezy

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2002
Location
Madison
TDI
99 NB, 96 B4V
So what’s the best battery for a BRM MKV at this day and age? Is AGM no good? I’m looking for the best battery before winter.
Just look it up on Costco's website, AGM is fine.

You can handpick the newest one off the shelf at China-Mart.

My Everstarts have been fine.
 
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Hyde7278

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2012
Location
Central Mich
TDI
2001 Golf GL
I know that I'll get flamed for this but I bought one from Walmart w/a 5yr warranty. Car sat for about a year and when I charged the battery from being compleatly dead it would not take a full charge. So I brought it back with out a receipt and was given a new battery and new 5 yr warranty.

I would buy one again just because of th warranty and the ease of replacement.
 
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Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
YEP, a quality battery tender would revive that battery though.
 
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belome

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 8, 2010
Location
Mid MI
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
So I brought it back with out a receipt and was given a new battery and new 5 yr warranty.
Well, if you did in fact get that then Kudos to you. However, that isn't how it is supposed to work. The warranty shouldn't restart again for 5 more years.

Which is why normally if you have a prorated warranty and you are in say year 5 of a 6 year warranty and they charge you 20 or 30 bucks less than what a new one would cost you may as well just buy a new one and get a new 5 year warranty.

That is how they sucker you in!
 
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tikal

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2001
Location
Southeast Texas
TDI
2004 Passat Wagon (chainless + 5 MT + GDE tune)
So what’s the best battery for a BRM MKV at this day and age? Is AGM no good? I’m looking for the best battery before winter.
For what is worth, my personnel experience putting an AGM battery in my 2004 Passat did not pay out the extra cost. It barely lasted three years (Advanced Auto Parts did honor the warranty even though it was past two weeks or so). Most likely because AGM batteries do, on the average, worst in heat than regular 12 volt automotive batteries.

Probably AGM batteries will be ok for mild to cold climates.

Another factor for AGM batteries is the voltage coming out our older TDI alternators not being 100% compatible. Do some searching on this also before going the AGM route.
 
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Andyinchville1

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2016
Location
Virginia
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, 5 sp, 226K miles
Hi, ,

Anybody here running a good light weight lithium battery ?

I know they are some $$ but lightening things up helps performance / economy.

Andrew

PS - For now I am running a factory stock battery bough through the VW dealer.
 
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reince

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 13, 2017
Location
GA
TDI
2006 Beetle
For what is worth, my personnel experience putting an AGM battery in my 2004 Passat did not pay out the extra cost. It barely lasted three years (Advanced Auto Parts did honor the warranty even though it was past two weeks or so). Most likely because AGM batteries do, on the average, worst in heat than regular 12 volt automotive batteries.

Probably AGM batteries will be ok for mild to cold climates.

Another factor for AGM batteries is the voltage coming out our older TDI alternators not being 100% compatible. Do some searching on this also before going the AGM route.
My buddy also had bad experience with AGM batteries. He replaced it just after 2 years due to inconsistent voltage.
 
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werdna

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2009
Location
An obscure corner of northeastern Massachusetts
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon, 2013 Touareg Sport, 2015 GSW
I just checked and the cost of the Walmart EverStart MAXX-H7/R94; it is $150 plus tax in the Houston, TX area so that's a good price in Canada. Is its reserve charge also 140 min?
The good news: that was six years ago and it's still about $150.

What's probably bad news: at least around here (New Hampshire) all the stock is no longer made by Johnson Controls, it's now unbranded "Made in Turkey".

I bought one anyway (with more time and cope I'd have gone to Interstate instead), as my eight-year-old JCI battery was getting marginal on starting. Will see how it goes.
 
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Ton

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2009
Location
Free Union,VA
TDI
early 2001 jetta
The local auto parts store wants $145 for my tdi battery. I will see how long it lasts.
 
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JB05

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 20, 2005
Location
Il.USA
TDI
Golf,2005,anthracite blue
I recently found an Interstate H7/94R for my Golf at a local Midus shop.
 
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StrayCat

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 21, 2006
Location
Chisago City, Minnesota
TDI
2001 Audi allroad tdi project, 2003 Jetta TDI 5spd 117k, 2003 Jetta Tdi 5spd 410k and counting, Sold. 99,5 Jetta Tdi 5spd 270k went to a new home.
A group 49 battery fits perfectly in the tray with the plastic sides removed; Mine from Napa is 900cca and 1080 ca.
 
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