How to choose a battery for Outback 1997 ?

valerian · Post by **valerian** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 4:16 pm

Hi there,

My car has an about 5-y.o. RAA battery. When starting, it never missed a beat. However, yesterday I could not start it for a while. I thought it might be a deteriorated battery. (Hopefully, it was not an alternator.) This is where my knowledge of car batteries ends.

I dropped into a battery place which sells supercharge batteries. The guy did a load test on my battery, and said it had battery cold cranking amps (CCA) of 305. The battery was rated for CCA 430. He told me the battery should be good for another 6 months. A replacement (Supercharge Gold 36 months warranty) would cost me $140.

I thought it was a bit dear, and I could do better. I thought I could pick up a similar battery for maybe $110, and install it myself. I did a search on the Internet, and I could not find what battery was required for my car (size, CC, RC, sealed/unsealed). Furthermore, it appears that the marking changes between the battery brands. Supercheap Auto sells Century batteries of CCA 430, but it could be the models NS60L, NS60S, NS60LS. Their website doe snot explain the difference between those.

So... any helpful comments ?

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 4:53 pm

When the battery in my 01 Outback started to get a little tired, I just went to the auto elecy and got the biggest size that could possibly fit because the battery that was there was tiny. I also then had to change the battery clamps to the big style to fit the bigger posts of the bigger battery

Post by **Alex** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 5:11 pm

Gannon wrote:When the battery in my 01 Outback started to get a little tired, I just went to the auto elecy and got the biggest size that could possibly fit because the battery that was there was tiny. I also then had to change the battery clamps to the big style to fit the bigger posts of the bigger battery

yep i did the same (went optima for camping and to run the engel)

if you just use your outback as a car and dont rely on it to run a frdige for days on end or you dont have a big stereo id just go a standard direct replacement.

some places offer a trade-in on your old battery and might give you a $10 discount.

Anywhere from $100-150 is average for a direct good name brand replacement.

As long as the battery fits into the allocated space and the poles are on the correct side of the battery youll be fine. If the poles are on the opposite side you may have to lengthen battery leads.

alex

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 6:22 pm

I'm one for the SuperCharge batteries. I got a 550CC (I think from memory) that's a larger sized battery, fits in Ruby Scoo very well - had to change the terminals as mentioned, but it's been good to have too.

I've had this battery for about 4 years now, drained it really flat, had it under a very hot bonnet for long periods of time, it's seen two winters in the snow, me draining it with the engel (dual battery system now so all's good) and the thing that I reckon killed it was driving without an alternator due to necessity - once I got somewhere that I could fit an appropriate belt I was on 9.3 volts, a VERY big no no for batteries from what I've been told!

But she still gets me started and off I go, just now I can't run the stereo for too long without the engine running. I prefer not to use it at all now without the engine

Cheers

Bennie

valerian · Post by **valerian** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:09 pm

I found a special deal -- $130 (including fitting) -- at Autobarn for this battery, SuperCharge Gold MF55B24L,
http://www.supercharge.com.au/product_d ... search.php

The deal finished today, but I bet there will be other deals in the next couple of months. I am not in hurry.

I did a search on the Internet for the online shops selling this battery. They offer for the same price plus delivery. It seems nobody (including eBay) sells this battery cheaply.

So, if I buy a battery off the online shop, do I need to charge it first before I put it in the car ?

Subyroo · Post by **Subyroo** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:42 pm

valerian wrote:I found a special deal -- $130 (including fitting) -- at Autobarn for this battery, SuperCharge Gold MF55B24L,
http://www.supercharge.com.au/product_d ... search.php

The deal finished today, but I bet there will be other deals in the next couple of months. I am not in hurry.

I did a search on the Internet for the online shops selling this battery. They offer for the same price plus delivery. It seems nobody (including eBay) sells this battery cheaply.

So, if I buy a battery off the online shop, do I need to charge it first before I put it in the car ?

I put a Supercharge Gold MF75D23L 610 CCA in my Forester to replace the old Optima Red Top as Optima's are now Made in Mexico and the quality has gone south as well.
S.A. has some really low temps in winter so you need a good battery with plenty of CCA's. don't skimp on the $'s for a battery or it will let you down when you least expect it too.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 11:02 am

valerian wrote:I did a search on the Internet for the online shops selling this battery. They offer for the same price plus delivery. It seems nobody (including eBay) sells this battery cheaply.

I'd consider $130 to be a good price for a quality battery like the SuperCharge... I got mine from my local parts store in Romsey, no sales, just the regular price of $130 about 5 years ago...

Cheers

Bennie

discopotato03 · Post by **discopotato03** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 1:33 pm

I like the idea of fitting the largest battery with the highest cold cranking amps that will fit . Generally they will have more plates in them as well .
My L has an oversized Century battery in it and its been left with lights on a couple of times without oing flat .
I'm not sure if Century has cheaped out of late but I have noticed some cells occassionally get low on water/acid and exposing the plates generally kills most batteries .

The thing with late model cars is that everything is electric/electronic and they don't get too far if the alternator fails . Extra battery capacity will get you further / crank your engine more easily when its cold / longer if its hard to start for whatever reasons .

Cheap batteries let more people down more often .

A .

NachaLuva · Post by **NachaLuva** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 3:25 pm

I agree...bigger isn't always better but in this case it is. Car manufacturers say you need to replace with the same size battery as going bigger will put more strain on the alternator but that is such a load of bollocks!
A bigger battery will start the car easier using less power therefore the alternator doesnt have to work as hard to replace it!

Also there is more in reserve for when accessories are left on, etc.

I would definitely go as large as you can fit in...

valerian · Post by **valerian** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 11:53 pm

Thanks everyone for replies. I am trying to find the cold cranking amperage for my car, but I cannot find it on the Internet. And I do not have the user manual !

Post by **Alex** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 12:46 am

Just get the highest cca you can in a package you can afford. It really isn't a big deal mate.

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

rubisubi · Post by **rubisubi** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:06 am

Buy Century, there great quality and Australian made. Nothing better than supporting local product in a world full of chinese shit.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 3:44 pm

Alex wrote:Just get the highest cca you can in a package you can afford. It really isn't a big deal mate.

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

rubisubi wrote:Buy Century, there great quality and Australian made. Nothing better than supporting local product in a world full of chinese shit.

Agreed on both above. You could shove the biggest 12 volt battery in there and your electronics wouldn't care - they only start to care when it's not getting enough amps to keep the system going...

Cheers

Bennie

NachaLuva · Post by **NachaLuva** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 5:30 pm

Seems to me the consensus is...

Size does matter!

Brumby Kid · Post by **Brumby Kid** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 6:18 pm

nachaluva wrote:Seems to me the consensus is...

Size does matter!

Of course it does!!!

mattl200 · Post by **mattl200** » Thu Dec 29, 2011 11:41 pm

Brumby Kid wrote:Of course it does!!!

not when you have one of these in the tray of your ute
http://www.centurybatteries.com.au/sear ... ies/ID-147
why cause it wont fit anywhere else

(what my n70 shat itself)

ScubyRoo · Post by **ScubyRoo** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 8:56 am

+1 for biggest battery you can find

My battery is quite seriously squished into the engine bay - was an easy fit with the liberty's EJ22 but with the outbacks EJ25 it's VERY tight.

I think the CCA is something outrageous like 850...

Here's the link:

http://www.gsyuasabatteries.com.au/asp/ ... 7&type=921

Cheers,
Owen.

valerian · Post by **valerian** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 12:50 pm

Hmmm, over the past 3 months, I was not able to start the car 3 times. I was finally able to start the car after several attempts. The engine was cranking. The problem was highly intermittent, so that I did not see a sense to go to a mechanic.

Today I was not able to start the car after several attempts. The engine was cranking, but slowly and slowly after each attempt, until the starter was not able to crank at all. I called RAA (it was the first time in my life when I called RAA). The guy arrived after 1 hour. He jumped-started the car straight away, and told me the battery was flat. He recommended me to run the engine for 40 minutes to recharge the battery. He thought the car was unused for a long time, this was why the battery went flat. I told him I drive the car 50 km every day. This left him perplexed.

Well, now I think it might be an alternator problem. Also, it could be a battery problem as well. I dropped to a battery seller nearby, but they did not have a 430 CCA battery I was referring to in my first posting. The guy suggested another SuperCharge battery with a CCA of 370. I declined, at least for now.

Davidov · Post by **Davidov** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 1:48 pm

CCA doesnt really matter all that much, however subaru engines do like high CCA for a smoother start. Repco batteries seem pretty good for the price, Taza got one for his foz and it hasnt missed a beat and made his engine start up very nicely. 600CCA and i think he got it for about $160.

Post by **Alex** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 3:10 pm

valerian wrote:The guy suggested another SuperCharge battery with a CCA of 370. I declined, at least for now.

for gods sakes. Why not just replace it and not risk being flat again?

are you sure youre not leaving your interior light on or soemthing?

as said before the cca doesnt mean much for a standard car. These guys work in a battery shop and know whats best/suitable/do the job. Do you go camping/need the battery to run a fridge or something? Or do you have a large aftermarket stereo system?