Its time for a new battery. Anyone know what the original battery for the 87 gn was? Anyone have any suggestion as to which battery I should purchase ? Murray's said it was an AC Delco DT70-60. What are all of you using ? I'd like to kep it as close to original as possible. Looking forward to all of your input.
Of course it was a Delco brand. The standard battery was a 75 series with a 60 month warranty. The optional HD battery was a 78 series. Both will fit the lower tray. UA1 is the RPO code for the 78 series HD battery. Look at your trunk label
Phil, Thanks for your input.
The other thing I'd like to talk about is the best way to store a battery. My car is stored most of the time. What should I do to prolong battery life if it is not used that often. I have been just disconecting the positive cable and leaving it in the car. Would it be better to leave a charger on it ? would it be better to jus tlet it sit on a shelf ? Does leaving the negative cable attached hurt it ? In the auto parts store there batteries are just on a shelf, therefore would it be best to fully charge it and store it on a shelf. Or does it not really matter, you'll get about 3 years and have to buy a new one ? Just curious how other store theirs.
Batteries will go dead just sitting on a shelf. It does help to disconnect them as the ECM (computer) and radio have a constant draw on them. Under normal use the battery is recharged every time the car is used. This keeps them active and generally they have a 5 to 6 year life expectancy. If you want to extend the battery life get a 1 or 2 amp trickle charger and hook it up to a time clock. Once a week program the time clock to run 8 hours. I do this with my boat and it works great. Have a 1999 with the original battery. Battery stores rotate their batteries on a regulator basis. New cars in storage are started monthly and let run for 30 minutes. VW uses solar panels suction cupped to the inside of windshields and plug into cigar lighter.
Thanks for the tips. I have a battery charger that i bought from sears. It will shut off automatically when the battery is fully charged. If I put it on a timer would it be the same as a trickle charger ? Can I use my existing charger to do what you do with your boat.
Again thanks for your input.
You can use your charger but put a timer on it. I never trust automatic chargers. Once a week is plenty. Also helps to keep it warm.
I'll try it out on the new battery see how long I can make it last.
Which delco battery would you recomend. The heavy duty or the standard ? What do you have in your GNX ?
Interesting thread. When I replaced my battery, I was able to buy the exact Delco replacement, except it had a knob on opposite sides for a plastic carrying handle. Does anyone know if the Delco is available without the handle? My parts guy says no, but I don't trust anything he tells me.
Don they went to the handles a long time ago. The only way I can think of is to have a connection to obtain an assembly line battery. A new car dealer may be willing to swap one out if you are frendly with the service manager. If he did this for you the battery would not have a warranty. The tear tag number must match the battery number. It would not effect the new car in invertory.
Phil,
I tried to instant message you couple times. Must not of worked. Anyway, I double checked UA1 is the RPO code. You are correct, now my question is what this translate to in the Delco naming scheme. I'd like to compare prices on the net, but what am I looking for ? Would the dealership know what the UA1 part code is. Probably more expensive if I go to the dealer ???? Thanks for all the input. It has helped me at least narrow it down to a handfull of Delco batteries.
What you want is a Delco 78 series. They come in 3 warranty options. The new number system for Delco goes like this. The assembly line uses a 6 year warranty battery.
78-5YR 5 year warranty
78-6YR 6 year warranty
78-7YR 7 year warranty
They are all the same size case. As Don stated they will come with carry handles that can be removed buy the brackets for them can't.
Phil,
Don't want to beat a dead horse, but I have one more thing you might be able to clear up. Delco has apparently 6 78 series:
78-5yr
78-6yr
78-7yr
78dt-6yr
78dt-7yr
78h-6yr
I think the dt stands for dual terminal, which I think means top posts(which won't work), but what is the "h". it almost Identical in specs to the 78-6yr. Thanks again for your help. I'll be buying the 78-6yr or 78h-6yr. Any places you know of that is cheaper than others ? Thanks again.
On a side note, I thought I'd try charging theold battery one more time. I have it on my work bench hooked up to my charger. The garage smells like sulfer is this normal ? The battery is putting out a pretty strong smell, I don't recall smelling this in the past ?
The old battery probably has a shorted cell. It’s over charging and what you smell is hydrogen. Be very careful it doesn’t blow up. Any small spark will do it. A lot of places sell Delco batteries, discount stores and auto parts stores. You just have to call around and check prices. As to the different numbers they must have added some since I left the dealership. The 78 part should remain the same.
Ok, I think you answered all my questions. I truely appreciate you taking the time to answer. Talk to you later.