1964 Delco Maintenance -free battery help

[Tim D.]

I have now purchased TWO Delco maintenance-free batteries (no liquid acid, do not leak, nor boil over) within the last 2 years. DC12/REV/558 H.D. stamped 558 on top lip..date coded etc. to the tune of $300 each. Both of them have shot craps WAY too soon. I have a cut-off wheel. I drive the car several times a month for an hour or two. I have read the archives etc. I am going to the knife style cut-off, as many have mentioned, the wheel is not reliable. I am not having the car judged but want it to "look right". Can someone please recommend a battery that I can buy at Walmart, O'Reilly, Auto Zone, Sears etc that fits the tray, contains no acid, is maintenance free, won't leak etc and will HOLD a charge and LAST. These high dollar batteries seem worthless and very undependable!

I am getting ready to call and see if I can get some type of warranty compensation. I would love to buy another one if it is covered and they stand behind their product. The only thing I have not done is keep a battery minder/butler connected EVERY time after I use the car.

Bye the way, as many of you know, these batteries are a pain to change out. If anyone knows of a trick to make it easier to remove and replace them....I am all ears!!!

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Tim

[Steven B.]

Re: 1964 Delco Maintenance -free battery help

Tim, Interstates do not look like original but I have had two in my cars and each exceeded my expectations. The 5 year battery lasted 8 years in one and is still going in the other. Might try one of these with the plastic "tar top" cover since you are not having it judged. They have outperformed any Delco I have had. Steve

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[John D.]

Re: 1964 Delco Maintenance -free battery help

Tim, I heard the reproduction AC sealed batter has an Optima inside it. Not 100% sure if this is true but if it is then makes me wonder why you are having batteries die so quickly.
Maybe you are overcharging them???
Here's how I remove the battery in my 63. Not the usual way. I unloosen the straps for the overflow tank. Then I tie it back out of the way with heavy duty cord.
Then I remove the hood block that is closest to the battery (your car won't have that). Then I call my son. He's a body builder and works out 7 days a week. He lifts the battery and removes it the long way-lifting it right up in the air with no fuss. I am too weak to do that.
If the battery has acid then put it in a jumbo plastic bag or several bags.
By the way I bought a repro fake tar top from Restoration battery the summer of 2006. Strange battery in that it never looses a charge. One secret is I seldom charge it as it doesn't need a charge.
Years ago I had a driver 63 fake fuel car. It had a JC Penney life time warranty battery in it. Drove the car to my restaurant for 10 years. Same old battery. Not made any more I heard.
Platinum batteries. A few years ago I bought a Platinum battery for my GMC. Paid major bucks for it and since the vehicle is used for business I was able to write a lot of it off. It lasted 1-1/2 years. All my friends made fun of me for blowing the $$ on this battery. I was really disappointed. John

[Terry M.]

Re: 1964 Delco Maintenance -free battery help

Tim, I heard the reproduction AC sealed batter has an Optima inside it. Not 100% sure if this is true but if it is then makes me wonder why you are having batteries die so quickly.
Maybe you are overcharging them??? John

If this is true, and the seller should be able to tell you, you need a charger that is compatible with Optima batteries. I think they are AGM, but if you have an Optima you need to find a compatible charger or you WILL damage the battery.

[Steven B.]

Re: 1964 Delco Maintenance -free battery help

John, I think the JC Penney, and Sears Die Hard, were manufactured by Johnson. Steve

[John D.]

Re: 1964 Delco Maintenance -free battery help

Current AC-Delco part number 24-60 is about $80 or so depending on where you get it and is less expensive than the Interstates. Dont see any current AC-Delco batteries that cost $300 unless you mean the repops.

[Joe L.]

Re: 1964 Delco Maintenance -free battery help

I have now purchased TWO Delco maintenance-free batteries (no liquid acid, do not leak, nor boil over) within the last 2 years. DC12/REV/558 H.D. stamped 558 on top lip..date coded etc. to the tune of $300 each. Both of them have shot craps WAY too soon. I have a cut-off wheel. I drive the car several times a month for an hour or two. I have read the archives etc. I am going to the knife style cut-off, as many have mentioned, the wheel is not reliable. I am not having the car judged but want it to "look right". Can someone please recommend a battery that I can buy at Walmart, O'Reilly, Auto Zone, Sears etc that fits the tray, contains no acid, is maintenance free, won't leak etc and will HOLD a charge and LAST. These high dollar batteries seem worthless and very undependable!

I am getting ready to call and see if I can get some type of warranty compensation. I would love to buy another one if it is covered and they stand behind their product. The only thing I have not done is keep a battery minder/butler connected EVERY time after I use the car.

Bye the way, as many of you know, these batteries are a pain to change out. If anyone knows of a trick to make it easier to remove and replace them....I am all ears!!!

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Tim

Tim-------


Most, if not all, Delco batteries carry a FREE-REPLACEMENT warranty period of at least 18 months and some carry a 50 month free replacement period and this policy has been in place for at least the last 4 years. The best thing that can happen to you is to have the battery fail during the free replacement period. If it does, you get a new battery FREE and the warranty period, including the free replacement period, starts all over again.

I had a 50 month free replacement period, 84 month total warranty Delco battery fail after about 3 years. I got a new battery no questions asked. Any Delco dealer can take care of the adjustment. If you don't have the receipt of purchase (which I had lost), the warranty period begins at the battery's date of manufacture coded on the battery.

[Martin M.]

Re: 1964 Delco Maintenance -free battery help

I buy 3 yr free replacement batteries at Walmart/Costco/Sams club, whichever is the most convenient (I prefer Costco). Interestingly enuf all of these Batteries fail within the free replacement perion. I have 9 cars with batteries, and it is a chore to keep tabs on when they were purchased. Batteries do not last long here in Las Vegas.
oldtimah

[John D.]

Re: 1964 Delco Maintenance -free battery help

As most of you know if you buy a real AC Delco battery and have your car judged you do not get a huge deduct like you do with other brands.
Lost my Judging Standards manual. Lost without it.
I tell customers all the time that they should all have that manual. Most never heard of it. Shouldn't say that but it's true. JD

Just found my 8th edition Judging Reference Manual. See page 30 although Don just spelled it out for you.

[Don H.]

Re: 1964 Delco Maintenance -free battery help

50% deduct for modern equivalent AC Delco battery. 12 points out of possible 25. You get all the condition. Good deal.

[Jim D.]

Re: 1964 Delco Maintenance -free battery help

Tim, I heard the reproduction AC sealed batter has an Optima inside it.

They actually have an Odyssey battery inside of a repro. case. Whether you buy it from Restoration Battery or Antique Battery (the original supplier) they are the same. Optima batteries are garbage and I wouldn't use one if it was free.

[Tim D.]

Re: 1964 Delco Maintenance -free battery help

A big thank you to all who have replied. I really appreciate your comments and help. I will check tomorrow about warranty and then decide which way I will proceed.

Tim

[Tim D.]

Re: 1964 Delco Maintenance -free battery help

update on my battery....I decided to try to charge my battery one more time to make sure it was "toast" before pulling it out and buying a new one. Not sure what was different but this time it charged to "full" without any problems. I did not get any error codes on my charger such as poor connection, dead cell or sulfated battery etc. I didn't do anything different, but it charged this time. I set the charger on gel and the lowest setting (2 amp) and over a period of several hours it read full. The car started right up and I took it for a nice long ride. I am going to change from a cut off wheel to the knife style cut off.

Thanks to all of you,

Tim

[Stuart F.]

Re: 1964 Delco Maintenance -free battery help

I currently have a Restoration Battery date coded look a like battery in my 63. It's been there for about 4 years now and doing fine. I have a knife switch on the ground, but don't normally use it unless working on the car electrical stuff. I keep a Restoration Battery Battery Minder on it while it sits in the garage using faston connection rings under each terminal. These in turn (believe there are 3 male faston on each ring) are connected to an in line quick connect to the Battery Minder and a separate LED charge indicator on the fire wall mounted with velcro. I push a button on it and it lights up 1 to 4 charge indicator lights. Under normal conditions, with engine shut off, it will have 3 LED's on, or 4 if the engine is running. I know, it sounds like J.C. Whitney stuff, but it works great. Recently, I had a connector fail on my alternator (the 2 wire plug) and I ran on battery for 30 miles. I saw only a slight discharge on my ammeter enroute. At my destination, I made an in field fix and checked my charge indicator which only showed 2 lights (I had a battery jumper unit with me just in case). At the end of the show I crossed my fingers and hit the stater switch and the engine started right up. My ammeter showed me a slight charge, but on the 30 mile trip back home it went to discharge again. The point is; I ran on battery both ways and it only discharged a small amount. Once home I plugged in my Battery Minder and it brought the battery back up within a few hours, saving me from having to use my super fancy battery charger.

I have since replaced the connector on the alternator (the original crumbled in my fingers after only 50 years of service) and every thing is fine. Can't say enough about that battery and that little charger.

The last battery I had was a lead/acid one. Lifting that out was the hardest thing I have done in my life. You can't find a grip on it, rather you turn it on end and press hold it with your hands on either side while lifting straight up. Putting in the new one was a piece of cake as it must weigh a third of the lead/acid battery. Never again! I'm still trying to dispose of that lead/acid thing.

Stu Fox

[Tim D.]

Re: 1964 Delco Maintenance -free battery help

Hi Stu,

Sorry it took so long for me to respond. I have been swamped. I appreciate your response and help. I think I have my battery problem solved. I now have a knife cut off switch but have not installed it yet....still using the cut-off wheel which works fine as long as I make certain it is loosened enough so it doesn't make contact. I would love to see a photo of your knife cut off installed if you happen to have one. It seems that it would have to be installed "just right" so it doesn't accidentally contact any other metal parts on the car such as the fan motor etc. I would love to see how you and others have oriented the knife cut off on your car(s).

Also, after charging my reproduction battery and bringing it back from the dead, my battery seems to be charging just fine. At first I was thinking my ammeter in my cluster was not showing it's normal reading. The needle was straight up on zero while driving. I remember that normally it would read about a needle's width to the positive side while driving....and when I turn on a turn signal, lights etc it would travel about a needle's width the the negative side as the blinker blinked or brake lights were applied. I have read many archives and it seems that many of you say your ammeter runs straight up and this is normal.

Today, I used my hand held voltmeter and with the car not running and touched each probe to the pos and neg of the battery and it read about 12.5 volts which I think is about correct....then I started the car and touched the probes again and it read about 14.5 volts. As far as I know, I think this is about right or normal and it "proves" that my alternator and voltage regulator in the car are working properly and charging my battery. Also, oddly enough when I looked at my ammeter in the dash cluster it was reading about one needle to the positive side like I remember it always doing???? any thoughts would be appreciated.

I think the only reason my battery went dead in the first place was that I did forgot to loosen the cut off wheel and let the car sit for 2-3 weeks without starting it or driving it. Obviously, something is drawing current when the car sits.

Thanks,

Tim