Had to buy a pickup battery today.

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Hangfire

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Went to get a haircut this afternoon around 2:00 and my 2002 Silverado fired right up when I left the house but when I came out after getting my haircut and hit the key the truck was dead as a hammer.......no dash or dome light and no clicking sound like when a battery is on it's last legs........nothing.

Not having my flip phone with me (which is nothing new) I went back in the barber shop and called mama to come get me and went back to the truck and raised the hood so it would be easier for her to see me in the parking lot and just as I did a fella in a pickup pulled over to me and ask if I needed help and after explaining the problem he said let's try to jump it.......we did, it fired right up, he wouldn't take any money for his troubles but I thanked him more than once, mama showed up and I told her to go on back home and then I headed straight to Auto Zone.

The fella at AZ put his tester on it and it showed that the battery was dead as a door nail but that the alternator was good.

I've ran Duralast batteries in all of my vehicles for many years and have always had good luck with them so I purchased a new Duralast 78-DL for $195.74 OTD with the core and the fella installed it for me........got home and checked my records and the old Duralast battery cost $151.64 OTD and was purchased 4-25-2015 so I got over six years out of it and I feel I more than got my money out of it.

So between the haircut and new battery it was a pretty expensive afternoon. :)

https://www.autozone.com/batteries-...attery-78-dl-group-size-78-700-cca/160592_0_0
dl78dl.jpg
 
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GeneW

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I've said for many years that the Heat has ruined more batteries than the winter cold ever did.

I dunno, maybe I'm right, maybe I'm not, but heat will absolutely kill a battery.

And dang it, they're EXPENSIVE! The days of getting a good decent battery for $49-$59 are gone gone gone. I had to get a new battery last year for my old Cheby S-10 4-banger truck and it cost me $158!!!!

I purchased one of those little handheld battery boosters on a Woot sale last year, it only weighs a few pounds and rides in the car trunk, and I've been surprised how well it jumps off everybody that's needed help. It sure is a lot more compact, easier to store, and easier to pull out and hook up, use and get the vehicle started in less time than it takes to pull out, unroll and untangle my jumper cables.

In fact, I now keep my jumper cables at home in the garage. I really like the little jumper box. I think I paid something like $50 for it. I'd buy another in a heartbeat flash if I needed to.
 

dennishoddy

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I've said for many years that the Heat has ruined more batteries than the winter cold ever did.

I dunno, maybe I'm right, maybe I'm not, but heat will absolutely kill a battery.

And dang it, they're EXPENSIVE! The days of getting a good decent battery for $49-$59 are gone gone gone. I had to get a new battery last year for my old Cheby S-10 4-banger truck and it cost me $158!!!!

I purchased one of those little handheld battery boosters on a Woot sale last year, it only weighs a few pounds and rides in the car trunk, and I've been surprised how well it jumps off everybody that's needed help. It sure is a lot more compact, easier to store, and easier to pull out and hook up, use and get the vehicle started in less time than it takes to pull out, unroll and untangle my jumper cables.

In fact, I now keep my jumper cables at home in the garage. I really like the little jumper box. I think I paid something like $50 for it. I'd buy another in a heartbeat flash if I needed to.
Pretty handy tool to get a vehicle started. Found I was starting everybody else more than myself and didn't replace it when it was done. Keep an eye on the voltage meter in the vehicle now. When it gets below 13V, I replace the battery.
 

Dumpstick

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I just put a $200 battery in the wife's sedan. It was actually $40 less expensive (notice that I didn't say cheaper) to get the battery shipped to me from O'Reilly's, than it was to go to O'Reilly's and buy it. Crazy.

I went with an AGM type; I see no reason to put ancient battery technology in a relatively new (2015) vehicle.

I sure do miss the days of the $50 battery.
 

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