Alrighty folks, if anyone's been following that thread in Bug Reports on my empegs going into standy randomly in the car... i think i might have found the solution.

I was out in the car for a good 30 minutes testing with PCA tuner, with regular tuner, and with no tuner... and at first i thought i'd narrowed it down to the PCA tuner causing the problems. But then right before i was about to put it all back in, i took all the tuners off... and bam... it randomly went into standby again.

Then i tried to start the car. .. . dead battery. Long and short of it is... i need a new one. This one hasn't been holding a charge and yada yada yada... so ...

Can anyone recommend a good battery for a decent price? I know nothing in this arena. I'm about to sell the car so i don't need a "yellow top" or whatever they are... just a good battery. Does it even matter? Is what i can pick up at Kragen gonna be fine? ? ? I gotta get this done asap... so any quick responses appreciated!!!!

Does it even matter? Is what i can pick up at Kragen gonna be fine? ? ?

Yeah. Pick up whatever. Go to NTB, or sears, or autozone, and just get the cheapest you can find. Especially if youre gonna sell the car.
Even a cheapo battery should last about 3 years.

Z~

Greetings!

I would like to expand this a bit. I do not have an answer, but I am getting close to that point as well. The current battery in my car is about 4 years old, and I think it is time to replace it. No symptoms yet, but the last thing I want to have happen is to get stuck somewhere.

What would people recommend as the best battery - most reliable with an external amp hooked to it?

Thanks fusto... got an Exide from Kragen and it turns over faster than it has in a year. The empeg didn't go into standby again, but i haven't hooked the tuner back up to be sure.

Paul: according to my research today, everyone seems to think the Optima Yellow or Red Top batteries are the best out there. Yellow for deep cycle power and Red for starting power (extreme temps). They seem to run about $150 or so.

I'm in the market for a new battery too so i'll be watching this thread with interest.

My thoughts are "bigger is better" and unless someone here can sway me on this I plan to buy a battery usually fitted to a diesel car (I have room for a bigger one in my battery tray) because they have a better Ah rating.

They are, but mostly in the stereo groups. The Optima batteries have advantages in being dry cell so you could place it inside of a trunk in a dual battery setup, etc.

As far as Consumer Reports is concerned, last I checked the Die-Hard's were on top as far as batteries for "normal" people go.

Though if you're selling the car, you did perfectly I'd say with the cheap one.

I believe there are only a few battery manufacturers in the US. I know Johnson Controls is one of them. Private labeling makes it look like eveyone makes their own. Buy a battery from a retailer you trust will honor the warranty, that's the big difference.

I think any brand will do the job, just make sure you keep the cold cranking amps the same as you have or higher.