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Batteries
Will Ayers
Longtime pseudo-classic MB owner and new pseudo-classic Cadillac (Allante obviously) owner here, 89. Wanted one since I was a kid, ran across many dogs in the past decade or so but came across an 89 with soft leather and a stack of records and only 46k for a fair price, so now or never as they say.

The battery began dying within a couple days of bringing it home. Checked the usual suspects (thanks Johnny) and pulled the top motor fuse even though it appears to be working fine. Left the doors unlocked. Checked for lights on anywhere. Nothing. So, per Johnny's advice, replaced the 3 year old 700CCA battery. I like overkill and knowing these cars are battery hogs, I looked around online for something that seemed like it would do the job. Learned that Optima moved operations to Mexico and the quality has gone down. I used to buy Autozone gold batteries with success and the Gold was supposedly made by Optima, but haven't seen any good reviews on these either in recent history. So, time for something new.

Came across this posting http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum/16-anything-else/441594-x2-power-battery-review.html on the Bronco boards. Guy says he left his lights on for 5 hours and his battery cranked that big beast right up. The battery in question is the X2Power Premium AGM BCI Group 34/78 Car and Truck Battery (Dual Terminals)SLI34-78AGMDP (stock number from Batteries Plus Bulbs)

Got it installed and they took my core and I drove home. Parked it for 3 days and it revved to life yesterday with no problem. Only 3 days, but that's better than what I was experiencing, which was a dead battery in 2 days. So far, so good.

No need to vent as it is an AGM type battery. In looking around, these are apparently made exlusively for Batteries Plus as a "house brand" by Northstar - who, apparently, is the "new optima" in batteries. The Northstars I found are ultra expensive. This one isn't cheap but if you're near a Batteries Plus they have "online ordering" discount codes. In looking around and talking with Johnny, it seems the recommendation is replace every 3 years, and based on my initial results this makes sense. With a 4 year warranty, could this be free batteries for life? :) If the allante calls for 770 and 880 is the most you can find outside of Northstar, this is probably a good bet. Plus you don't need to mess with venting and it's cheap insurance and peace of mind - I think I ended up out about $230 between rebates and core return.
Will Ayers
Talked to Dick this morning and he said a well-sorted car should last 4-5 weeks without being started. I'm not sure if it's just that the vast majority of Allantes I run across on the boards aren't well-sorted or maybe the boards are where the squeaky (non well-sorted) wheels get the grease, but I can tell you I was surprised nonetheless that my car started up after 2 weeks in storage with no issues at all. I had my charger ready, as I'd been out for surgery for a while and unable to drive. The 3 year old 700 CCA battery would last 3 days. This is new and 880. I did put a reman alternator in the car last month because it died on the road. Either way, strongest battery I could find, 2 weeks zero issues, so far so good on this battery. Definitely no more worrying about only driving it every 2 weeks from my end.
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