Battery Life

ktm525 said:

According to the Interstate site their H7 has superior cranking #'s over the H8

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That's a typo. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...b.ashx&usg=AFQjCNGrYm17cB1OXzqMuDN1Iy2pSOH_Fg

Which one is a typo? I went through the battery fitment guide and got this:

The H7 should read 640 CCA, 700 CA. The H8 appears to be accurate, give or take a few amps. That would make more sense (there's no replacement for displacement...) on two otherwise very similar batteries, one being a bit larger. I see that Interstate also markets a line of "premium" AGM batteries.

umbertob said:

If the dealer replaced the battery FOC under factory warranty, they will probably tell you the replacement warranty expired along with your car's at 4 years or 50K miles, whichever occurred first... I don't think the warranty "resets" during the coverage period regardless of what the replacement might say, but hopefully I am wrong and you get a portion of the money for a new one back. I am curious to see how much a dealer charges for a new battery, though. Even with a pro-rated reimbursement, you may still be better off buying a new one - and possibly a better quality one - elsewhere. Nothing against Interstate, I think their flooded batteries are just fine. But you can do better. Especially if you off-road, consider an AGM, it's a little safer. Keep us posted

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Hello everyone.
I have just replaced my dead battery with the same interstate MTP-49 H8.


I talked to my service advisor I have been with since 2010.
He told me that a new battery and service would cost me around $300 but once he figured out that my battery was replace back in December 2015 he said it was still under Interstate warranty.
At the time we talked about it I understood that I would have to pay about $60 to have it done.
Once the service was done he told me "no charge for today".
I did not expect this at all. I always had a great service from him even though I am one of those clients who can hear every squeak and noise in the car. Maybe I am lucky but my experience with Land Rover North Scottsdale service and sale was always great.
Never had problems that I was running oversized heavy tires, 300lb of skid plates.
What can I say, there is no better battery then a free battery.


Umbrto, how do you like your
Shumacher SC-1200A-CA auto-switching rapid charger / trickle charger?
I am thinking of buying one ($52 at amazon) and charging my battery from time to time. Will this extend the life ?
This is my 4th battery since March 2013. On average every 18 months I need a new one. Take into account Arizona heat, off roading, mostly city driving during a week.

I will plan ahead and get ready for a new battery in Feb 2019.

That's great service TLB. I really like the Schumacher battery charger / conditioner. I have it hooked up to the car right now (leaving early tomorrow for a 10-day vacation with the family), and I alternate it about every month or two between main and auxiliary battery - I have a Traxide battery isolator as well and my auxiliary battery is an Optima Yellow Top that provides juice to a number of accessories such as dash cam, refrigerator, etc. Having said that, my daily work commute is about 2 hours round trip, often with lots of additional driving between that round trip. My batteries have plenty of time to recharge day in, day out, despite our lazy "intelligent" alternator. Unless one of my batteries is going bad, they are always at or near 100% capacity when I top them up with the Shumacher. The trickle charge when I go on extended trips or vacations is the most useful feature for me. It's cheap enough and well made, I recommend it to keep your new battery conditioned, it should definitely help extending its life a few extra months.

Since this is "battery life" thread I will continue over here.
How long are : the power cord, clamps cable on Shumacher SC-1200A-CA?
I noticed there is an extention cord available (25 feet Iong). Shumacher part number EC-25. Is it worth to order it or the standard cable is long enough?

Got my Schumacher SC-1200A-CA.
The cables are not super long but long enough to make it work in my garage.
The extention cord EC-25 is not for this charger. I just connected my new battery to my charger and it showed. 80%.
We will see how long this battery will last for me when kept close to full charge on regular basis.
BTW the battery in my Audi (3 years old) is doing pretty well. It is located in a trunk and my daily higway commute helps it at the same time.

Any tips on changing the battery and not losing all the dash settings?

You don't really "lose" that much during a battery swap. From recollection, date and time must be re-emtered from the stup menu, and you will need to reset the one-shot windows feature, and sometimes the sunroof's, both procedures are clearly explained in the manual and take no more than a couple of minutes to perform. The temperature may revert to Celsius - change it back in the settings menu accessible via the steereing wheel - and that's about it, I believe. You should not lose any radio presets, saved addresses in the satnav, and other car settings.

Thanks! Your memory is good. Straight forward install. I reused the negative side plastic plug on the stock battery for the negative side vent and just plugged in the plug/connector for the positive side vent. All other connections were spot on. I ended up going with a East Penn/Deka Gold 694RMF battery because the shop I went to talked me into it. I was going there to order an Exide but they no longer sell that brand. Anyhow, I'll give the Deka a shot and just replace when I need the extra juice for extended trips/camping/etc.