SuperCharge Battery in VK - One of those "DOH" moments

[Dart77]

The second hand RAC battery (580CCA) died in my VK and what a good one it was, over 8 years old. After a week of thinking about which brand battery to replace it with I was all set to get an Exide 630CCA 112RC* for $188 with 30 months warranty which I thought was pretty good pricing. Even though many recent reviews of Exide were not that great.

Then on the way to the supplier (an auto elec chain here in Perth) I stupidly decided to pop in to Repco and Auto One to see what they had on offer as comparisons. Repco were overpriced but Auto One, which deal in Super Charge batteries had 20% off the entire range and a 650CCA 109RC Gold Premium M50 with 50 months warranty (over 4 years, sounds so good on paper) was under $200.

Condition indicator was showing green and they said it was fully charged ready to fit, so I bought it and fitted it in the car park. All ok, drove home, but two days later the indicator was showing clear (or white). And I always use maintenance chargers, either CTEK or OzCharge. I have a remote starter, so I did some cranking only without starting the car (starter is a high torque type). I found that after only the fourth session of cranking (less than 10 sec each time, then a minute rest) it was starting to tire. It's only a stock 202, so that's pretty lame. And the condition indicator is there for a reason. They've had them for at least 30 years on batteries, so shouldn't' t be a gimmick like some people reckon.

Then have a look at Product Review and see the woeful reviews that SuperCharge have now got. Average 1.5 stars from over 50 reviews! They used to be a good brand, not any more it seems. And so many people saying that the warranties they give are often just used as advertising bait and often not honoured, or at least, very reluctantly, with a fight.

I'm taking it in to Battery World tomorrow to get independently tested before I take it back to Auto One, who I assume won't be overly interested in hearing about it especially when they know it was installed in such an old car. New Bosch alternator about 1500km ago! What a PITA. And dumb of me to be impulsive, should have read more about that brand first. Doh.

Thanks for reading.

CCA = Cold Cranking Amps
RC = Reserve Capacity

 

[losh1971]

I have a 10 year old SC in my shed and it's still going strong. However, I've heard SC are no longer what they once were. Best to try and get a refund and buy something decent. Delco are one of the better batteries currently on the market. Exide won't go the distance, they were junk 15 years ago and are still junk now. Exide will last until the warranty expires and will die soon after.

 

[Skylarking]

Having a new fully charged battery die just 2 days after purchase would almost certainly mean the battery has a major fault* under Australian Consumer Law. As such this would allow you the choice of remedy as provided under ACL. Your choice can be either repair, replacement or a full purchase price refund (plus associated damages and costs in dealing with the failure).

As you've had a major fault under ACL, I‘d be asking AO for a full purchase price refund and then I’d choose the biggest CCA/RC ACDelco battery that would fit the space within your car from another supplier.

Sometimes old adages come true… as they say, buy cheap, buy twice

Good luck with it

* assuming your vehicle doesn’t have any parasitic draw and/or the float charger is working correctly.

 

[vc commodore]

The way a battery warranty works is, head back to where you purchased he battery and ask them to load test it...

If you are unhappy, you are entitled to request the rep for the company to come check it out.

They should also show the test being done and the result...

In all my years dealing with batteries (yes tyre companies sell batteries and test them for those who may question my response), I have never had an issue if a battery is faulty for it to be replaced.

I have never struck a new battery dying within 2 days due to it being faulty...It's normally another issue creating the problem.

So I'd be checking you don't have a current draw causing the issue first, before going down the path of a faulty battery...

The fact it has been fitted to an old car has no bearing on the result....As long as the CCA is identical or greater than what was originally fitted, it is fine

 

[vc commodore]

FWIW, I have a century battery fitted to my VC.....At times, I leave it sit for a week, with no starting and no charger fitted to the battery...

I'll walk out, spin it over with the same style starter as the OP without it firing for 10 to 15 seconds, to build a bit of oil pressure, then start again cranking to get it to fire, which it does after 2 seconds of cranking...

It spins over like it has only just stopped running and refired....

 

[trel]

I've said it before I'll say it again, the best batteries in terms of quality and value for money is Delkor. All of my cars have them and they last and last. One of them has been in the Mazda for 4 years now and still cranks on a cold day like it's a brand new battery.

 

[losh1971]

I asked about a Delkor and couldn't get one for my VE. No one stocked them. I ended up with a Delco.

 

[Dart77]

I have a 10 year old SC in my shed and it's still going strong. However, I've heard SC are no longer what they once were. Best to try and get a refund and buy something decent. Delco are one of the better batteries currently on the market. Exide won't go the distance, they were junk 15 years ago and are still junk now. Exide will last until the warranty expires and will die soon after

Interesting to hear about your experiences. I didn't know that about Exide - glad I didn't get one. Listening to real people with real experiences is the only way to know really. Delco eh? Will keep that in mind and also Yuasa I think are pretty solid. SuperCharge are made in the Philippines, although that in itself shouldn't mean they are worse than others, however both Auto One and AutoBarn use them so they must be made to a price for huge bulk lots and that means a higher failure rate per 100.

 

[losh1971]

I can buy an SC at about 60% of the retail price that AB sells them for. I still decided to go Delco even though it was around $120 more IIRC.

 

[Dart77]

As you've had a major fault under ACL, I‘d be asking AO for a full purchase price refund and then I’d choose the biggest CCA/RC ACDelco battery that would fit the space within your car from another supplier.

Sometimes old adages come true… as they say, buy cheap, buy twice

Good luck with it

Thanks for the post and info. I didn't get time to run around with it today (Thurs) but am going in tomorrow. It's a $250 battery that I got for $200-odd , I wouldn't say it was cheap but for the claimed CCA and Amps, and 4+ years warranty, I suppose it is suspiciously low priced. Then again, Auto One have the advantage of large bulk orders so they are able to price their retail accordingly.