Dispute with Autozone

[Seabiscuit]

I purchased a gold battery from Autozone six months ago. The battery is rated at around 750 cold cranking amps. Today, I tested the battery with results of a little over 500. Lately, I noticed on occasion the cranking takes a little longer than normal when starting my vehicle. Even if the battery is still good could I get another battery under warranty since its not producing 750 cold cranking amps?

 

[v-8power]

I would say probably not. I would be willing to bet when your battery was new it was'nt
actually putting out 750cca. Just my .02 though.

 

[COPPERHEAD85]

take it in and make them load test it....if it fails to produce the correct cca they should replace it.at only 6 months old i would warrenty it at my store

 

[Seabiscuit]

take it in and make them load test it....if it fails to produce the correct cca they should replace it.at only 6 months old i would warrenty it at my store

What is the difference between load testing and normal testing? What should I be looking for when he gives the results from the obvious pass or fail?

 

[soylent_green]

They've got a nice bench tester behind the counter. Make them put it on that, not just their little hand held one. The big one will do a load test, fully charge it, and do another test. If it's not working as good as it should, they should do a warranty for you. I worked at a Checker for 4 1/2 years, and have seen lots of batteries that arent up to snuff off the shelf. It's no big deal for them to warranty batteries. If the associate gives you any lip, ask for the storer manager and tell him that you are a loyal customer and would like to stay one. The parts business is getting pretty tight lately, and if their smart, they will take care of you to keep you as a customer.

 

[Seabiscuit]

They bench tested the battery and the results were good. It passed the test. I insisted to the guy the battery wasn't giving enough power at engine start. He replaced the battery without getting the manager.

 

[soylent_green]

Great!

I'm glad they took care of you like they should.

 

[COPPERHEAD85]

just what green said.................those hand held testers are ok bat not as good as the bigger bench models

i use a midtronics to check for bad cells and shorts first(load testing a battery without this info is like playing with a bomb!),itll give you a good ballpark of cca then move to a autometer sb-5 for load testing......itll make a weak battery puke all over its self.
glad they made good on it for you!

 

[MAKG]

I suspect the problem isn't the battery, but rather is one of the cables OR the starter.

Measure voltage drops. If it load tests correctly, it's doing what it's supposed to do.

 

[Seabiscuit]

I suspect the problem isn't the battery, but rather is one of the cables OR the starter.

Measure voltage drops. If it load tests correctly, it's doing what it's supposed to do.

Does autozone test the starter?

 

[Ranger Dave (B25)]

Yes they will. Also the alternator. But the biggest culprit is indeed bad cables, terminals and/or dirty grounds. Clean everything with battery terminal cleaner, seal the clean connections with terminal spray (the red stuff) and clean up your grounds - even if they look good. Seal the clean rounds with a little Vaseline (it works). If you still have a problem with less than stellar voltage, add a couple grounds.