Good evening all!

It's been a while but work and my personal life has been the priority.

But now I am back to some jaaaag bits!

Thinking i need to change the battery, as I have no record of it being changed in the last 5 years.

What would be the best for the 87?

CCA level? Brand? Which shop?

I am in California.

Thank you all and much appreciated!

Chris

 

Do you need to change it ? A battery should last a lot longer than 5 years.

 

Hi Chris,

These cars like their juice, both fuel & battery.

I have a 650 Crank Amp (CCA) rated battery in mine and that is perfect.

When I went to the battery place, when I asked for that rating, they led me to the marine section thinking it was for a boat!

The starter motor on these draws a big current, so 650 CCA is about right.

Shop?, Brand? I'm not stateside, so can't help specifically, but any knowledgeable battery place should point you in the right direction.

Cheers,

Nigel

 

I use Interstate remanufactured batteries at $50. each in all my cars, but the best battery SO FAR was a gift from a motorhome owner.

it is a ACDelco Professional 800 CCA 110 RC

man, that thing has SOME VOLTAGE in there!

it is made to start a 452 Ford 8 cylinder, and to power the interior accessories of a huge motorhome when at rest.

fits perfectly in my XJ-6 and has the correct cable connectors.

 

Would you say I need more than the 650cca? I feel the jag would be better off with more myself.

 

Hi Fraser

Well after I did some looking around and cleaning of contacts, I think I found a date sticker.

It reads 8/11

The reason I am asking is I had the car sit in the garage for a week and when I went to start it up the battery had died.

It was pretty cold I guess. And I dont have a battery tender.

So figured may as well change over. This was before i found the sticker by the way.

Autozone do some but they are like $160! Which I feel are pretty expensive no?

The one currwntly in there is a interstate. But I cant seem to find where to get them around my area.

 

Thanks Nigel

Where are you located??

I cleaned up the contacts AMD applied some protectant.

But as I mentioned in another reply, I found the date sticker and it was 8/11

So maybe a good time to change.

I also filled the reservoir in the battery as a couple were looking pretty dry

 

yes, buy the AC DELCO and let me know. Buy a maintainer too if the car is going to sit.

I like the 800 CCA a lot !

 

I checked Consumer Repots a while back and the top ranked battery was the one carried by Walmart (also one of the least expensive). I believe it is called "Maxx Everstart". Whenever one of my 4 cars needs a battery I just pull it out, take it down to the Wal-Mart auto center, walk in and tell them I want the strongest one that will fit, have them show me the date code to make sure it's fresh, have them put their meter on it to make sure it is fully charged, pay and they carry it out to my car. Takes about ten minutes. Never had one fail but there are Wal-Marts all over (America) so if I do need warrantee service it should not be a problem.

Not sure if the XJ6 came with side terminals or top posts but the top work fine if you secure the battery pushed over to the center of the car so they don't short on the hood.

 

my '84 has the side posts which I prefer because no acid crud forms on the connectors, and I can fit it perfectly. with the top holdown bracket.

 

Mine has the "standard" top connectors and i have to screw tight the cables to each.

Not sure if this was the way it was way back when.

 

Many thanks!

I will check out Walmart. I have a couple in my area, at least driving distance. And in the past i have seen them but never paid much attention to them. Of course now is a different matter all together

The ones at AutoZone come with a 5 year guarantee, which would be the only reason to go more expensive. But I am not sure what that covers.

I see they have a Group rating. What is this exactly??? Is this just the design???

What particular battery do you have??

Many thanks again!!

Chris

 

Hi Chris,

Melbourne, Australia.

I smear high temp grease over both battery terminals before connecting clamps.

800 CCA is pretty full on, but hey, whatever..

Just as important as CCA rating is Reserve Capacity minutes or RC minutes of the battery.

The reserve capacity is the time that a fully charged battery will discharge at full amps until the battery goes flat enough to not crank your engine.

If your engine starts first time every time, then repeat cranking won't be an issue, but if you have ignition woes and are forever long cranking to start and start again, then the second rating becomes quite important.

So in that case if the 800 CCA has say 30 RC minutes then it is less useful than a 650 CCA rated with 100 RC minutes as with the latter you can repeatedly crank in a short period of time with no loss of battery performance.

CCA and RC minutes ratings vary between brands and applications, so check both at the same time when considering your purchase.

Cheers,

Nigel

 

My 83 has side posts. Not my favorite. I lost one battery. A failed side post. A look on line found this not unknown!! Some bodges described. I tried a couple. Failed!!!! On my bench as a voltage source. Unused for a spell, it might be a "goner"/ The fastener in the battery is a thimble sized tin piece with threads, embedded in the lead. Puny, when compared to the sturdy lead posts found atop others.

I've not seen the white or green deposits on a battery post for decades. But, Aye, I lube them, with one product or another. Just ordinary petroleum jelly, aka Vaseline is fine. I apply when the cable is seated and tight. Getting grease on the contacts seems counter intuitive!

And, yep the age and dry cells indicate the best days are past. Many brands sold.
But, think only two makers. Johnson controls and Exide. The oatter had financial issues.

Google Interstate Battery dealer and you will find one. Quite popular. The pro's buy them as there is a wholesaler. I know there is one in Concord Just off Concord Blvd & Contra Costa Avenuel. I bought a "rebuild" there. Good price and doing well. Short warranty, but the price, really good.

Group number is size and post location thing. I suspect a google will find the number for your 87!

Factoid. More weight, more lead = capacity!!!!

Carl

 

Thanks so much for this info. Never knew any of this. Never had a car before the jag soooo hahah

Very much appreciated!

Chris

 

the AC Delco battery I use is 110 RC, not 30.RC. ONE-HUNDRED.-TEN RC baby !

 

Have you thought about an Optima? i have a Redtop with 720CCA and 90RC the only issue is that i did have to make a new hold down for it as they are slightly smaller.

You might ask why i did this and the answer is that the XJ6 shares it's battery with an older Triumph that sees less use and so i didn't want to have a battery simply fading away in the Triumph.