I am in the process of installing a new interstate battery on my 05 crossfire. Is there any special instruction in doing this?

 

Yea, "don't pay too much".

Mine was $89 at O'Reilly's.

Be prepared to reset the clock on the dash and maybe the one in the radio. HOWEVER, my OEM radio didn't forget it's GPS almanac OR preset AM/FM stations, either!

 

Thanks pizzaguy. I did pay too much. Install complete and she still cranks. By the way, We almost bought the car you have. I live in Gainesville, Ga. My son wanted to wait a little longer. Your Crossfire is a beautiful car. My son just bought an 08 two weeks ago.

 

The bas/esp light will come on after the battery is disconnected, reconnected. just follow the reset procedure of turning wheel all the way left then all the way right and center it, it should go out. There is a thread on this procedure somewhere.

 

You may have paid more but stores typically sell the older batteries cheaply to get rid of them, fresh batteries are then kept for sale at the higher price.
A battery sitting on the shelf ready to go will slowly die, even with recharging, as recharging quickly is not good for them.

 

All batterys have a stamp date on them when new

 

Just changed my battery over the weekend. Still had the original battery (7.5 years old). No issues but just did a pre-emptive strike. As others noted, the BAS/ESP light came on so the info on this thread helped avert concern and I reset it as instructed and it went off right away. Also, as others noted the clock needed resetting too. Other than that, good to go.

Question though -- the replacement battery has the vent tube attachements -- one of which was plugged and the other which wasn't. The old battery didn't have the tubes but it looked like it had two little holes on the top of the battery which I expect were the vents. I'm assuming for direct venting both the plugs on the new battery should be removed. Anyone else have thoughts / experience on this with there replacement batteries? I bought a BOSCH battery -- which is supposed to be for this car. It does fit nicely and all the specs match up as well.

 

The plug that is in the battery against the firewall should remain in. The plug toward the front of the car comes out and it should be replaced with the vent that has the catch basin in it.
I think the plugs are in for shipping and storage, when gases are generated during use or charging they should be free to escape.
Should any liquid escape during use the acid will start to eat your car. That is the reason for the catch basin.

 

Thanks onehundred 80.

I'm not familiar with "the vent that has the catch basin in it". My car didn't have anything connected to the last battery. Is the catch basin you are referring to just the shelf the battery sits on? Any additional details would be appreciated. I looked for hook-ups but couldn't see anthing else.

 

Here is the catch basin as I call it, it plugs into the forward end of the battery and catches acid spills and vents gases as well.
I kept the old one that was on the OEM battery, it's worth the effort as it saves any acid dripping on your car. There are photos on this site that show acid damage, it's not a pretty sight.

 

Thanks. Mine had nothing like this attached to the battery. I'll look to get something or at least get a hose to hook up to the tube connector and run it to a place where it won't drip onto the vehicle.

We must have had different types of batteries from the OEM. The vents on mine were just small holes on the top of the battery -- they weren't nodes or connectors like the ones on my replacement battery - which looks just like the one in your picture.

 

This catch can just plugs into the hole after the plug is taken out.
I'm sure that these catch cans are available at battery stores.

 

I needto replace mine as well, but am afraid after reading about all the things that could go wrong. Did you have any problems changing yours? Please respond.

 

There is nothing really that can go wrong, undo the two battery terminals, un-clamp the battery, move cables out of the way and lift battery out of the car. Put the new battery in and reverse the sequence. You may have to reset the radio, I think that depends on how long the battery was disconnected. You may have to turn the steering wheel lock to lock to get the ESP/BAS light to go out. That too is a sometimes yes and sometimes no situation.
There is some sparking when moving the terminals, just keep that to a minimum.
Make sure you have a catch basin on the battery toward the cars front and a plug in the hole at the opposite end. You do not want acid spilled out these holes, of course if the battery is one without vents (AGM) you are good to go.

 

I went down to my local Advance Auto Parts store and bought the Autocraft Gold, Group Size 48, 730 CCA Battery. Perfect replacement fit. They rolled it out on their maint. cart, removed my old bat and installed the new one FREE! They even hooked up a battery bypass so you don't loose any electrical settings (such as saved radio stations, saved seat positions or resetting the clock) when the old battery is disconnected. So no need for any resets. Don't get much easier and safer then that!!!

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/a...15000|L3*15597

 

I hope you have the catch can and plug installed, they may not catch too much but better it in the catch basin than on your car. Look for the damage done on other cars if you want to see.
I'd say you paid a bit too much, but if you're happy so am I.

 

Payed under $100 w/ coupons and incentives. And yes, have can and plug. Very happy with same bat in both Xfires.

 

Good advice, Thanks!

 

I took the battery replacement advice provided by this wonderful forum (thanks Onehundred80) and just used 2 coupon codes for the purchase of the AGM battery from Advance Auto Parts (retailmenot.com (thanks West Peterson) from $174.99, ($50 off), add in the core charge $18 and tax (IL is too high) total is $156 and change. Not bad considering I have been a die hard Sears Auto Diehard battery loyal customer but the warranties on Sears batteries are not what they use to be. Sears was quoting $236 with testing/installation on their AGM Diehard. AGM warranty- only 3 years. (saved $80)Thanks to all!

 

That's really not such a bad deal since they connected the battery bypass to save all of the settings. May have to look into that option when I replace the battery in my 2007 Limited Coupe.

Later,