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Cruze Battery Upgrade Options

188K views 121 replies 52 participants last post by  controlsgirl 
#1 · (Edited)
I had this discussion with bartonmd on the FB group earlier today and he provided a few options for battery replacement upgrades over what we have from GM. As you guys may know, the 1.8/1.4T battery tray is adjustable and has plenty of room left for a bigger battery.

Here are the specs for the OEM H5/47 group size, from an AutoCraft Gold battery:

H5/47:
520 Cold cranking amps
7.5" Height
9.57" Length
6.938" Width
Weight: 45 lbs
Price: $161.99

The following two group sizes fit in our battery trays. Here are the specs I found for the Advance Auto AutoCraft Platinum AGM battery. I strongly recommend any AGM battery. I've posted the differences over the OEM battery (assuming the AutoCraft Gold is equivalent or similar) in bolded green. The CCA specs and prices will vary slightly but not by a whole lot.

H6/48:
760 Cold cranking amps (+240 CCA = +46%)
7.5" Height
11" Length
6.938" Width
Weight: 45.66lbs (+0.66lbs = +1.5%)
Price: $174.99 (+$13 = +8%)

H7/94R:
850 CCA (+330 CCA = +63%)
7.5" Height
12.44" Length
6.938" Width
Weight: 51.83lbs (+6.83lbs = +15%)
Price: $187.99 (+$26 = +16%)


Here is what the OEM H5 battery looks like in the battery tray:


Here is what the H6/48 battery looks like in the battery tray:


Here's a picture of the H7/94R battery in the Cruze:



Remember, if you have an Advance Auto Parts store near by, there is almost always a 30% coupon available that will knock $50 off the price of a battery. Order online to pick up in store.
 
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#2 ·
What impact will a larger battery have on our variable output alternators?
 
#4 ·
Thanks - my battery is starting to show early signs of wearing out. My voltage sits at 14.7-15+ for longer and longer even with the same external temperatures.
 
#6 ·
Mine was exhibiting this behaviour last fall, but since I kept and have still been using the delco battery in a different application, I'm not sure it was the battery. I did however find the ground by the headlight loose when I swapped the battery, might be worth a check.

Happy I replaced it though, would not have wanted to mess around with the possibility of a bad battery with winter coming! I agree with Xtreme, AGM battery is the way to go. I bought a Sears Diehard Advanced gold AGM(group 47) which claims 600CCA. Believe the group 48 Sears AGM is 700CCA, If I had known this was an option when I bought mine I would have.
 
#5 ·
I Just looked into a purchase from Advance Auto Parts and at present there is a 15 % discount online and a $50.00 coupon being offered .

I have almost 4 years on this OEM Batterry at present Maybe I can push it until 5 years .
 
#8 ·
I've had real good experiences with the Sears Diehard batteries. Just have to tell the salesperson I want the biggest battery that will fit.
 
#12 · (Edited)
This is true, however some manufactures pay for the ones that test better. When I was around 20 years old I worked at a factory making shop vacs for sears and home depot, the sears branded ones the electric motor had to test above a certain level, all of those below that were put on the Ridgid branded ones.

I could have bought a duracell battery at Sams Club that was identical to the sears battery for much less money, but knowing the above I chose to spend the money on the name brand. Both even have the same warranty.

Duracell AGM Automotive Battery - Group Size 47 (H5) - Sam's Club

Sears.com
 
#13 ·
H7/94R:
850 CCA (+330 CCA = +63%)
7.5" Height
12.44" Length
6.938" Width
Weight: 51.83lbs (+6.83lbs = +15%)
Price: $187.99 (+$26 = +16%)

As you can see, there is plenty more room for the larger H7/94R battery in the Cruze. If anyone has a picture of an H7/94R in our battery tray, I'll upload it to this thread.
I believe that is the H7/94R that I posted. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Here's a photo of the Diesel OEM battery, which I think is the H7/94R as mentioned above:

Vehicle Auto part Engine Car City car
 
#16 ·
So I want to get a new battery either today or tomorrow. My choices are Diehard Advanced Gold or a Duralast Platinum in a 94r and both are the same price. I guess my quesitons is, one better than the other? Autozone is a mile away but Sears is about 20 and I don't care to drive. Thoughts?
 
#17 ·
Bit of a update....looked at Diesel Cruze 94R yesterday.......Delco CCA rating 730amps.

Also, this is a 'AGM' design.....uh.....uh.....brain fade.....darnit!

Can't remember what the bloomin 'A' stands for......anyways, the rest is for Glass Mat.......one of you geniuses will have to pipe in....old age sucks at times....this is one of those times.
Big time energy release capability.......must really give that high compression diesel quite a boot the moment the starter engages.

Rob
 
#18 ·
This may be a dumb question, considering it's obviously a larger battery. So, the larger battery will give you more cold cranking amps, but does that also mean that you get more amp hours. For example, can I listen to the radio longer with the engine off without worrying about killing the battery as quickly?
 
#30 ·
When installing one of these larger batteries, do you have to take the 2 or 3 positive wires off the curcuit block that is ontop of the positive side of the battery?

Rather than removal of just the two battery terminals and sliding the battery forward and then lifting up (with a small battery), I would assume that everything would have to be clear for a straight upward lift for one of these bigger models? Is there an easier way to do it, rather than disconnecting what could become an electrical issue in the future?

The 1.4L cables are long enough to position for the big diesel battery?

It's cold outside in Minnesota, and this is on my list, and I tend to open more of a can of worms than I have to!

Thanks-
 
#31 ·
1. No, you don't unhook anything other than the positive battery cable on the positive side.

2. I slide it in from the front just fine. I had my wife hold up the positive side thing while I slide it in.

3. The negative cable needs no mods. You can unhook your own and move it to see. It has to be moved out of the way when you slide it out anyway, so it's way longer than it needs to be anyway.

4. The positive side stays in the exact same place, so it isn't extended or anything.

5. Just put the new one in the same way you took the old one out, easiest upgrade out there next to putting a go fast sticker on your car.
 
#32 ·
Thanks Bulldog!

I don't have an Advance near me, but we do have Sears and Mills Fleet Farm pretty close. (That's a farm supply store in Minnesota and Wisconsin.) I'm going to keep my eye out for black friday deals on this one. I was googling this about a year ago, and it looked like a H7 would fit, but at that time nobody had tried it. Glad to see it works.

My local Walmart and Sams, have no returns on batteries once purchased unless defective, and Walmart actually mentioned they may void the warranty for a battery not installed in the appropriate vehicle.

Those of us doing this ourselfs understand what we're doing, and understand how this battery tray works. It appears that some places will only install and warranty the battery that's listed in the book. If you're ever asked what car did this come out of, you can always say the "diesel version".

Anything to not consider paying on the warranty. Crazyness
 
#33 · (Edited)
we do have Sears and Mills Fleet Farm pretty close. (That's a farm supply store in Minnesota and Wisconsin.)

My local Walmart and Sams, have no returns on batteries once purchased unless defective, and Walmart actually mentioned they may void the warranty for a battery not installed in the appropriate vehicle.
We've got Mills Fleet Farm here in the northern edge of Iowa too - Great store. I've never checked out their batteries there, though. What brand are they? I used to go with the Sears Die Hard batteries, but the last one I put in my wife's van only lasted 2 years, and our local store has given me a hard time about giving me my core refund because of being a couple days late to return the old battery. Lately, I've been getting Interstate batteries from my tire guy, and I've been pretty happy with the results.

I wouldn't buy a battery from WalMart or Sams unless it was the last battery in town and there was a hurricane or lava flow approaching. I'll get jeans, canned goods, or generic allergy pills there, but won't touch anything electronic or anything in the automotive department except oil. Back when I was selling computers for another retailer, I learned from the HP, Lexmark, and Canon reps who visited our store how Walmart purchases their products.

Ever notice how the average grocery store might sell a 24 pack of a product or a 12 oz. package, but Walmart sells a 20 pack or a 10.5 oz. package to get the price down? They do the same thing with electronics. Let's say that the national model of an HP computer is 1234us, but Walmart is selling the 1234b or the 1234sc. Or maybe a printer is the Canon 123, but Walmart is selling a 123c. Those different or additional letters at the end of the model number mean that they have modified the product for WalMart distribution. It's usually in the fine print specs. All the big numbers might be the same (like processor speed or amount of RAM on a computer), but deeper details (like using a 5400rpm hard drive instead of a 7200 or having fewer expansion slots) have been altered to reduce the cost of the product. That's why many times you can't get a price match from Target or Best Buy on a Walmart product - because it's actually a different product, even though the model number is almost identical. Similar tactics are used on TVs, Digital Cameras, etc.

Knowing they do that on electronics makes me really cautious about what they might be doing to batteries or other parts that I depend on to keep my car working reliably.
 
#41 ·
Spacedout-

I think you're exactly right. The reason why the 2011-2012 Cruzes have the 525 CCA battery vs the 600+ in the 2013 all comes down to weight. Sure the larger batteries may weigh an additional 10-15 lbs, but I really don't think that weight will change fuel economy signficantly. I added a rear hitch to mine, and that's nearly 40 lbs, and didn't see a significant difference in mpg. More accurate weight can be found searching individual batterys. Sears I believe lists weights.

Yes, all the weight everywhere adds up, and must be considered. I've never read the actual amp draw of the starter when starting this vehicle, but I assume its fairly low, compared to a V8 normally asperated vehicle running dino oil.

One theory may be a larger battery gives a longer life simply due to the fact that a Cruze will probably operate longer at 50% battery capacity if the battery started out as a 700+ CCA, vs. the 550 or 600.

I'm not sure how much of a difference it makes, but traditional lead acid batteries have a Northern Design and a Southern Design based on were you live. It has to do with the Lead to Acid Ratio. CCA vs. cooling capacity (Boil Over Protection) for warmer climates.

The factory battery is a one size fits all, and unfortuantely I think even a standard off the shelf appropriate climate battery sized with the standard H5 series may be better than the factory battery.

I wouldn't doubt the factory battery was rated at 525 CCA because there was a weight spec on it.
 
#42 ·
I wouldn't doubt the factory battery was rated at 525 CCA because there was a weight spec on it.
I replaced my stock battery last fall with a sears agm(group 47, direct replacement 600CCA). Seemed the AGM battery was lighter than the stock battery, if I would have been thinking I should have weighed them.

My car sits outside 100% of the time, on previous cars anything more than 8-10hours on below zero nights my car would start a bit hard in the AM(even with new batteries). The stock cruze battery was fine at 18hrs, the AGM was at 24hrs in the same conditions. Imagine I could go a couple days in the winter with even the stock setup if I really wanted to push it. Don't think it takes much to turn over this tiny engine.
 
#43 ·
Kinda weird.....I was looking at a 2015 Cruze yesterday and it had the 525ah......so does the 4cyl Equanox.

Are you sure that you are seeing the SAE rating? (Two ratings are shown....SAE and I don't recall the other because here in the US and I think all of North America we only are concerned with the SAE.)

Rob
 
#44 ·
Robb- I'm not infront of my 2012, but I know what you mean with two numbers on the original label. I looked at it yesterday and I believe 525 CCA was the Society of Automotive Engineers rating. I think that's what SAE stands for, but I may be having a brain freeze!
 
#52 ·
Does anyone have an opinion about replacing a standard lead acid battery for super capacitors in parallel. For instance several 12v capacitors in parallel to match the CCA of a normal car battery granted you might spend as much an optima battery but the 40lb.+ weight savings would be a big deal.
 
#53 ·
Does anyone have an opinion about replacing a standard lead acid battery for super capacitors in parallel.
Only if they are sold for that application. Capacitors and batteries are two very different animals. Do a Google for "capacitor discharge curve" and "lead acid battery discharge curve" and you'll see what I mean. A battery holds it's voltage as it's capacity is used up, but a capacitor drops like a rock.
 
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