I looked at one throught work. Even at my cost it was hard to not try another Delco at $65. Odysseys are good but they are also expensive.

 

Being the good Samaritan that I am I do not like the battery placement on my HHR.

I have been known to jump start {or at least try to jump start} vehicles for anyone who needs a jump.

The under the hood thing just doesn't cut it like a direct to the battery connection does.

Its usually only a minor PITA to dig down to the battery in the back to connect my jumper cables.

I've been jump starting cars since before I even had a license so I do know how to do it without taking out someones computer.

I have heard horror stories about folks who manage to totally hose vehicles though.

In the early '80's my little sister was driving a '74 Maverick Grabber. One fine weekend she and her boyfriend at the time {now her husband} decided to drive into Chicago to see Webb Wilder at a bar in the city.

They got a motel and stayed the night. When they were leaving the next day some other folks who has also stayed at the motel couldn't get their car to start so she offered them a jump.

They worked a long time with the jumper cables connected letting the dead car take a charge. The owner of the other car was convinced that the cables were not making a good enough connection so he wiggled the clamps which made a spark and the battery being charged blew right up.
My sister felt real bad about it and offered to buy the folks a new battery but the man said he knew that charging batteries caused hydrogen gas to form and he was the idiot who caused the spark.

She did take them to the nearest place to get another battery and stayed around to see to it that their car did indeed start.

The battery placement in some vehicles it truly bad.

In my MGB there are two 6 volt batteries behind the seats. I put heavy wire under the car to a pair of battery terminals {you can buy them to convert side post batteries to work with top post cables} and located those up under the hood on a hunk of fiberglass insulation.

That makes it a lot handier to jump folks with the MG.

My younger brothers step son had a Chrysler {I don't remember which model} that had a really stupid battery location. You had to remove the drivers side front tire then remove the inner fender well and some electronics package then finally you could get to the battery.

There was no provision to jump start the car under the hood. When my brother had it out the battery looked smaller than what I use in my riding lawn mower.

I don't know if the Delco in my '06 HHR is original or not, since I've never had a problem with it I haven't looked close enough at it to see but it is a Delco battery.

 

I have an 06 HHR 2LT with 246 K on it, original Battery.....wonder when it will fail. And Oh, I LOVE my HHR

 

There is no timetable to replace a battery. Listen for slow cranking in cold weather and slower cranking overall, then get it load tested to see if its on its way out.....till signs show, don't worry about it.

 

I shoot down to my local Advance Auto parts & have them test the entire system, coming up on 5 years, so I have done this last year, & recently this year.. & use a bettery tender when it sleeps, since I ride the bikes most..

So far so good.. (Hope I didn't just jinx myself)......

 

Just went over 100k on my 07 with stock battery. It has had 1800 watts being pulled out of it with a sound quality setup for 2 years. I did get a solar panel last week, thinking it may have trouble this winter. So far no issues starting up though.

 

Sleeper - I'm just the opposite - I used a battery tender on my Bike over last winter - and basically it trashed the battery - Bought a new one this spring but I think this winter I'm NOT going to use the tender and simply start it up and run the bike every few weeks or more.....Didn't have any issue with a lawn tractor that sits outside all winter every winter - but one jump in the springtime and she's been good to go all summer long. Some say battery tenders are good - Others say simply let them sit or give them the occasional start and idle for a while.......There's so many things that work for some and NOTs for others.....Hope your NOT Jinxed either! LOL

 

afornal- Bummer about yer bike battery.. I have several battery tenders & swear by them..

Batteries can not sulfate if they remain at full charge. Maybe your tender did not go into 'float mode' when it full charged the battery ?

That would cook it, like the old school battery chargers.

 

I used a battery tender in my Fiero last winter. My battery died horrible death to the point I could not even jump start it this year. I know it was not the tender because the battery didi not fail till August but it does make you tenetive to putting it on again.

TO be fair this battery was almost 9 years old. I am sure I will put it on again.

 

Rather than the actual 'Battery Tender', I use a Schumacher Battery Companion. It has never caused any problems with any battery I've used it on. Whatever type you use, you have to be certain it's functioning properly. If it doesn't switch from full charge to float mode when it's supposed to, it will damage the battery as Sleeper said. As far as jumping vehicles, with these modern vehicles that are so dependant on electronics, I'll use a portable jumper if someone needs a jump rather than my car. I can be a 'good samaritan' without jeopardizing my vehicle.