I'm driving a '86 Volvo 240 wagon, and the battery is on its last legs. At the end of last winter, it died a couple of times..though I made it until the warmer spring weather. However, now that winter is upon us again, the battery won't start in the cold weather...specifically with frequent on/off drives (It was dead on the 4th ignition with only 10 minutes of driving)

Anyway. I'm pretty sure it's just the battery (I haven't checked how old it is). So I'm looking for suggestions for a new one. Do I have to get Group 47? Or will the battery tray on the 240 hold a different one? Though I love my 240, I don't have the cash to put a top dollar battery in there (I wish I did). Anyone have any luck with other sizes?

Also, if you don't think it's the battery let me know.

 

Well, Autozone or Advance Auto will test your battery and charging system for free, so start there. Also, it generally takes 1/2 hour of constant driving to charge your battery back up to where it was before you stressed it out by starting the car. 4 starts in 10 minutes is a lot of strain on a battery. While this is most likely your battery (you don't say how old it is), you may also want to check your battery cables to make sure you have good connections and a good ground so that you know that not only is your car charging but that charge is actually getting to the battery.

 

I'm rolling with a crappy walmart battery and it serves its purpose.

 

I now need to replace my battery (a contact post broke loose, who's heard of that?), I'm finding that most places want 130.00 bucks for one. Is that normal? I was thinking around 70 at the most. Did Obauma pass another law to make owning an old car more of a pain?

 

I checked the AZ site they want $154.00!

 

no, but i hope he passes a law to prohibit really stupid people from playing with batteries, for their own good.

 

Unfortunately, battery prices have really jumped in price in the last couple of years. My personal belief is that China is having difficulty extracting lead from the paint they produce to make the battery plates. Our price for the smaller of the 2 batteries for 240's is $105...it was $78 3 years ago. That's for an Interstate...not the Neverlast AZ crap. If you live never a large city, look for an Interstate battery sales center...not someone that sells Interstate, an actual Interstate storefront. They only leave batteries on our shelves for 90 days and then they rotate them out. The older ones get charged and sold for less at their storefront locations. Since wet cell batteries don't really deteriorate until put into service, these batteries are a heck of a deal.
Battery posts come loose frequently for a variety of reasons.

 

VolvoQ's. What battery are you using that fits on the tray? I'm thinking that that might be my best bet. Or what do I need to look for in a battery to make sure it will work with my 240?

 

Go to the junkyard and get a battery that fits for $10. They should test them as well. The last one I bought was $70 at Auto Zone (maybe $60). That was three or four years ago.

 

It's whatever battery walmart says fits the car. I have a 740 also, may be different. Also, it fits like crap and I question if it's the right battery! But it was cheap and it works.

If you plan on keeping it a long time and/or it's a nice car, get the interstate, it is a great battery and what I usually use on cars I keep long term and cost more than 10x the battery.

China extracting lead from paint for batteries...anyone? Bueller? Good joke.

 

I got a NEW AC Delco for $20. :-) Love the AC Delco dealer that will let us take blemish batteries for next to nothing.

 

Oh, you got me!

 

The real reason for the jump in battery prices is complex, but one of the big reasons is that currently there are only 3 corporations in the US that are manufacturing batteries. These corporations will often more or less connive with each other to fix prices, even though that is illegal, but there is no antitrust enforcement anymore, thanks to the Repugs. Duh. Some battery form factors are now obsolete as well, such as the one in my 240, and production costs go down with volume, since the overhead and fixed costs can be spread out over more units. Not many of these older bats are sold anymore. Oh, and last time I checked, EVERYTHING is more expensive, including fuels. My last Bat was an interstate, and according to the little punch outs, it's been performing for about 8+ years under severe conditions. The warranty was 65 months and it is only now starting to poop out. Hope Interstate hasn't been bought out by some vampire corporation!

 

What swiftjustice said is true. I am currently running an interstate battery in my 240 that I got for $35. They sold it as "blemished" or something of that sort. Doesn't hold a new battery warranty but warranties are just added cost. For my older cars, this seems to be the cheapest way to go.

 

Very odd this post came up but I just happened to be looking last week so I will comment. Costco is the best bet on battery deals. If you google Costco battery types there is a guy that lists the measurements of the common car batteries they usually have available. if you are willing to spend for a better quality battery then wait for Sears to have their AGM go on sale. I installed one of these on my FJ80 Toyota Landcruiser and it works great. Maybe overkill for a Volvo but depends on your needs and your cash.

Sears.com

For driving an old 240 I would go with what fits and meets the 47 CCA should be fine. I also read many people going with the group 48.

 

the reason lead-acid batteries are expensive is A) there's a global lead shortage, B) lead and lead processing is highly toxic, and C) lead-acid batteries are heavy, so transportation costs are high.

I'm only aware of two actual lead-acid battery manufacturers in the US, Johnson Controls, and Deka.

 

Well I popped for a new battery for Christine, our 1983 242 DL two door, non turbo, sunroof, recently punched in the nose, thanks son, Volvo. It still drives after how many miles? Don't know, cause the odometer stopped years ago. LOL. I went with Interstate. My old Interstate battery was warrantied for 6 years and it lasted 8+. I tracked down the local distribution warehouse in Benicia, about 24 miles from here, and brought in the old BCI Group 46 Bat and had them suggest an alternative. Apparently group 46, which is the original call out, is extinct. I did my INTERNET search and the only place that has anything close to a 46 is in England, and of course they don't deliver batteries to the US. So they suggested an group 24, their Interstate I-24, whose CCA is just shy of the CCA of the old 46, but then this is Kalifornia, not Minnesota, so I figured 10 or so CCA amps less wouldn't matter. The price was right, $78 dollars out the door with a core return, for a 4 year warranty green top bat. The real kicker is it doesn't have a flange, or 'shoe', at the bottom edge of the bat, which is what the OEM battery hold down system uses to hold the bat down. Seems like the Big Three US Battery Makers have all decided this is obsolete. So now we have a new challenge - securing the new shoe less bat in the engine bay. After scrounging around at O'Reilly's I found a combination of hold down apparatus and replacement tray that seemed to work for around $15. This new arrangement required removing the old 'shoe' holding, metal bat tray, and installing the new, thick plastic (yuk ), bat tray in it's place, and fixing it to the chassis support brackets with the same 13mm bolts, minus one that couldn't be lined up. After all the dust settled, it seems pretty secure, but I'm going to be watching it like a hawk to see if it starts to come apart. Car started right up and purred like a kitten. We b back on da woad! Hallelujah!

 

odd, I had no trouble last year getting a flange-mount battery for our older Mercedes ... I think that takes group 49.

I'm pretty sure Group 47 is still made, and fits the 740/940 volvos at least, and has the flanges. indeed, my 740 has a group 47 (just looked) and its clamped by its flanges.

one thing to watch out for, some battery groups have the plus and minus terminals swapped.

 

I put in a Bosch S3 in my 240 --- really a great battery, and I think around 150 ish dollars.

 

BCVolvo - what group size ?

It is looking like 240's used group 46, which is no longer made. my poking around suggested that group 47 has its terminals reversed, so can't be used without having to length the cables. smaller sizes won't clamp down in the tray.