[seanbeckaroo]

IMHO the best battery for the Enclave is an Interstate MTP H6. The OEM Delco's are known to be short lived.

Absolutely, Interstate is the best battery, period. And, they have the best warranty. Plus, you can get one for $100 on a military base, tax free.

 

[john 070]

Can't remember if I ever told this story....my buddy and I were in his '85 Maxima back in the day (it was like 10 y.o.), and was having trouble, so we roll into a gas station at the corner of 1st Ave. and E 96th St., as we were trying to make it off of the FDR Drive northbound.

Both of us had AAA at the time, call, and 1 hour later nobody shows, another hour nobody shows. So finally he breaks down and asks the garage (3 AM on a Sun. morning) how much for a battery, and the guy says $160 (el gouge'oh grando). So my friend says nah, I'll give you $100, and that's already twice what it's worth (it was some base model AC Delco). They guy laughs and says $160. So my buddy without missing a beat says, give me a hand, we're going to push it over to the pumps and wait for AAA. And we start pushing it! The guy starts yelling $100!!! Ah, no tools. We need a small adjustable wrench--ask the guy for one, and he says $20. Again, we go to the car to start pushing it over to the pumps, and he hands us a wrench. We finally get the battery in and off we go to the races. NYC can be a nasty place at times when you're down.

Anyhow, the battery failed in less than a year, and he was able to get a new one from an auto parts store that carried AC Delco. This is why I thought I'd have to find a store like that to replace my AC Delco lifetime starter, and if you check the website, there are like 4 places in the City of New York. Not joking, type in 10016, and there are 4 AC Delco retailers. And you know the Pep Boys of the world will not take something back when you got it elsewhere, warranty or not. That's why I was glad I got it from rockauto....

 

[jerseydevil]

I Just prophylactically replaced the battery in my 2010 with an Interstate MTP 48/H6. I have never had good luck with Delco's. All the GM OEM batteries have failed on me within four years, usually at inappropriate times, and the one in the Enclave was nearing that mark. Here are a couple of tips:

1. The cables are in the way. I tied them back with a cord.

2. The only way to get the old battery out is to lift it straight up. there is very little room in the box. I managed to get a cord under the battery and lift it straight up with that.

3. Make sure you put the vent tube back in the left side of the battery and plug the right hole with the supplied plug.

I got a great deal on the battery - $115 out the door with no exchange. The battery retails for $156.95. The dealer would probably charge you well over $200 for a crappy Delco. :cheers:

 

[jerseydevil]

BTW anyone interested in a four year old Delco group 48? :happy:

 

[rockyp]

Sure, I'll only charge you $20 plus shipping! ;D

 

[rbarrios]

I think its Oreillys that will give you a $5 (maybe $10) gift card-- with the turn in of a battery...
You dont have to buy one from them....

 

[Orion42]

I Just prophylactically replaced the battery in my 2010 with an Interstate MTP 48/H6. I have never had good luck with Delco's. All the GM OEM batteries have failed on me within four years, usually at inappropriate times, and the one in the Enclave was nearing that mark.

I just sold my 2005 Caddy CTS with the original battery still in it performing fine. This is in New England and it had over 100K miles on it. While I have had some short-lived Delco batteries, I can't say that they're any better or worse than others. This seems to show they have potential to last a long time... Feb '05 - Feb '13 is 8 years!!

 

[dzs3fz]

Just wondering how many actual U.S. battery manufactures are there? Which ones slap on which decals?

 

[GoldEnclave]

I was also wondering how much private labeling is actually occurring. I bet that many batteries are the same, but have different brand labels.

 

[jerseydevil]

I was also wondering how much private labeling is actually occurring. I bet that many batteries are the same, but have different brand labels.

I'm pretty sure Interstate manufactures their own.-- INTERSTATE is molded right into the case. Delco probably also. Many of the store brands like Autozone, Pepboys, Kmart, Wallmart etc are probably made by the same or several manufacturers and just branded differently.

" Battery manufacturers, distributors, or large chain stores will often private label their batteries, for example in the U.S., EverStart
for Wal*Mart, DieHard for Sears and DuraLast for Auto Zone in the United States. The larger chain stores might have batteries
with their private label made by several manufacturers depending on the location to reduce shipping costs or to provide more
different types or sized of batteries"

 

[medicrxdoc]

Just wondering how many actual U.S. battery manufactures are there? Which ones slap on which decals?

Johnson Controls (Interstate and some Walmart Ever start), Exide and Deka/East Penn.

 

[SpaceRocks1]

I just replaced my 2008 Enclave battery with a Walmart EverStart MAXX-H6, about $116 (not on sale). This battery was Recommended by Consumer Reports for its Group size. I knew where the battery was located in the car before I went to the store. This saved me time dealing with the installers, as Walmart has a policy not to install batteries in any location other than with easy access in the engine compartment. Installation is normally free at Walmart. I'm not sure if they would have installed it for an extra charge; I didn't ask because I was fairly sure it wouldn't be difficult. The worst part of the installation was getting the old battery out of the well in which it is sitting. Take out the trim piece that covers the rear seat rails before removing the battery well cover, but be careful: the trim piece has several clips underneath that pop out fairly easily, but the trim piece might break if you aren't careful. There isn't much extra space around the battery and of course it is extremely heavy. The OEM battery (Delco) doesn't have a handle; I was able to get a nylon strap under it to lift it up high enough to get hold of it. Fortunately, the EverStart does have a handle. It also has a gas port in the same location as the OEM battery, so the vent tube fits right in. I was afraid to install the battery with the tube already in it, in case I caught it on the edge of the well and broke it. I lifted the battery out just enough that my wife, working from the other side of the passenger compartment, could insert the tube into the port and I could lower the battery again. Be sure to keep the battery as far forward in the well as possible when you re-install the hold-down clamp. Everything else worked as described above.

 

[BadAV]

Johnson Controls (Interstate and some Walmart Ever start), Exide and Deka/East Penn.

Sounds right to me, the last I knew, which was probably 7 or 8 years ago. JCI used to make Diehard batteries but the last I knew, someone else (Exide?) got the contract. Motorcraft batteries also were made by JCI. My info goes back to about 1990 so it's pretty old - I used to work for JCI.

 

[mike in az]

I just finished replacing the battery in my wife's 2009 Enclave (original Delco in there) and the information in this forum was very helpful. I searched around for a source of the correct battery and found out that some stores don't carry the 48/H6 form factor including my local Costco, so it pays to call ahead. I used this site for some information on the OEM manufacturer Johnson Controls:

/bestbatterytips.com/tags/who-makes-die-hard-batteries/

After looking at the various labeled versions of the Johnson controls 48/H6 battery, I choose the EverStart Maxx-H6 from Walmart like RockStar1. I found that the Maxx-H6 had a slightly lower price at $109.97 then the other labeled versions around my town, and it had a 5yr pro-rated warranty including free replacement in the first 36 months.

For removal and replacement I followed the original posters outline with a couple of minor differences.

1) My battery cover hold down bolt was a TORX - T20.

2) I did not disconnect the secondary wires. In fact I kept this all together and attached a small 12 v battery across the two main battery cables prior to removal from the posts to keep the car settings intact.

3) I used a 13 mm socked on the single battery hold down bolt on a long extension but a 1/2" or 9/16" will also work.

4) Make sure you move the passengers seat as far forward as you can and tilt the seat-back forward as well to get as much room as possible for lifting out the battery.

5) Get an inexpensive battery lift strap that grabs the battery posts. This is really helpful and allows you to pull the batter straight up and out.

6) The battery has two vent holes about 3/16" diameter located in the sides of the vent cover. This is to allow for attaching the vent tube into either side of the battery. One side connects to the plastic elbow and the vent tube while the opposite side has a small white plug. The new battery did not have vent tube elbow or plug so I had to remove them from the old battery and insert into the new battery. If you don't use the plug the battery fumes will vent into the battery compartment and maybe the Enclave interior.

With the information on the forum and a little planning, the actual battery swap is easy (with the lift strap). I actually did it in the Walmart parking lot and took the old battery back into the store for the core charge refund.

Thanks all. :thumb:

 

[GoldEnclave]

mike in az, that was a terrific first post. This will likely come in handy for many of us. :thumb:

 

[cfedor]

It WAS a great post - not my pics.. And I have replaced my original OEM AC/Delco with a Optima drycell ($163.47) BUT :worthless:

 

[sklunk]

It WAS a great post - not my pics.. And I have replaced my original OEM AC/Delco with a Optima drycell ($163.47) BUT :worthless:

So are you folks trying to remove the battery without removing the floor track trim? The portion of the track trim that sticks out over the battery compartment just pops off. You can do it before you remove the Torx screw but it's actually easier to get your hand under the trim if you remove the battery cover first (see cfedor's picture with the battery cover removed). After you take that trim piece off you can lift the battery straight up and out of the compartment. The OP also mentions this in the first step of his instructions:

1) Locate the Battery cover on the floor behind the passenger seat. You'll need to remove the floor mats and passenger middle seat floor track trim (just pull up on the trim and it will come up.

 

[rbarrios]

Like so....

 

[GoldEnclave]

Thanks, guys! :thumb:

 

[cfedor]

So are you folks trying to remove the battery without removing the floor track trim? The portion of the track trim that sticks out over the battery compartment just pops off. You can do it before you remove the Torx screw but it's actually easier to get your hand under the trim if you remove the battery cover first (see cfedor's picture with the battery cover removed). After you take that trim piece off you can lift the battery straight up and out of the compartment. The OP also mentions this in the first step of his instructions:

1) Locate the Battery cover on the floor behind the passenger seat. You'll need to remove the floor mats and passenger middle seat floor track trim (just pull up on the trim and it will come up.

Thanks, sklunk! I left that very important detail out.... oops!