Before you go thru the B.S. of trying to get a battery to fit that’s not meant for your car,. look for the battery date code of manufacture.
The battery you’re trying to get to fit may not last long it’s 5 years old or older.
Tester
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That battery in the first picture you posted is already 7 years old, it doesn’t have much life left in it.
30/June/2018
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I understand that, but doesn’t it being 100% charged mean something? I just want more power than what I had before.
I can see that, but if it works for @ least a year, that’s better than the economy one I used. If anyone can estimate exactly how long it’ll last, then it’s 100% worth reconsideration. I’m just disappointed w/ what I already got.
You could recharge the other battery, it doesn’t take much effort.
And now that it has sat off the charger for a few hours, what is it’s voltage?
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That means nothing.
Have battery conductance test performed on the battery to determine its real condition.
Tester
In other words, you have no idea what you’re doing. You “guessed” it wasn’t the alternator (did you ever check the charging voltage with a meter?). And you hit the starter “lightly w/ a hammer” and that was your test? And you refer to “the weak battery.” Why was it “weak?” maybe all of that bling is giving you a parasitic draw. And how did you check the main power cables?
Here’s what I say - you’re set on what you’re doing. So buy the thingamajig that might hook up your wrongly sized and oriented battery to the car and give it a whirl. I’d imagine that the CCA is fine for the car and you just need to hook it up. All you’re talking about is needing extensions to make the cables reach. It’s not rocket science.
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I did that (w/ the newer battery) & it charged from 86% to 100% in just minutes @ only 2 amps… something seems wrong w/ that.
It kept its’ charge quite nicely, actually. It’s still reading 13.2/3 volts.
I was going to go to AutoZone or Advance Auto Parts to have this done, actually; my car engineer/mechanic friend told me they do it there for free. He also said he used a single ground cable to successfully fix the issue of the terminal not reaching the post on his Insight (b/c the battery had the posts on the opposite side). So his experience contradicts some of the advice I’ve gotten here about using a single ground cable.
Well why I guessed it wasn’t the alternator was b/c I completely stopped using all of my “bling” & the issue still persisted, so I presumed it mustn’t be that it’s affecting my system’s electrical power in the present, but it may have had a parasitic/long-term drain on the battery instead. As far as the starter, I seldom hear the repeated clicking noises (sometimes I do after trying to start it w/ NOTHING for a while), so I don’t think it’s a mechanical issue w/ something inside of the starter.
That’s probably what I’m going to do after getting the batteries more thoroughly tested @ an auto store. I didn’t think it was rocket science either. My friend managed to do it w/ a rudimentary little ground cable between the terminal & the post.
Just for the benefit of someone that might wander in here in ten years, having the posts of the battery on the wrong side, means that it is the wrong battery. Not that it won’t work, but the location of the terminals is part of the battery specs. Get the proper battery and no need to extend the cables. I would have thought an engineer would know that.
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He did, but he was working on some weird '99 Insight & was tuning it for maximum fuel efficiency, amongst a plethora of other things likely. I don’t know exactly why he’d do what I’m doing, but he likely had a reason other than just having a premium battery that’s been sitting for years.
You posted that the positive cable does not reach. While the color of the cable does not matter, be aware that positive and negative battery posts are different sizes.
Some battery terminal ends are universal fit, can be used on positive or negative post. Others are sized to fit only positive (large) or negative (small) posts.
Tape up the joint for the cable extension so it doesn’t come in contact with any metal and also so no one can see what you did.