This will start them all

1. The technical data

Do you need a regular starter battery or a start-stop battery?

In start-stop vehicles, the engine stops every time the vehicle is in neutral. This saves petrol and reduces air pollution. However, this means an extremely high load for the battery.

It has to start much more often, i.e. deliver high currents, than a normal starter battery. At the same time, it has to supply the consumers while the engine stops. Between stops, it only has a short time to recover the necessary current.

Therefore, only start-stop batteries designed for this load may be used in vehicles with start-stop systems. Normal starter batteries would age extremely quickly.

Then the only question left is: Do you need an EFB or AGM start-stop battery?

Do you need an AGM or EFB start-stop battery?

If an EFB start-stop battery is installed at the factory, it can be replaced again with an EFB start-stop battery. An upgrade to AGM is always possible.

If an AGM start-stop battery is installed at the factory, it may only be replaced with an AGM start-stop battery.

AGM batteries, with their high cold-start performance and good current consumption, are a good basis for start-stop batteries. EFB (Enhanced Flooded Battery) have similar strengths. They have evolved from the conventional flooded battery. A calcium grid alloy ensures better current transport in the cell and a higher cycle stability than in the classic wet battery. More information about the characteristics of the two start-stop types under intAct Start-Stop-Power AGM or intAct Start-Stop-Power EFB.

Installation dimensions and terminals

First of all, a battery must fit in your vehicle or machine. Check the dimensions of your old battery or the available space in the battery compartment of your vehicle.

The placement of the terminals, i.e. where exactly the positive and negative terminals are located on the battery, and where the venting takes place, also play a role. If the poles are positioned differently than intended for your vehicle or machine, the lengths of the connecting cables may not be long enough, the poles may not be accessible or the battery may not fit in the intended place.

Equally important is the shape of the connection or end terminals, so that the screws or clamps present on your cables can be attached to the battery.

To ensure that your new battery fits your vehicle, the easiest way is to use our battery finder. All batteries that are suggested to you here for your vehicle are selected by us so that dimensions and specifications fit.

If you can't find your vehicle in the battery finder, the only thing that will help is to measure the old battery or the available space, cable lengths and connections.

On US vehicles, the connections are sometimes mounted differently (US front pole) and have different shapes than European or Asian vehicle models. Especially for these vehicles there is the intAct US-Power.

Voltage fits

In order not to damage either the connected loads or the battery, the voltage of the battery must fit.

Batteries are available with 6 or 12 volts. They consist of 3 or 6 cells of 2.12 volts each.

For applications that require more voltage, such as the on-board network of a truck, several 12-volt batteries are connected in series.

Always select battery suitable for load (CCA and Ah)

Ideally, current drain and current output should be in balance. This prevents the battery from ageing prematurely.

In the case of starter batteries, this means above all that the battery does not go into deep discharge when starting.

The cold start performance and the capacity play a role:

Cold start performance (CCA)

Starter batteries primarily have to start the vehicle. To do this, they must deliver as much current as possible during the starting process, so the battery's high-current characteristics are important. The cold cranking amps (CCA) value provides information about the starting performance. It indicates the maximum current that the battery can provide for 30 seconds under optimum conditions. Depending on what kind of vehicle you want to start, more or less starting power is needed. A large capacity construction vehicle needs more power than a modern scooter.

Our battery finder suggests the batteries that match the starting power of your vehicle.

Relevant to capacity: The electrical consumers

Even before the engine is started, the starter battery has to do a lot and supply standard equipment such as the lighting system. This draws current from the battery, which is no longer available for starting.

Nowadays, there are also a number of consumers that draw current before starting or while driving: Every electrical control element, every sensor and many measuring instruments need electricity to do their work. Also heaters and every mobile device that is permanently or temporarily connected to the vehicle.
Add up all these consumers and the question arises:

• Is the current supplied by the alternator while driving enough to power all these consumers and charge the battery?

In order to check this, it is best to meticulously list all the consumers that are installed, especially all those that you have additionally installed, integrated or connected.
And find out how much current they require in amperes (A).
Batteries often have an Ah-value, which tells you how much current in amperes (A) the battery can supply for a certain duration in hours (h). Of course under optimal conditions.

Special case: cars with back-up battery

In some cars, so many consumers are installed from the outset that it would overload the starter battery to supply them. This is where so-called back-up batteries are used.

If your car is equipped with a back-up battery, you should replace it again with a battery for this purpose, like our intAct Back-Up-Power.

2. Your individual requirements

Each battery technology has particular strengths, but also weaknesses. Depending on the requirements your battery has to meet in the respective application, or which properties you want, some battery technologies are more suitable or less suitable.

It is important to weigh up the properties.

How long distances do you usually drive?

How much time does your battery normally have to charge? If your journeys are never shorter than 100 km, this is different from if you regularly only drive distances of 1 - 2 km. The alternator charges the battery with a steady, low current. It takes some time to compensate for the high current drain at the start.

It is difficult to predict how long this will take with your vehicle and your driving style. However, we recommend choosing a battery that starts well even when partially discharged and that has good charging characteristics, i.e. it recovers the current quickly, especially for short journeys.

If you mainly drive short distances, we have compiled some information about what happens in the battery and how you can prevent this: What is sulfation and what can you do about it.

Do you drive your vehicle regularly, only seasonally or only occasionally?

Some batteries are only used seasonally - those in classic cars, motorcycles, boats, jet skis or snowmobiles, but also in certain utility, security or clearance vehicles.

If a battery is installed in a vehicle that is not used for a long time, it will lose its voltage. This can have various reasons:

• Self-discharge of the battery
• Leakage currents
• Silent consumers

You can find out how to counteract this in our tips for the winter or summer break.

If the battery does not work reliably even after a very short standstill (a few days), we recommend that you check it thoroughly. We have compiled tips on how to do this here:

-[Detect what's wrong with the battery from the outside](popup://wissen:optical_check_frame).

-[Test like the pros](popup://wissen:test_step_by_step)

If the battery is left standing for a very long time and if it remains in a discharged state for too long, sulfation can occur, a typical "stand damage".

We recommend GEL batteries with low self-discharge for seasonal use. Or batteries based on AGM technology, which still deliver high cold start currents even when partially discharged.

For passenger cars and commercial vehicles with long standing times, batteries with low self-discharge, a high starting power and good charging behavior such as intAct Premium-Power are the right choice.

Is there a lot of engine vibration in your vehicle?

Especially in trucks and other high-displacement commercial vehicles with diesel engines, there are strong vibrations that cause the battery to age prematurely. Our truck batteries in SHD versions are vibration resistant according to V3, like the intAct Start-Power NG Truck, or V4, like the intAct Premium-Power Truck.

But also in heavy passenger cars like SUVs and off-road vehicles the performance of the battery can suffer from the mechanical vibrations and shocks.

AGM batteries offer a good option here with the glass fibre separators: in the Optima Redtop, the wound plates pressed into the battery housing provide additional protection for the active material, and in the Odyssey starter batteries, the tightly layered, precisely fitted plates made of 99.99 % pure lead.

Another option for both cars and trucks is the intAct Start-Stop-Power EFB (Enhanced Flooded Battery). This further developed flooded battery is also particularly vibration-resistant.

Does your vehicle need to start reliably even in extreme cold?

If your business relies on your diesel car or four-wheel drive off-road vehicle, your fleet of trucks or your commercial vehicles such as construction machinery, agricultural machinery or security vehicles starting under all conditions, you need particularly high cold start performance. AGM batteries, such as the Optima Redtop or the Odyssey starter batteries, deliver a lot of power quickly, even if they are no longer fully charged.

Do you want your battery to power loads even when the engine is off?

For example, lights and radio while you bridge the time until the next appointment as a field worker, wait for passengers as a driver or spend the night in the driver's cab (onboard living)?

When the engine is not running, all the power for the electrical consumers comes from the battery. You may know this when the car won't start in the morning because the lights or radio were on overnight. Batteries with good charge acceptance ensure that the state of charge rises enough, even during short trips, that the battery can deliver light, heat, and entertainment while waiting or resting. Because they also have good current output, they still start reliably even when partially charged. Alternating between charging while driving and discharging during rest or idle times stresses batteries differently than just starting them. They must be more resistant to cycling. The load and the requirements are comparable to those in a start-stop vehicle. Especially EFB batteries, like the intAct Start-Stop-Power EFB, which have been developed for the use in start-stop systems, are therefore also a good choice for this application. If power-hungry consumers such as coolers or hi-fi systems are also to be supplied, we recommend using a powerful dual-purpose battery such as the Optima Redtop or an Odyssey starter battery or installing an additional supply battery.

Is your old-timer, classic or vintage car your pride and joy and should this be seen and felt under the bonnet?

Classic car batteries like the intAct Oldtimer-Power provide the necessary power to start heavy classic engines and convey this value also in their appearance.

You don't like maintenance?

With low-maintenance batteries you should check the fluid level approx. every 3 months and refill with distilled water if necessary. You can recognize them by the vent caps on the top, as with some intAct Start-Power types or intAct Oldtimer-Power.

If you want to save yourself this work, we recommend that you choose a maintenance-free or absolutely maintenance-free battery. Both require no maintenance, but the underlying technology is different.

Modern starter batteries like the intAct Race-Power and intAct Premium-Power are maintenance-free. Due to the calcium alloy and special designs, less gas is produced in the battery, which condenses in the labyrinth of the closed lid and runs back into the circuit. The intAct Start-Stop-Power EFB is also a low-maintenance battery.

Absolutely maintenance-free starter batteries are mostly AGM-based. They are sealed and equipped with a pressure relief valve. They are also called VRLA batteries, i.e. valve-regulated lead-acid batteries. No liquid is lost here.

Maintenance-free batteries are often cheaper than absolutely maintenance-free ones.
On the other hand, absolutely maintenance-free AGM starter batteries can be used well for dual-purpose applications in which starting and supplying are required in equal measure.

If you want to learn more about starter batteries, take a look at our knowledge section. There you will find information about typical damage to starter batteries and how you can recognize and avoid it - so that you can enjoy your battery for as long as possible.