Reverse battery question

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Chris - 25 Apr 2007 04:30 GMT

This group came up with the answer to my brake problem right off, so I
thought I'd ask for advice on what happened after I brought my 91
Civic wagon back from the shop that fixed the falling shoe problem.

The battery died dead the day I brought the car home - ignition won't
do anything but click and stutter, no spark at all. I did get a jump
start that got it from my mailbox to my parking space. The battery
had been weak, but working, for some time, so I guess it really is
time for a new one. Trouble is, my usual battery source, Costco, only
carries the 51R. Mine is the one year of 89 - early 90's Civics that
needs the 51.

Looking elsewhere caused severe sticker shock. So my questions are:
has anyone used the 51R in a 91 Civic and did it work well for you?
Failing that, since the car has over 200,000 miles on it, are there
any reliable sources of used or cheap batteries? I've checked Sears,
Walmart, Napa, Carquest and Pepboys - they're approximately twice as
much as Costco. Advance and AutoZone don't carry the 51. Anyone
have any ideas where else to look?

Thanks -

Chris

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gsxr711@hotmail.com - 26 Apr 2007 13:00 GMT

> This group came up with the answer to my brake problem right off, so I
> thought I'd ask for advice on what happened after I brought my 91
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>
> Chris

Hi Chris

http://www.autozone.com/home.htm lists a Valucraft 51-VL for a 1991
Honda Civic. They get $49.99 with core. Maybe you could get your local
AutoZone to order one for you. Also you should probably make sure your
alternator is working. Good luck

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cuhulin@webtv.net - 26 Apr 2007 18:46 GMT

About five years ago,I bought a $29.00 battery at Sears for my old
van.The battery is still working pretty good.
Of course,the sales clerk guy at Sears tried to talk me into buying a
higher priced battery,can't blame him for that.
cuhulin

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z - 27 Apr 2007 18:10 GMT

> This group came up with the answer to my brake problem right off, so I
> thought I'd ask for advice on what happened after I brought my 91
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>
> Chris

Unless I'm seriously deranged, i've had the same deal with a 92 civic;
the 51R is identical to the 51 with the terminals reversed. i got
stuck with them two batteries in a row. you have to either hook the
wires up to the opposite terminals, which they would not fit, or put
the battery in backwards, so that the terminals were close to the
firewall and then the wires fit. I got paranoid that in case of a
crash, kaflooey, so I got a plastic cutting board from the dollar
store and slipped it in behind the battery. after the second of them
died, the wallyworld had the correct battery.

but as for current ratings, etc., the 51r is no different from the 51.

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cuhulin@webtv.net - 27 Apr 2007 18:52 GMT

Did that 91 Civic come over from the UK?
cuhulin

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Chris - 01 May 2007 01:48 GMT

On Apr 27, 1:52 pm, cuhu...@webtv.net wrote:

> Did that 91 Civic come over from the UK?
> cuhulin

Hey, all,

Just checked in again after more woes this weekend. Thanks for the
information. In one way or another all the replies helped. In
reverse order:

Cuhulin, the Civic was sold in the U.S. and has been here all its
life. I'm glad you at least were able avoid a high price just for
having a reversed battery. Sears here swore that about $70, with
core, was the least I could get out the door for with any battery they
sold.

Z, thanks a lot for answering my question re: reversing the battery.
It's always good to know what happened to the route one diidn't take.
Hope your fix continutes to work - I'd have the same hesitation you
did about the safety of revesing the battery.

GSXR - I love that bike! Thanks for the info on Valuecraft - at least
I know I did get the cheapest solution I'd feel comfortable with long
term, given the problems with this particular car.

Since I could only take the car one place and would have to get it
jumped again if I turned the engine off, I just bit the bullet and
took the car into a shop here. $55 is about what I paid for the
battery + $25 labor to install it and diagnose some other recent
problems. It looks like these guys did an honest job for a reasonable
price - less than Sears, for sure. Just for comparison, Honda dealer
wanted $90 just for the battery.

But no sooner had I got that taken care of than the thing started
stalling out. Took it back to the same shop and it turns out the
distributor coil is apparently badly arcing (carbon trails everywhere
inside the cap). But thats another post for another thread. Anyone
want a 1991 Honda Civic wagon cheep?

Chris

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