Couple Car Questions

Sniper82

Lifer
Feb 6, 2000
16,517
0
76
My daily driver(96 Geo Prizm) is due for a battery change. I know the one in it is 3-5 years old and was in it when I got it several months ago. I am wanting to change it but not sure what to get. Does it really matter as long as its a top post? Another question is I got this car in the spring and never needed the heat. Well now I do but the car runs to cool and takes forever to warm up. Driving down the road I get barely warm air. Is there something I can do to make it blow hotter air?

I heard(never tried) of someone covering part of the radiator up with a piece of cardboard to increase temps. Bad idea?
 

Colt45

Lifer
Apr 18, 2001
19,720
1
0
Replace the battery when it dies, get whatever is cheap... It's not a racecar.

for heat, it's possible the heater core is plugged, or the flap that slides infront of it is jammed, or the cable going to the control on the dash is disconnected. Some cars have a valve on the pipe to the heater core, to let water come in, this could be stuck.. etc.

You can put cardboard in front of the rad, but man.. you live in kentucky. It gets down to -50 here on occasion, and I don't use cardboard. ;)
 

jagec

Lifer
Apr 30, 2004
24,442
6
81
Why are you changing the battery? Is it giving you trouble starting?

There are quality differences between various batteries, but honestly for a Geo Prizm it doesn't really matter. Get whatever is inexpensive, has a decent warranty, is the right form factor, and has a high enough CCA rating for your car.

Covering up part of the radiator with cardboard is indeed a good way to deal with a car that won't get up to operating temperature in the winter. This may actually improve fuel efficiency, if the engine is running too cold. Don't cover up too much, and be sure you watch the temp guage for a while...if it's climbing higher than it used to in the summer, pull over and remove the cardboard! Adjust the size as needed. Don't put it in a place where it might get blown out, or snag the fan.

Originally posted by: Colt45
Replace the battery when it dies, get whatever is cheap... It's not a racecar.

for heat, it's possible the heater core is plugged, or the flap that slides infront of it is jammed, or the cable going to the control on the dash is disconnected. Some cars have a valve on the pipe to the heater core, to let water come in, this could be stuck.. etc.

You can put cardboard in front of the rad, but man.. you live in kentucky. It gets down to -50 here on occasion, and I don't use cardboard. ;)

It depends on the car...some cars are notorious for not getting hot enough in the winter. Also I assume that when he says the car "takes forever to warm up", he means the temperature guage, not just the air blowing out of the vents.
 

cprince

Senior member
May 8, 2007
963
0
0
You should check to see if the radiator thermostat is still working. The thermostat might broke down and let coolant moved into the radiator before the engine got warm enough. As for the battery, most places, like Wal-mart, have a lookup table that shows you which size you should get. If you get something too big, it might not fit in the battery bay.
 

Vetterin

Senior member
Aug 31, 2004
973
0
71
I agree with cprince that as far as your heat problem the thermostat is the most likely culprit (and the easiest/cheapest to replace). As for the battery, like everyone else has said, unless you are having problems with your current one just leave it be. I just got rid of my 98 Contour SVT last year with the original battery still in it and it was working fine. If you do need to replace it, just make sure you get a size 35 and if it gets real cold in Kentucky get a battery with more CCA.
 

Sniper82

Lifer
Feb 6, 2000
16,517
0
76
Well I went out yesterday(coldest day of the year) to start it and didn't think the battery was gonna turn it at first but after a second or two it kicked in. I figured the battery might have lost its kick. Is it possible for the CCA's to weaken as a battery gets older? I'll check on the thermostat though. As for the checker at walmart the cheapest battery it listed is $80 and if one of the cheaper $40-50 will do the trick around it I'd rather get one of those.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,542
921
126
Yes, it matters which battery you get. Brand doesn't matter so much but size does. Anyplace that sells batteries would have a list of which batteries fit your car.

Sounds like your heater core might be plugged up. Have you flushed the cooling system in the last few years? You might need a new heater core...which probably won't be cheap or easy to do yourself.