Black CTS-V: Battery

When the original Delco 48HPG battery in my CTS-V was almost 5 years old I was seeing slower cranking speed and decided to replace it. Looking at my options I saw the Delco 94RAGM which is a absorbent glass mat (AGM) battery. This turns out to be the "stop-start" version and is slightly larger. AGM batteries use separators to contain the electrolyte; not a wet cell, I like to call them damp cell batteries. They are resistent to vibration and cannot spill.

The standard car battery configuration has the positive terminal on the left. The CTS is reversed so the positive terminal is on the right. Since it is mounted in the trunk behind the right rear wheel well it has vent ports so that hydrogen generated during charging can be vented outside of the vehicle.

The 94RAGM is the same width and height as the OEM 48HPG but 1.5" longer. This means the threaded hole used for one of the hold down clamps cannot be used. There was already a hole in about the right place so I drilled and tapped a short piece of 1/4" aluminum bar to make a relocation bracket. The hold down hole is M8 x 1.25 and I used a M6 x 1.25 to keep the bar in place when the hold down bolt is removed.

Hold Down Relocation Bracket	Relocated Battery Hold Down

Here's the installed battery:

Notes

• The 94RAGM weighs 9% more than the 48HPG has 29% more cold cranking amps.

  	Delco 48HPG	Delco 94RAGM
  CCA	660 A	850 A
  Reserve Capacity	135 minutes	140 minutes
  Weight	47.2 lbs	51.6 lbs
  Width	10.9"	12.4"
  Depth	6.9"	6.9"
  Height	7.5"	7.5"

• The vent plug and vent tube transferred nicely from the original battery.

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Craig Leres