Battery Hold-Down 02 Explorer - None there! - Powervolt Battery?

[wdhendrick]

Hey guys, just bought a 2002 Explorer last month. So far everything's been great, and I've found a bunch of useful information on this forum. I have a question though, and have seen it tossed around a bit, but maybe someone can confirm.

1) My battery is a Powervolt - has anyone heard of this? Seems like an off-brand to me, and can find very little when searching online for information. Any success or horror stories with these batteries?

2) The battery is loose on the tray. There is no 'hold down' to keep the battery in place. It doesn't appear to be an oversized battery or anything like that, I think someone was just lazy when replacing it and didn't put the clamp(s) back. From what I gather, there was actually a 'box' over the battery when new too, which is gone. So my question, has anyone been able to find a replacement battery hold down that works? Something from Autozone/Pep Boys/Advanced Auto? I don't think I really need to replace the cover, but if I knew what the clamp was like that is supposed to be there, maybe I could find something at the parts store. I'm guessing stock was just some sort of rubber block with a bolt through it that tightens in place, pretty standard configuration, is that right? I found the parts online at one of the dealers and it was $30 for everything... probably only like $5 or $6 for the bolt and clamp, but I wanted to do this sooner rather than later (i.e. don't want to 'wait' for the parts to ship), so I'm hoping to find something that works fine at the parts stores.... any ideas?

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

The battery hold-down is as you thought...A plastic wedge with a bolt going thru it that bolts to the battery tray. There also is a plastic weather shield that fits over the battery, but it's pretty much optional as far as I see it. It just makes the engine compartment look a little "cleaner" is all, and might help keep some of the gasses venting out of the battery away from the terminals.

If you have a salvage yard near you that allows you to pull your own parts, there should be plenty of each in a good size yard. Most yards wouldn't charge much of anything for such a small insignificant part. It doesn't necessarily have to come from an Explorer either...Most Ford cars, trucks, and vans had a similar hold-down system. The weather shield might be vehicle-specific though.

I can't see the hold-down block and bolt costing much at all, even right from Ford. The parts stores probably aren't going to have something like this, but rather the generic style that will work on just about anything. I'd try to find OEM parts if at all possible.

The name Powervolt sounds vaguely familiar...I think it's a brand name that a battery distributor attatches to their "seconds" that are sold to dealers. We buy Interstate's "seconds" or "refurbs" for the dealership, and for a while they had the label "Econo Power" attatched to them. They've since discontinued that, probably since Interstate batteries have their logos embossed right into the cases now. The only thing that differentiates the seconds from a brand new one is there's no stickers on them. They don't have the warranty that a brand new Interstate comes with, but they're cheap enough that it doesn't really matter to us.

 

[wdhendrick]

Thanks... I'll call the local dealer first and see if they have it in stock or what. As for the battery, I did some more searching online and I saw a couple references to PowerVolt batteries being made by Interstate, but I see no reference to that brand on Interstate's site, or on their parent company's site Johnson Controls... I looked at the battery once more this morning before leaving for work and didn't notice any markings on the casing indication the manufacturer... The tag on top actually says made by PowerVolt in Dallas Texas....

 

[fast]

powervolt is interstate's budget battery