Battery replacement that may have damaged the alternator

Tiny
PACKMANPAX
  • MEMBER
  • 2004 SUBARU OUTBACK
  • 3.2L
  • 4 CYL
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 121,000 MILES
An employee in the automotive department at Walmart replaced my battery with a dry cell battery. The battery had discharge and leakage. Shortly after I was told a make and model vehicle can only have a wet cell battery. After the correct battery was installed the car ran for a day and the car shut off completely and had to have the alternator replaced. Is this the employees fault?
Monday, November 9th, 2020 AT 1:45 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Anything is possible but I would think this is just a coincidence because the vehicle doesn't really know the difference between the batteries. All it knows is if there is voltage or not. The difference is the wet cell batteries have plates inside submerged in an acid. The dry cell has those plates in a paste. They are safer, lighter, and more reliable.

I suspect you had an issue with the alternator the entire time and it is what caused the failure to the batteries so now that you have that fixed, you should be good.

Let me know if you have other questions.
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Monday, November 9th, 2020 AT 2:07 PM

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