Need Battery Advice

[Original_Ranger84]

So I am pretty sure I am in need of a new battery... I have the original motorcraft battery thats going on 12 years old almost and its getting cold out.... So I figure its time for a new one.

I went out and got an Optima Red top from costco for like 140 but I'm thinking that may have been a mistake after some deeper digging (not to mention I guess it was the wrong size). Anyways I am looking for a good powerful battery with year round performance. I have a 130 amp alternator and am running a stereo ann about 800w of aux lights that are on alot during the winter. It gets to be about -20 on average most mornings and the measly 540 CCA battery just isn't able to do it anymore.

What battery do you guys reccommend? Obviously not optima? Should I get a Gel Cell or go for a Marine Deep cycle?

Thanks

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Personally, I'd go with another Motorcraft. They seem to have an excellent life span and awesome warranty (5 years on the tested tough Max batteries)

I have a BXT-65 series in my 91...its 850 CCA. Its never let me down.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

Personally, I'd go with another Motorcraft. They seem to have an excellent life span and awesome warranty (5 years on the tested tough Max batteries)

I have a BXT-65 series in my 91...its 850 CCA. Its never let me down.

How much did it cost you and are they only available at Ford?

Also I found I have a BXT - 59 battery and the 65 series is about 2" longer then my current battery... will that be a problem?

 

[kimcrwbr1]

A cable upgrade would also be in order with marine clamps especially in the cold weather to go with a larger battery especially with any high amp accessories. I purchased cables from these guys and they do special orders to your specs. There is alot of good reading on alot of things but I was focusing on power cables and connections. Simply put the bigger the wire the less resistance the less your charging system has to work.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

http://www.kelleyswip.com/

Oops I forgot the link.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

How much did it cost you and are they only available at Ford?

Also I found I have a BXT - 59 battery and the 65 series is about 2" longer then my current battery... will that be a problem?

As far as I know, yes they are only available from Ford. Not sure about it fitting in your 99...it fits fine in my 91. As for price...I get employee cost on it so IIRC it was around $100 CAD.

And BTW, 12 years out of a battery is exceptional!

 

[kcm1582]

As far as I know, yes they are only available from Ford. Not sure about it fitting in your 99...it fits fine in my 91. As for price...I get employee cost on it so IIRC it was around $100 CAD.

And BTW, 12 years out of a battery is exceptional!

Wow I've never heard of a battery lasting that long.

Personally I like Exide batteries. They aren't that expensive but they hold up really well.

 

[Jason]

Look in to the batteries. They almost all come with a blank black body because they are made by the same places and then just labeled to order.

 

[MountainMike]

As far as I know, yes they are only available from Ford. Not sure about it fitting in your 99...it fits fine in my 91.

I am running a Motorcraft 850CCA in the 93 and it kicks ass. I was going to put one in the 98 but unfortunately the trays in our trucks are too small to fit a group 65 battery. I don't think there is even enough room to modify it to fit, that being said I didn't spend much time on it. I just got the recommended replacement Motorcraft and it seems up to the task of starting up my truck just fine, on real cold nights I'll plug in the truck to give it a hand. The battery blanket really helps it, plus the pan & block heater. I think retail on the BXT-65-850 is around $170 or so.

 

[mhughes165]

maybe i missed something.....but whats wrong with having a optima if u get the proper sized optima for ur truck??? ive had nothing but good experiences with optimas, and 99% of the time if one were to HAPPEN to go bad most parts stores dont bother to check part numbers on optimas for defective exchanges lol

 

[master hec0]

I would go with another motorcraft if the last one lasted you 12 years

 

[bcost882]

I know alot of people have good experiences with optima marine batteries. You can leave them and they lose almost no charge. yellow tops suck, red tops mmmmm ok, blues rock. I know we use them in alot of equipment here in korea and have no problems with the blue tops the others i cant say the same.

 

[superds]

maybe i missed something.....but whats wrong with having a optima if u get the proper sized optima for ur truck??? ive had nothing but good experiences with optimas, and 99% of the time if one were to HAPPEN to go bad most parts stores dont bother to check part numbers on optimas for defective exchanges lol

I've personally had bad luck with an Optima. I had a red top several years ago, it kept on draining and wasn't able to start my engine (300 I6 in an '83 F150). So, on several occassions I took it back to the local dealer while it was still under warranty. Each time they charged it and "tested" it and said it was ok. Finally, my warranty was about to expire and I again took it back and they said the same thing. A week or so after the warranty had expired, I again had the same starting problem so I took it in but now they said it was bad and should be replaced, but of course it wouldn't be replaced under warranty. So I took my battery home and suffered with it for a while longer, finally replacing it with a non Optima battery from a different store!

 

[OilPatch197]

I've personally had bad luck with an Optima. I had a red top several years ago, it kept on draining and wasn't able to start my engine (300 I6 in an '83 F150). So, on several occassions I took it back to the local dealer while it was still under warranty. Each time they charged it and "tested" it and said it was ok. Finally, my warranty was about to expire and I again took it back and they said the same thing. A week or so after the warranty had expired, I again had the same starting problem so I took it in but now they said it was bad and should be replaced, but of course it wouldn't be replaced under warranty. So I took my battery home and suffered with it for a while longer, finally replacing it with a non Optima battery from a different store!

Optima is now owned by Johnson Controls (thats when the quality went down) - Then they moved production to the plant in Mexico and that is where they are currently being produced. Construction to my knowledge is still the same but I feel they have cut corners in the quality assurance end of things..." & "...When the Swedes owned optima, they paid us well and quality was foremost of all at all cost. JCI is the company that KILLED optima batteries, we always had 99.99 pure lead until JCI bought optima. The first thing they did was: fired all of the on staff scientists, then fired all of the PHD's, then fired the chemists, then dismantled the chemistry lab, then dismantled the prototype lab, then got rid of the pure lead and replaced it with lead with higher tin content, then JCI brought in their genius engineers and re formulated the lead acid paste, then replaced the AGM paper with lower grade paper, ex cetera, ex cetera. All of this was done within the first 2 years of their ownership! We had to fight like hell to prove that what we had when they purchased us was superior to what they had done. we finally convinced them to begin returning to some of the successful methods Gates had originally designed, but only after making them think that it was their idea. When the U.S. plant shut down, we were using pure lead, similar to original paper and similar paste formula, however, there were many, many other changes they had made in the manufacturing process that negatively affected the optima but produced higher volumes. In my opinion, the Enersys Odyssey is, by far, the very best battery on the market today. I am aware of some of the mfg practices being used specifically on the optima in mexico, and they are not conducive to quality!

The 'BEST' AGM battery out there (and some would say the 'BEST' automotive battery, period) is, believe it or not, the Sears DieHard Platinum. The not-so-secret is that it's really a private label rebadged Odyssey, manufactured in the USA by EnerSys, the manufacturer of batteries for the US Armed Forces.

 

[bcost882]

I've personally had bad luck with an Optima. I had a red top several years ago, it kept on draining and wasn't able to start my engine (300 I6 in an '83 F150). So, on several occassions I took it back to the local dealer while it was still under warranty. Each time they charged it and "tested" it and said it was ok. Finally, my warranty was about to expire and I again took it back and they said the same thing. A week or so after the warranty had expired, I again had the same starting problem so I took it in but now they said it was bad and should be replaced, but of course it wouldn't be replaced under warranty. So I took my battery home and suffered with it for a while longer, finally replacing it with a non Optima battery from a different store!

well now that doesnt sound like the battery itself ok it went bad which sucks but iff the azz clowns at the store didnt yank you around you woulda gotten a new one...they just didnt want to do the paperwork and such unless you alternater wasnt working right. I like how it just so happend to go bad after the warrenty expired.