Battery options for 99 Ranger

[MEWolf]

I have a 99 Supercab 4X4 and just installed a winch on the Affordable Off Road front bumper. That winch is an older Ramsey unit and it pulls a lot of amperage in use. I have only would the synthetic rope on it and the battery gauge indicated it took a lot of power to do that (the winch had sat idle for about 15 years). I put on a 130 amp alternator knowing the winch would pull some amperage. Everyone knows under hood space is at a premium in these trucks and I don't how I would put a second battery in it other than in the bed which is not too desirable. A group 59 battery is not very big. Does anyone know of an AGM type for these trucks and/or how to get a bigger battery installed, or even dual batteries without much effort? I am interested in how someone else approached this subject. Thanks for informative replies in advance.

 

[RonD]

Quick look at Ramsey winch had 10,000lbs rated at 80amps
So look up the model to get the actual amps for your unit

Starter motors use 50-70amps and they need those BIG cables so they can pass that many amps quickly
So don't skimp on cable size to winch, smaller cables heat up and cause higher amp draw, which causes more heat and higher amp draw, and so on............lol

130amp alternator means it can do 60% of that at idle, so about 75amps
Which is good but double up the wire at B+ on the back of alternator
If it is a 10ga then add another 10ga wire from B+ to the MEGA fuse terminal

A good group 59 battery should be OK as is, and assuming 80amp winch should give you 1/2 an hour, engine OFF, pulling and leave enough amps to start engine, most "car/truck" batteries have 80amp hours but you need 40amp hours left to start engine
If engine is running then longer pulling is possible

You don't need a full size 12volt battery, Group 121R is 8" x 7" x 8.5", aka 21 and 21R
So a bit smaller, if you want to add a 2nd battery and isolator

For winch use you do not want a Deep Cycle battery, you want a "starter" battery that can release high amps quickly, so something rated with CCA(cold cranking amps)
Not amp hours in this case

 

[MEWolf]

Thanks! I forgot to include the winch is about 32 years old and has supposedly never operated. Hope that doesn't matter as it is a RAMSEY.

 

[RonD]

Well if it has brushes then they are probably frozen in their holders
If it has oil in it, then change it, after you see if it works, it uses gear oil

 

[4x4junkie]

Yeah the battery tray on a 1999 isn't very conducive to putting larger batteries in there, you're kindof stuck with what you have without significant reworking of the tray area.

Unfortunately I don't see much available in the way of group-59 AGMs.
I did find this one from Odyssey... It doesn't specifically say group-59, but the dimensions seem to be close enough that it may fit. But compare them yourself just to be sure.

Dual batts are generally the better way to go, although as you said, the 2nd batt would have to go in the bed or back of cab area.
To run a winch off it will require some fairly heavy cabling (#0 at minimum) because of the distance (cable length).

I have a 1994 (different tray style, originally came with a group-65 battery), so I can't help much beyond the above. Hopefully someone else on here has figured out ways to get more battery capacity on a '98 or later, and can offer something further.

Quick look at Ramsey winch had 10,000lbs rated at 80amps
So look up the model to get the actual amps for your unit

Starter motors use 50-70amps and they need those BIG cables so they can pass that many amps quickly
So don't skimp on cable size to winch, smaller cables heat up and cause higher amp draw, which causes more heat and higher amp draw, and so on............lol

130amp alternator means it can do 60% of that at idle, so about 75amps
Which is good but double up the wire at B+ on the back of alternator
If it is a 10ga then add another 10ga wire from B+ to the MEGA fuse terminal

A good group 59 battery should be OK as is, and assuming 80amp winch should give you 1/2 an hour, engine OFF, pulling and leave enough amps to start engine, most "car/truck" batteries have 80amp hours but you need 40amp hours left to start engine
If engine is running then longer pulling is possible

You don't need a full size 12volt battery, Group 121R is 8" x 7" x 8.5", aka 21 and 21R
So a bit smaller, if you want to add a 2nd battery and isolator

For winch use you do not want a Deep Cycle battery, you want a "starter" battery that can release high amps quickly, so something rated with CCA(cold cranking amps)
Not amp hours in this case

Those numbers are much too small.
A typical winch draws around 250-350 amps at it's rated load (the starter motor, around 150-200A; more when it's cold).

 

[slater50]

Feel theres no reason to make a new thread but in a similar situation & really struggling looking through options...
Really not up to speed on what's out there...
Have a 2010 ranger 2.3L that calls for a group 59.
Wanting an AGM as im going to be running 2 sound system amps putting out 2250 watts total between the 2....
1500 watts on mono block sub amps
125watts x 6 on dsp / amp
Anyone find an AGM that will fit this application?
group 59 is almost 10" long,
group 65 from what im reading is about 12" long
Not sure what that would look like if I bend the front edge of the battery tray down.
How close the outside corner will be to the front core support.
Think Optima might make something that may work but hear poor feedback on them....
Anyone been here & have a suggestion?
Thanks..

 

[sgtsandman]

Optima isn't what they used to be. There are some other brands out there that seem to be decent that fit my 2011. So, they should fit your truck. Summit and Amazon have them but I don't remember the brand. Either O'Reilly's or AutoZone have them too.

 

[slater50]

Optima isn't what they used to be. There are some other brands out there that seem to be decent that fit my 2011. So, they should fit your truck. Summit and Amazon have them but I don't remember the brand. Either O'Reilly's or AutoZone have them too.

I get that optima isnt all that now...
Would be cool if you could pop the hood & see what you got, assuming you still have the truck....
My truck calls for a group 59,
some battery trays you can shove a 650 group 65 in there & battery tray will accept a larger battery.
Im going to guess yours being a 4.0, maybe your battery tray isnt at the driver side front fender area & youre able to toss a larger battery in there....

I cant find any auto zone or orielly group 59 AGM's

 

[Curious Hound]

I haven't read this whole thread. But I'll make a few comments.

1. My experience shows that Optima quality has, indeed fallen.

2. With stereo equipment, the current draw is not continuosly consisyent. So, even with that big of an amp, ypu are not drawing that much power all the time. That is maximum peak. Your average amp draw will be significantly less and that can play into your overall electrical design.

3. I also syrongly recommend dial batteries.

4. You may need dual alternators to help with charging.

5. You WILL need larger cables to/from alternator(s), batteries and amps. Undersize wiring introduces resistance and greatly reduces current flow, causes wires and connections to overheat and even cause equipment failure and fires.

6. I would strongly recommend that you find and study a lot of information from the people who do these monster stereo systems regularly. I believe they often incorporate large capacitors to mitigate the current draw on batteries and alternators during high power peaks. I'm not talking about just shooting the bull with "some guy that you heard put a large amp in his car once". Find reputable online sources of info from the pros. It can be done. But if done poorly, you burn up your vehicle. Don't cut corners. Properly supporting an amp as large as you mentioned will cost big $$$$.

I believe there are a few people here in oir forums with this experience. But I'm not sure how frequently they visit us. The rest of us will help to the best of our abilities.

 

[slater50]

I haven't read this whole thread. But I'll make a few comments.

1. My experience shows that Optima quality has, indeed fallen.

2. With stereo equipment, the current draw is not continuosly consisyent. So, even with that big of an amp, ypu are not drawing that much power all the time. That is maximum peak. Your average amp draw will be significantly less and that can play into your overall electrical design.

3. I also syrongly recommend dial batteries.

4. You may need dual alternators to help with charging.

5. You WILL need larger cables to/from alternator(s), batteries and amps. Undersize wiring introduces resistance and greatly reduces current flow, causes wires and connections to overheat and even cause equipment failure and fires.

6. I would strongly recommend that you find and study a lot of information from the people who do these monster stereo systems regularly. I believe they often incorporate large capacitors to mitigate the current draw on batteries and alternators during high power peaks. I'm not talking about just shooting the bull with "some guy that you heard put a large amp in his car once". Find reputable online sources of info from the pros. It can be done. But if done poorly, you burn up your vehicle. Don't cut corners. Properly supporting an amp as large as you mentioned will cost big $$$$.

I believe there are a few people here in oir forums with this experience. But I'm not sure how frequently they visit us. The rest of us will help to the best of our abilities.

battery capacitors are a thing of the past, they make tiny inline batteries that are much more effective these days...
But still, room & extensive mods / fabbing, cables, etc...

Doing the big 3 upgrade which incorporates adding 1/0 cable to the existing power & grounds....
Thats a huge benefit.
Yes, adding a AGM primary standard size battery isnt a huge benefit overall, but just a another tiny piece of the big picture....
If a decent direct replacement was obtainable at an affordable price...
like a interstate, Duracell, & any of the parts store brands..
Just not happening with a group 59.
group 65 wont work in this application.
dont think ill be at the level where a high output alt is needed but ps power is the only brand that makes a direct replacement, $450...
not sure the juice is worth the squeeze...

 

[Curious Hound]

I just googled the type of "inline battery" you're probably talking about. I didn't go far enough to see what sizes they come in. The one I saw (Banshee) uses LiFePo battery cells and puts out 300 amps. So, basically, it's an auxilliary battery capable of higher current to handle peak current spike for your amp. How many of these are you going to use? I'm just curious at this point.

My gut feeling is that if you're going to use a few of those to handle the amps, i would skip a bigger truck battery (or dual) and aim for a bigger alternator to keep those stereo batteries charged. The reason I say that is that the truck battery is normally just there to handle starting the engine and occasional high current spikes. The alternator is what provides the power to operate eveything and recharge the battery after starting. Even charging or maintaing the charge in your stereo batteries is a more continuous or long term duty. That is exactly the role of the alternator.

IF you use 2 of those Banshee things I looked at, and I would consider that a minimum for the amplifiers you are proposing, they are 1280watt-hours, each. So, 2560 watt-hours. A watt-hour is 1watt of power use continuously for 1 hour. So, let's say you crank uo the stereo and use 10% of the power out of your two Banshees. That is 256 wattt-hours. At 13 volts, that will be roughly 20 amp-hours. If they recharge themselves at 40 amps, each, that would be 80 amps and they would recharge in 15 minutes. It all depends on how their circuitry is designed. But that means that for 15 minutes, your alternator needs to supply 80 amps in addition to running the truck - ignition, lights, etc. If they charge at a higher rate, you will need more. This is just an example of how the math works. You will have to run the exact numbers from the design specs for the exact equipment you choose to install. But this is why the alternator size is so important. You want a 130amp alternator at minimum.

I just thought of something. You said your amps will require 2250 amps total. Are you sure you meant to say amps? Or should you have said watts? If watts, then 2250watts divided by 13volts = 173amps. That is much more manageable. In that case, I would still recommend 130amp alternator. Then install your "inline battery pack" thingy to handle peak current spikes and everything is good. Use proper size wire, fuses or curcuit breakers, etc.

 

[slater50]

I just thought of something. You said your amps will require 2250 amps total. Are you sure you meant to say amps? Or should you have said watts? If watts, then 2250watts divided by 13volts = 173amps. That is much more manageable. In that case, I would still recommend 130amp alternator. Then install your "inline battery pack" thingy to handle peak current spikes and everything is good. Use proper size wire, fuses or curcuit breakers, etc.

Thats a huge typo on my part, fixed it...
between the 2 amps, the amps will be putting out 2250 watts to the speakers...
Simplist solution would be just a AGM primary battery, big 3 wiring upgrade, & if needed go with the Power Bastards 220a replacement alternator....
Trying to not throw stupid money at this system, but too late for that..

Not much room to be adding batteries, caps, etc...
I raised both seats, & that area will be consumed with 2 amps.
entire back wall is a sub enclosure, its a single cab, we cut-out the rear speaker mounts from the plastics.

Dont want to really go through the hackery of adding a second battery in the bed of the truck, putting holes in the bed to route 1/0 cable...

 

[sgtsandman]

I get that optima isnt all that now...
Would be cool if you could pop the hood & see what you got, assuming you still have the truck....
My truck calls for a group 59,
some battery trays you can shove a 650 group 65 in there & battery tray will accept a larger battery.
Im going to guess yours being a 4.0, maybe your battery tray isnt at the driver side front fender area & youre able to toss a larger battery in there....

I cant find any auto zone or orielly group 59 AGM's

It's the same size battery in the same location. It probably has the same battery tray. Ford made the body the same between all the different models. Slight changes were made cab for extended cabs with and without rear doors, but that's basically about it. The Ranger has been a low investment product for quite some time for Ford. Even the 2019-2023 Ranger are moderately reworked World Ranger models.

 

[Curious Hound]

I don't know how much the battery tray changed from 3rd gen to 4th gen. I have a group 65 in my 93. Fits pretty nicely.