My battery went out this weekend, radio went dead...then the gauges went out..then there was a ringing/dinging noise...then I was stranded...It took a jump, and went about 10 minutes and died again..The battery was an EverStart that had 540 CCA....It was only 2 years old....

I ended up walking a couple miles to an AutoZone and got a DuralastGold that has 610 CCA, put it in and all was fine.

So on Monday I called the local Ford Dealer he said OEM would be 650 CCA...I'm wondering if I should take the truck in to the dealer to see if there might be something wrong with my truck...maybe the truck was draining the Battery somehow? Only reason I'm wondering is when I first put in the new Battery the truck turned over very quick..now only a handful of starts later, it seems to be turning over alittle slower....Any thoughts?

 

Just a thought. Did you check out the output of your alternator/regulator? You should have jumped the battery , get it runing and then test the alternator/regulor for output. You still might have needed a battery, but you would be testing the integrity of the charging system. I have always believed in putting in a battery with the highest CCA(cold cranking amps) that would fit in its place. 610 CCA sounds a little weak. But that is just my opinion.

 

two things
1-suposedly there was a small or big battery option, when i replaced mine i went with the big battery
2- my old 97 did exactly that and it was the alternator. your new battery started it fine cause it had a full charge as opposed to your dead old battery but without the alternator recharging it your killing it too as youve been experiencing. check your alternator before you change batteries again

 

I'm not sure how I would check the alternator...But I took it off the truck and to a local generator service...he rebuilt it for $70.00, in about an hour...he said he checked it and it wasn't charging right.

I'm charging my battery tonight, and trying it out tomorrow...

 

when the tow truck came to pick up my 97 he used a volt meter that had basically two options battery or alternator so it was real easy. glad to hear things are good again, let us know if that fixed it

 

Looks like everything is back to normal...took about 2 days to charge the battery on my trickle charger, but all seems well...