This morning when I started my truck my gauges did a full sweep, all the way over and then back to normal positions. Doesn't this mean that the computer reset? It was cold this morning 19degress and the truck had not been run all weekend. I know my battery terminals are not that corroded to lose contact with the post but I will probably go ahead and clean them today and make sure they are good and tight.

I was just curious what might have caused this: battery contacts, battery itself (is at least 4yrs old), something going bad, etc...

The truck ran fine and after dropping the kids at school did not do it again on re-start.

2001 F150 XLT
xCab 2wd
4.6L V8

 

That's a classic sign that your battery is on it's way out.

 

That's what I thought, something battery related. Well maybe it will make it through the holidays and will now be able to justify a Optima Yellow Top.

 

Don't waste your Xmas money on any Optima - they suck. Get an $80 MotorCraft or Sears DieHard Gold. They're the best battery on the market.

 

Guess I could say the same about the Sears DieHard Gold. Wife drove a 99 Grande Cherokee that went through 2 in 2yrs, everything in it was stock, no fog lights, or aftermarket stereo equipment, etc….bone stock. We sold the Jeep with the 3rd one in it, had been in there for about 1.5yrs, did not have any issues with the 3rd one.

I have been wanting to put my stereo back in and would like to upgrade battery and alternator to be able to handle the extra load. I might just do a MotorCraft and extra alternator.

 

Mine's doing the same, still starts rough but not terrible. I'll replace with a Motorcraft more than likely soon, same battery since new, Nov.99 so 7+ years and 178 000 km's aint bad I'd say.

 

Either Motorcraft, Optima (in odd installations), Diehard Gold or Duralast Gold (both made by Johnson).

 

I have had my optima for 4 years and no problems at all

 

...and it's out of warranty, right? Post up some Optima specs & warranty if you can find any that top this:



Yeah, you can get a bad batch of DieHards, MotorCrafts, or Ferraris - but with a MotorCraft battery, you don't have to PAY again for at least 3 years, and not full price for 8.

 

Optima Red Top:

36 Months Free Replacement, Remaining 36 Month Prorated

http://www.optimabatteries.com/publi...anty_info.html

Best battery you'll ever buy!

 

I wonder Motorcraft's are made by Johnson Controls, just like Optima and the top-of-the-line Duralast Gold's and Diehard Gold's?

The Duralast Gold I just bought has very similar specs. Free 3 years, pro-rated 8 years, 875/1000.

Consumer Reports rated the Duralast Gold #1. Not that it matters a whole lot, but that was against every other off-the-shelf battery availble, I don't think OEM's (like Motorcraft) were in that group though.

Yep, just answered my own question.... "Delphi makes ACDelco and some EverStart (Wal-Mart) models. Exide makes Champion, Exide, Napa, and some EverStart batteries. Johnson Controls makes Diehard (Sears), Duralast (AutoZone), Interstate, Kirkland (Costco), Motorcraft (Ford), and some EverStarts."

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:...s&ct=clnk&cd=2

 

Optima's are great, if used constantly. My dad's street rod has a red top, granted the car sat a year, but charging at 2 amps for a day or so and it's still kaput. I guess you have to charge at no more than 2 amps for a very long time. My brother's car same thing. He bought it, drove a bit, then this year alot of cranking (tuning stand alone F.I system) and it seems to go dead and not holding a charge. His daily driven ZX2 runs all day, no batt problems. Optima's seem to go stale fast and have a hard time recovering. Just seems that way.

 

It's not just optima that does that. My recruiter had a 1970 Plymouth Sport Fury (boat on wheels) with a 383 and an MSD ignition, he used to fire it up, drive 15 miles to work and shut it off, then do the same thing in reverse. He killed his battery in no time because it didn't have time to recharge after cranking the engine over. Batteries need regular maitenance (read charging) to keep the in top shape, letting one sit is no different than letting a vehicle sit for years and then firing it up...nothing but problems.

 

Didn’t mean to start a battery war. No seriously though some good info. I would have definitely looked at the warranty on the Yellow Top before I bought but I would have thought that it would have been at least as good as some of the premium ones, 3yrs free replacement beyond 3yrs prorated. I was kind of shocked that it’s only warranted for a year of free replacement. Wonder why they warranty the Red Top (cheaper) for 3yrs and the Yellow (more expensive) for only 1. Would be interesting to see their numbers for Yellow Tops that go bad between the 2-3yr mark.

I know some folks have probably had the same experience with the MotorCraft that I had with the Diehard, but I guess once you have a bad experience with a product once it’s hard to every go back to it.

Thanks for all the info guys!

 

Had a motorcraft battery replaced 1 month shy of 10 years old in my 85 F-150. It could have probably been jumped at the time to boot.