Nope reading to fast LOL, I compleatly missed the first likeof that post and thought you were thinking batter but not sure, that will teach me hehe oh well, glad you got it going.

Steve

 

Your lucky you got 4 years out of it!

Most car batteries (OEM) are only designed to last 2-3 years max!

And you are also lucky that the battery gave you some warning before it ***** the bed!

Lead acid batteries do not normally give warning to their demise. If you were only getting 12.7 that battery was dead! A new well charged battery should read in the 13's

Glad you didn't get stranded!

peace-

 

I guess I'm lucky it lasted this long.... but it really didn't give me any warning. I last drove it that afternoon. Dropped a friend off at the airport (shut it off there). Started it up, drove to my parent's and it didn't start that night.

 

I've had a problem with my truck's charging system before (wasn't the same symptoms; had a short in the radio) and I bought a Deka battery. Let me tell you one thing: that battery kicks. It puts out 1180 amps @ 32* with 1000 CCA. If you want to buy a high amp battery, that's the way to go. I only paid I believe $60 or so. Never had a problem with it since.

-Flea

 

You only need 1 CCA per cubic inch of engine plus 100 for extra measure. Forget checking just the CA but, do look to see if the CCA rating is at 32* or at 0*, they like to trick you that way. Anything above that measurment just provides a extra few seconds of cranking in cold weather. If you run things with engine off look for a battery with a large reserve capacity.

Whle the Optima batteries may not have the highest CCA or reserve they do recharge at about twice the rate of a normal battery, vibration resistant, and last for years and years. Optima's are nice but a normal battery will do most people just fine.

I'm in the battery biz, so I have been down this road before.

 

You will find that you have a couple of dead cells in that battery. Due to environmental conditions(heat, cold, jolts from being of-road) can cause the cells to take a vacation. The truck will run on the alternator if there is 7-9 volts to load the transistors in the alternator. The old generators could run a vehicle by themselves because they can produce energy without the battery(as long as they were polarized). You can not use a standard volt-ohm meter to test a auto battery for starting, it can't handle the amps. You will need a break-down tester or stop by you Discount Auto Parts store and they can check the battery for free.

 

Well... I bought the optima red top for $219 CDN at www.mopacauto.com , for all you Canadians they have the best prices. I talked to the counter guy and he said they are an affiliate of a large American company and all the smaller ones like Lordco buy from THEM!!! That's why their prices kick butt. I'll be doing all my shopping there now. The Vancouver store @ 1234 Kingsway (1 block west of Knight St.) is like walking into a Candy store. Big stainless performance mufflers, H-pipes, K&N galore, Monster tach's, etc.

The only thing nobody seems to have is the plastic adapter necessary for our OEM battery clamp to properly hold down that optima battery because their slightly smaller than the 650cca factory battery. I just put a 1/2inch copper water pipe between the batter and the clamp and it is holding it down while I wait for that part. Contrary to the Optima website, there is plenty of clearance under the hood. It's got I think 800cca @ 32 F.