what batteries for my diesel

[travel dodge]

It time for me to replace both the batteries in my Dodge. They just don't like to start when they have sat more then a few days. My buddies and girl friend are starting to wounder if any battery will work for me over a year. I am alway replacing car batteries in one toy or another.
ANY way what would be the best to go with for a Dodge 2500 with the diesel? I have not had good luck with optima. I will be adding a deep cycle in the back (latter) so my question is just for the front batteries that should not need to run any of the camp stuff. The idea of napa batteries is apealing since I can take them back when they don't take a charge. What do you guys think is the way to go?

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Napa has pretty good batteries actually.. You want whatever they list with the highest cold cranking amps (CCAs) as possible... They might be able to give you a couple options... They don't take that much juice but the dual batteries are nice with cold starts especially in bad mornings... I just switched out the batts in my Saab and found one for $5 more that fit that had well over 200 more CCAs and worth every cent at -10F...

If you plan to off road gol batteries (Optima, etc) have pretty good CCAs and would be fine in a diesel as well. I would get standard red top starting batteries...

 

[Carlyle]

I used the 25% off at Autozone from this forum (HID aftermarket lights),for a set of yellow top Optimas. They have a full replacement warranty for three years and ended up being a decent price. If they die, I take them back and get new ones.

 

[Robert Bills]

If your diesel is "eating" batteries, you may want to try Walmart deep cycle batteries to see if they last just as long.

I picked up a pair for my '87 Ford F250 4x4 diesel two years ago for about $60 each. The truck isn't used much, so doesn't get a daily charge from the alternator. Haven't had any problems and the truck almost always starts on the first crank no matter how cold outside.

I do not like Optimas in diesel applications. The red tops don't have enough cca for a diesel, and the yellow tops are extremely pricey for their cca rating.

If you don't patronize Walmart, then try Interstate. Very good value, although not the cheapest out there.

 

[travel dodge]

I am thinking that napa or interstate are the way to go. I have to say it's not my diesel that eats batteries it's too new to me to know and they look older. I seem to have the worst luck with batteries in my car, trucks, motos, girl friends car ect. My battery chargers are the most used tool in my box. Well time to start drawing out the "home" electrics for the newer travel dodge. I am taking slow and trying to get it right this time.

 

[travel dodge]

Optima yellow tops are deep cycle. Can I go with 2 deep cycles? It can get real cold here and I need what I can get for starting. I drive it daily during winter as it is the only thing I can trust to make it home after a big storm but it will sit most of the summers unless I am camping
thanks

 

[Nitromethane43]

I have an older dodge diesel that only uses one battery and for some reason the wal-mart marine battery seems to crank it without any problems in winter and it still survives over 110 degree summers. It's been fully discharged many times when the glove box light stays on and the truck sits, with a jump start it charges right back up. I have been waiting for it to die to go with dual yellow top D31's. If you are going for an optima deep cycle the commercial series offers a longer warranty over the 34 or 34/78 series.

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

The red top Optimas I think are over 700CCA. X2 batteries in parrallel and you have 1400 CCAs, which is a ton... I ran Excide orbitals last time which are very similar to Optimas and they were great...

 

[Redline]

I have an old Power Stroke and I don't have battery problems. Though I am about to change out the current (second) set I have under the hood for a couple of Group 65 Odyssey 1750s. They are very expensive, but all indications are that these are superior batteries with a claimed typical service lift of 8-12 years. There are two ways to go: 1) inexpensive/easily replaceable, or 2) if you plan to keep the truck some truly top quality batteries that you will likely not need to charge and replace often.

I am thinking that napa or interstate are the way to go. I have to say it's not my diesel that eats batteries it's too new to me to know and they look older. I seem to have the worst luck with batteries in my car, trucks, motos, girl friends car ect. My battery chargers are the most used tool in my box. Well time to start drawing out the "home" electrics for the newer travel dodge. I am taking slow and trying to get it right this time.

 

[madizell]

The red top Optimas I think are over 700CCA. X2 batteries in parrallel and you have 1400 CCAs, which is a ton... I ran Excide orbitals last time which are very similar to Optimas and they were great...

Here's where my high school math and physics start to fail me, but running two batteries in parallel should not double the available amps, but rather it should double the duty cycle, in my opinion. In other words, they provide the same output in total amps whether you have one, two, or more batteries, but they will last twice as long, or more according to the number, because they share the load. (CCA I believe expresses available amps at zero degrees for a certain number of seconds. It would be the number of seconds that the amps can be provided which would increase with use of multiple batteries in parallel.)

Most deep cycle batteries are not intended to crank internal combustion engines. Some are dual rated. Check manufacturers specs first. Diesels in cold climates are notoriously hard to start. For one thing they make a lot of compression. Try a block heater to keep the block warm, and look for a synthetic oil if you are using petroleum based oil, as the synthetic has better cold pumping characteristics. These changes will reduce the cranking load on the starter. Verify your charging system and clean all terminals and connections if you can't seem to hold a charge even in new batteries. If you have a system problem or a maintenance issue, new batteries won't fix it for you.

 

[Beowulf]

Ok, I would do a couple of things. First go out and buy the Odyssey PC1500 or the Sears DieHard equivalent.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_02850090000P

http://www.odysseybatteries.com/battery/pc1500.htm

Then after that I’d go get a Powermaster Starter

http://www.powermastermotorsports.com/200_ft_-lb__starters.html


Now this is definitely not the cheap route, but will undoubtedly fix your issue with turning over the engine.

 

[Nitromethane43]

Then after that I’d go get a Powermaster Starter

http://www.powermastermotorsports.com/200_ft_-lb__starters.html


Now this is definitely not the cheap route, but will undoubtedly fix your issue with turning over the engine.

There is no need for a starter upgrade on a Cummins diesel, they all come equipped with high torque starters from the factory. It is mostly the glow plugs or grid heater for his case that drains the juice while the combustion chambers are being heated prior to starting.

 

[travel dodge]

I belive that it is just the batteries. I bought the truck used and they look older. It starts fine if it's driven daily it's only a problem if it just sits for a few days. Normally it's when I did not have it pluged in and the glow plugs have more work to do. The block heater works fine but I have a big driveway and sometimes I don't have that many extention cords. I don't always plug it in overnight. I prefer to just plug it in awhile before I start it. I try in not to waste the power.

odsessy are interesting I don't know anything about those.

I thought Interstate and diehard were the same battery. Not sure if my sears sells batteries or at least stock the big one. I should check.

since we are on the topic,, why would I want to use a batery heating blanket instead of a battery tender? The charging of the battery should keep it warm and charged right?
http://batterytender.com/product_info.php?products_id=36


I am not happy with optimas, I have a red top and a yellow top sitting outside right now. I grew up near summit auto racing and for a few years would get a red top replaced nearly every summer.

Is a gel cell batery even that much better if you are not mounting it on it's side or something. The 1 napa battery I used to replace the 2 optimas is working great in the plow truck all winter. (The use of thetruck has changed, but it's working)

 

[Nitromethane43]

If you are loosing power after it sits, you may have a dead short or something that is drawing current.

Do you have an sound system, cb radio, or any other additional accessory installed? You can remove the negative terminal and hook up a test light or DMM between the terminal and battery cable to see how much current is going through when the truck is off.

 

[madizell]

I have owned vehicles now since 1970 and have never had any car or truck battery last only one year. The average is more like 7 years, and I have had some last 10. Better check the vehicle thoroughly before assuming you are getting bad batteries.