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1980 - 1986 Bullnose F100, F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks Discuss the Early Eighties Bullnose Ford Truck

Battery too small?

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Old Jan 13, 2011 | 08:06 PM
  #1  
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Battery too small?

well needless to say i bought a battery from sears (not my choice) and well it seems extremely small, i had a 94 f150 and the battery looked like it was double the size

well i went out to run it as it hasnt been run in a few weeks and its been cold and it turned over a few times and it never fully kicked over so i tried it a last time and there was nothing the battery is dead

what is the normal size for a 1980 f100 with a 5.0 i argued with the guy for an hour that its too small but he didnt believe me
 
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Old Jan 13, 2011 | 08:31 PM
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What size is the battery you have? I have an '80 F-150 with the 300-6, and apparently the right size is group 55. Whether it's the same for the 302 I don't know, but it looks small to my eyes, too.

However, I've had no problems starting my truck...until the alternator died, of course.
 
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Old Jan 13, 2011 | 08:45 PM
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i will check first thing in the morning but i was just talking to my uncle and he had an 88 crown vic with the 302 in it and he has the really small battery and it died on him all of the time

i just want a more suitable battery size for the truck haha
 
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Old Jan 14, 2011 | 04:51 AM
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The size of the battery isnt as important as you think, what is the CCA rated at, does it list the reserve? That truck only requires ~310 CCA by spec for the M/T, 380 for the A/T. There was an old guy that used to shop at my store, he used a Lawn &Garden battery in his 72 Electra 225 with a 455. He refused to use anything else as it was cheap, he had even built a special box for it. Are you sure you don't have a draw on the system, maybe a bad regulator or diode, a short in the system. It doesn't take much to kill a battery. Original should have been a group 55, most places stock group 56, which cranked the Fords all the way into the late 90's. A group 56 should have around 550 cca give or take and around 90 min reserve. More than enough to crank your truck, It was enough to crank a later model Mustang GT, with FI and full electronics. Just remember, just because you think you are right, the parts guy is not always wrong... Some of us might know a thing or two.
 

Last edited by Archion; Jan 14, 2011 at 07:07 AM. Reason: Spelling and content.
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Old Jan 14, 2011 | 11:06 AM
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I couldn't agree more. Physical battery size has little to do with the power output. I had a group 54 in my truck (80 F150, 300/C6) for 3-4 years, and it never failed to start in the coldest or hottest temps, until one cell went dead. I couldn't really complain, since it was used when I got it. I replaced it with a group 24F, due to that being a rather cheap size.
CCA and reserve are the important factors when it comes to battery choice. Getting the highest CCA/reserve power possible is far more important than how big the case is. The smaller cases were developed for smaller cars and cramped engine compartments, along with saving a little weight, but they can still be rather potent when built right.
 
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