Today I bought what I thought was the correct battery for my 09 F150. When I got home, I noticed that the battery was a little bigger than the stock one. I looked up the battery on line and then saw that there is a Canadian version and American version. I don't know what that means, anyway the new battery is 750 Cold cranking amps and is bigger but fits in the battery box. The original battery calls for a 590 CCA and is smaller. Is this going to create a problem? Can I just use the bigger battery? Or should I get the right one? Both batteries are for 09 F150.

 

59 series standard duty bxt 59
65 series heavy duty bxt 65-650/750 or 850 depending on cca
majority come with the bigger series battery.more cca

 

Will work fine

 

group 65 is the go-to battery for most fords around here.

keep the bigger battery, no reason not to (except, perhaps, cost)

 

As long as it fits within the box and connects satisfactorily, the larger & stronger battery is to be preferred. It will start better, crank longer, and probably have a longer life span. Be glad that you got it.

 

The 590 CCA battery is fine for warmer states like CA, FL, etc..where weather conditions aren't a factor during winter start-up conditions. The higher the CCA (750-850-900) the better in 'cold states like MN, ND,MT, etc..when the engine and oil are super cold and the battery and starter have to turn over the engine with 'thick' oil.

 

Thanks Guys, I sort of figured that it would be fine. I just wanted to hear what other thoughts were. I am going to keep it. It started this morning so I guess it works. haHa.

 

Cold weather is definitely a "double whammy", not only is the oil thick as molasses and current demands higher, at the same time the low temperature also reduces the current the battery is capable of producing through high internal resistance. It doesn't hurt anything to charge up a new battery prior to use, the last one I bought took 4 or 5 hours to reach full charge. This keeps the charging system happy. New batteries are also "hard" and don't reach full rated current capacity until a dozen or so starting and charge cycles.

 

This is a good point tedster about charging your battery when you first get it. Don't assume a short drive home will get you to 100% charge. It's not much hassle to slap a charger on it, and in my opinion, totally worth it.
In very cold weather, I also usually put one of my smart chargers onto the truck battery overnight. It's one of those things, you can't really tell if it helps, but it sure can't hurt. I do a lot of short trips around town in winter, and if the trip is short enough, your battery is probably ending the trip with less charge than it started. When it's -40, I want to know the truck will start.
I've had other vehicles with slow parasitic drains, and that's where this habit started from, but I keep it up, and it makes me happy for the five or six coldest nights of the year.

Just for fun, next time you are in a really cold spell, anything -20 and colder, put a voltage meter on your battery, then open the truck door and leave the interior lights on, and check that voltage again. It's a lot lower than you think. Even worse on my wifes mini-van with power sliding doors. Those door motors take a lot of juice.

 

The F-150's and the Expeditions should all run the 65 series battery.

 

What's funny is that I live in the south, all 3 F150s I've owned spec'd a 65 series battery. Even my little brothers 08 4.2 liter came with a 65 series.