Advice Needed: Replace Battery Or????
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Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,274
Likes: 4
From: Seattle area
Advice Needed: Replace Battery Or????
As us regulars know, the OEM battery has been a hot topic the past few months. When it came up a few months ago, I had an auto parts store load test my battery to see where it was at. The machine said it was good, but at about 75% capacity/health. This roughly correlated with some voltage testing I did after watching some YouTube channels, so I thought it was fine.
Fast forward to today. I took my newly acquired 12v batter load tester (Thanks Santa!) out to the truck and ran the test. It reported the battery at 62% capacity/health and “Good but needs charging”. This struck me as strange since I’d driven 200ish miles yesterday, pretty much all freeway. The terminals are clean too. Knowing my new toy was a cheap widget made overseas, I visited another auto parts store today for a 3rd opinion. The test showed my battery was fine (didn’t tell me the %), but it needed charging. He also tested my starter and alternate, both of which passed.
So my questions are:
- Wouldn’t a nice long drive like the one I had yesterday fully charge my battery? Even if I was running lights, the HVAC and stereo? The truck had only sat for about 15hrs before I ran my test this morning
- I’ve got a charger on the battery now. Obviously, if it doesn’t take any more charge it’s got to be replaced. What battery are you guys all recommending these days? I’m particularly interested in other battery formats (AGM, gel, etc). that might last longer and handle more discharge cycles than the stock design. I often run my battery for 60-90 minutes at a time (1-2 times a week).
- Who’s running an AGM or gel battery in their truck? I’m curious if these work with all the battery monitoring nannies in these trucks...
Fast forward to today. I took my newly acquired 12v batter load tester (Thanks Santa!) out to the truck and ran the test. It reported the battery at 62% capacity/health and “Good but needs charging”. This struck me as strange since I’d driven 200ish miles yesterday, pretty much all freeway. The terminals are clean too. Knowing my new toy was a cheap widget made overseas, I visited another auto parts store today for a 3rd opinion. The test showed my battery was fine (didn’t tell me the %), but it needed charging. He also tested my starter and alternate, both of which passed.
So my questions are:
- Wouldn’t a nice long drive like the one I had yesterday fully charge my battery? Even if I was running lights, the HVAC and stereo? The truck had only sat for about 15hrs before I ran my test this morning
- I’ve got a charger on the battery now. Obviously, if it doesn’t take any more charge it’s got to be replaced. What battery are you guys all recommending these days? I’m particularly interested in other battery formats (AGM, gel, etc). that might last longer and handle more discharge cycles than the stock design. I often run my battery for 60-90 minutes at a time (1-2 times a week).
- Who’s running an AGM or gel battery in their truck? I’m curious if these work with all the battery monitoring nannies in these trucks...
Lead Driver
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 5,650
Likes: 243
From: GA
As us regulars know, the OEM battery has been a hot topic the past few months. When it came up a few months ago, I had an auto parts store load test my battery to see where it was at. The machine said it was good, but at about 75% capacity/health. This roughly correlated with some voltage testing I did after watching some YouTube channels, so I thought it was fine.
Fast forward to today. I took my newly acquired 12v batter load tester (Thanks Santa!) out to the truck and ran the test. It reported the battery at 62% capacity/health and “Good but needs charging”. This struck me as strange since I’d driven 200ish miles yesterday, pretty much all freeway. The terminals are clean too. Knowing my new toy was a cheap widget made overseas, I visited another auto parts store today for a 3rd opinion. The test showed my battery was fine (didn’t tell me the %), but it needed charging. He also tested my starter and alternate, both of which passed.
So my questions are:
- Wouldn’t a nice long drive like the one I had yesterday fully charge my battery? Even if I was running lights, the HVAC and stereo? The truck had only sat for about 15hrs before I ran my test this morning
- I’ve got a charger on the battery now. Obviously, if it doesn’t take any more charge it’s got to be replaced. What battery are you guys all recommending these days? I’m particularly interested in other battery formats (AGM, gel, etc). that might last longer and handle more discharge cycles than the stock design. I often run my battery for 60-90 minutes at a time (1-2 times a week).
- Who’s running an AGM or gel battery in their truck? I’m curious if these work with all the battery monitoring nannies in these trucks...
Fast forward to today. I took my newly acquired 12v batter load tester (Thanks Santa!) out to the truck and ran the test. It reported the battery at 62% capacity/health and “Good but needs charging”. This struck me as strange since I’d driven 200ish miles yesterday, pretty much all freeway. The terminals are clean too. Knowing my new toy was a cheap widget made overseas, I visited another auto parts store today for a 3rd opinion. The test showed my battery was fine (didn’t tell me the %), but it needed charging. He also tested my starter and alternate, both of which passed.
So my questions are:
- Wouldn’t a nice long drive like the one I had yesterday fully charge my battery? Even if I was running lights, the HVAC and stereo? The truck had only sat for about 15hrs before I ran my test this morning
- I’ve got a charger on the battery now. Obviously, if it doesn’t take any more charge it’s got to be replaced. What battery are you guys all recommending these days? I’m particularly interested in other battery formats (AGM, gel, etc). that might last longer and handle more discharge cycles than the stock design. I often run my battery for 60-90 minutes at a time (1-2 times a week).
- Who’s running an AGM or gel battery in their truck? I’m curious if these work with all the battery monitoring nannies in these trucks...
Congrats on your new toy but a better meter will serve you better because it`ll be more accurate.
Take a look at Fluke.
Thread Starter
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Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,274
Likes: 4
From: Seattle area
So in less than an hour, closer to 30m actually, my battery charger reported the battery fully charged. So I hooked it up to my new battery tester and it’s now reporting a “Good battery” with 737 CCA’s (mine is rated for 730), its charge at 100% and health at 85%. Interesting.
Guess I’ll monitor it for a few weeks and see how it goes. I might run the test again tomorrow morning.
Guess I’ll monitor it for a few weeks and see how it goes. I might run the test again tomorrow morning.
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 19,311
Likes: 97
From: Waterloo, Iowa
Is this a carbon pile load tester that Santa brung ya? Or another conductance type of battery tester? A battery is like a piggy bank, if you take out more than you put in it will be emptied.
Thread Starter
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Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,274
Likes: 4
From: Seattle area
Heck if I know...it was a reasonably priced gizmo on Amazon. It’s the Foxwell BT 100 Pro 12V Battery Analyzer, from the Shenzhen Foxwell Technology Company. It has to be good...it’s from Amazon, the model has “Pro” in the name and “Technology” in the corp. What could possibly be wrong with any of that?
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 19,311
Likes: 97
From: Waterloo, Iowa
Ha! ...gotcha. That unit is what's called a conductance tester, they are good but it isn't an actual load tester. They probably shouldn't call it that.
Did they put the battery on a load tester at the auto parts store? What that means, is a resistive dummy load applied (carbon pile) equal to 1/2 whatever the rated CCA of the battery is for 15 seconds. The voltage at the posts is measured throughout and must not fall below 9.6 volts (77° F) to pass. It's a pretty good torture test. It's only valid if the battery is charged and then, the battery will need some quality time with a charger afterwards. This is why the conductance testers are popular, it's a lot quicker and easier, but a load test is the gold standard.
Did they put the battery on a load tester at the auto parts store? What that means, is a resistive dummy load applied (carbon pile) equal to 1/2 whatever the rated CCA of the battery is for 15 seconds. The voltage at the posts is measured throughout and must not fall below 9.6 volts (77° F) to pass. It's a pretty good torture test. It's only valid if the battery is charged and then, the battery will need some quality time with a charger afterwards. This is why the conductance testers are popular, it's a lot quicker and easier, but a load test is the gold standard.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,007
Likes: 575
From: Brentwood,CA
You need a different tester for AGM. You also need to have about 4 hours of free time and divide the CCA by 2. Use the east Penn guide. Same procedure for all AGM.
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Cross-Country
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 97
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Battery testers can tell you the battery is good when it is tested. No guarantee it will still be good in 15 minutes.
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Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,274
Likes: 4
From: Seattle area
Ha! ...gotcha. That unit is what's called a conductance tester, they are good but it isn't an actual load tester. They probably shouldn't call it that.
Did they put the battery on a load tester at the auto parts store? What that means, is a resistive dummy load applied (carbon pile) equal to 1/2 whatever the rated CCA of the battery is for 15 seconds. The voltage at the posts is measured throughout and must not fall below 9.6 volts (77° F) to pass. It's a pretty good torture test. It's only valid if the battery is charged and then, the battery will need some quality time with a charger afterwards. This is why the conductance testers are popular, it's a lot quicker and easier, but a load test is the gold standard.
Did they put the battery on a load tester at the auto parts store? What that means, is a resistive dummy load applied (carbon pile) equal to 1/2 whatever the rated CCA of the battery is for 15 seconds. The voltage at the posts is measured throughout and must not fall below 9.6 volts (77° F) to pass. It's a pretty good torture test. It's only valid if the battery is charged and then, the battery will need some quality time with a charger afterwards. This is why the conductance testers are popular, it's a lot quicker and easier, but a load test is the gold standard.
Super Moderator
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 40,039
Likes: 1,523
From: Maine, Virginia
My experience with Ford OEM batteries has been pretty dismal with none lasting more than 40 months or so. They are clearly building these trucks with a low quality battery and then offering the Motorcraft MAXX as a replacement option. The MAXX batteries in my Expy and F-150 both came with a 99 month prorated warranty, 3 year full replacement and they are no more expensive than anything else in a particular class.
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 19,311
Likes: 97
From: Waterloo, Iowa
Somebody in one of the forums was complaining that their battery was "fine when I went to the store" and were very skeptical that it would fail so suddenly. That's really not unusual.
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