Ok fellas, here's what I got going on:

We just had our first -14 degree night this week in Syracuse, and yesterday I couldn't get the old Beast started at -10 (F). I just picked up a nice new Sears Die-Hard Weatherhandler battery last March with 650 CCA's. That battery just couldn't give the revs needed to light the old girl at that temp. (You I6 guys know that engine can be a real bear to turn). So I called into work, got a jumpstart from a friend, and went over to Sears to see if I could get a new battery since it had a huge 18 month warranty. They told me to take my rusty truck and **** off, the battery was weak, but OK, and they did a charging system check and said the alternator is charging ok. Punks. So I figure for the price of a new battery, I could get one of those cool little booster packs, since my battery is practically new anyways. Then I could let my friends borrow it and stuff.

So what I'm wondering is: Do you guys have any experience with those neat little booster packs? I'd hate to drop $80 on one and have it not be able to give enough juice to get the old Beast spinning. My battery is rated at 650 CCA, and doesn't seem to be getting the job done at -10 degrees. My Spring semester begins on monday, and we're got a -17 degree night predicted next week, and I really really don't wanna have to miss class.

Can any of you fellas help me out? I posted this at Pickuptruck.com and didn't get much of a response.

 

Either your oil is like 90 weight, or the charging system isn't working. It is likely you need to tend to the wires and terminals, clean, tighten etc. The Sears batteries are good enuf for zero weather, I have one. Check the terminals at the relay, battery, starter, alternator and chassis. Frayed, or corroded wires are unacceptable. Do not trust anyone when they tell you the alternator is good, those alts can die a long slow death and cause you unexpected grief, then seem OK the next day in the shop. There have been dozens of posts about the alternator problems here. I have never had a problem in the cold with my I-6 49er.

The hotshot is great to have any time, you can save damsels/dudes in distress without frying your system.
I used them when I worked as a car transporter, but the name of the battery company slips me. I do remember, we had a couple of different brands. They always worked OK. I guess they are rated by total amphours like any battery, just make sure you have good connectors.

 

Sorry, forgot to say Na zdrowie to ya.

About the oil, check your owners manual, you might like to use 5w 30 oil for the next 3000 miles. Then go back to 10w30 in March (late March maybe)

It would be good to get a few bottles of gas treatment also, keep everything lubed up and clean in the fuel system. Running a step up in octane couldn't hurt. I hope you make it to school, there are enuf uneducated people in this country!

 

We used booster packs made by Century when I worked at Carmax. Always worked good, and can get many jumps off a single charge. Have since bought one myself (1000 peak amps) and it has worked well with infrequent use. I picked mine up at a Sams Club 2 years ago. About $40.

 

That was a sale price.

 

Wow, lots of good advice, thanks guys!

I suppose the alternator could be the culprit here, it's the original from 16 years ago, but when I was driving last night (after I got a jumpstart) I saw that I had like almost 15 volts on the meter in the dash, and that was with the headlights on. So I've GOT to be charging, right?

I'd hate to switch to thinner oil, I just changed it a couple weeks ago, and put in Mobil 1 full synthetic (I don't f**k around), and I'm REAL glad I did that 'cause Christmas day I was driving around and somehow lost all my coolant, and ran the temp right up to the red trying to limp home. Then that weekend I put in a new radiator, water pump, thermostat, and fan clutch. Lucky for me that weekend we had a miraculous 60 degree temp for the whole weekend, so I was able to do all that without freezing my **** off.

Last night when I had her running, I went down to the store and grabbed a bottle of Slick 50. I remembered from my more naive days (like when I was about 16) I experimented with that stuff in my old Buick, and it seemed to make the old engine turn MUCH easier at startup. So we'll see if it does the same for my old Ford. So it's 7:20 am here now, today we'll see if she starts. If she can't, I think I'm going to go back to Sears one more time and see if they refuse to throw me a frickin' bone and allow me to trade in my battery for something with 800 CCA or more. I figure, chances are, they won't and I'll have to decide if I wanna drop $65 on a new battery or $80 on a little booster pack thingy.

 

Ok, quick update:

I just started her up, no problem at 0 degrees, -13 wind chill.

That's like more than 10 degrees warmer than what would have made me comfortable though. It's gonna be a scary week. I'd better find me a booster. If she can't fire up in -20 degree temps, I'll be in the crapper. I'm beginning to dislike Sears.

 

Ok, here's another question for you fellas who have used those cool little Booster Packs:

Do you keep them in your truck so that they're freezing cold when you go to use them? I'm researching this HARD and it looks like even for the industrial strength boosters, they say to keep it above 50 degrees for best operation. And almost every single one I found has no Cold Cranking Amperage rating.

Look here for the ES6000 manual (in pdf)

that bad boy is like $200, but it looks like it's about the best you can do without going for a dump-truck jumpstarter.

more stuff here

You might be able to tell already, if I'm gonna drop some money on this, I wanna make sure I get the baddest one that I can get my hands on without spending %$#@ 400 bucks. I mean, what good will one of these do if it won't work when it's cold?

 

ok, I take that back:

I see that the ES5000 is tested down to -20 degrees

1500 peak amps.
22 amp hour battery.
LED battery status indicator.
Automatic recharging.
43" Heavy-duty cables cold weather rated to -20 degrees .
DC outlet to power a variety of 12 Volt accessories.
1 year limited warranty.

ES5000

 

Aw man, premature ej-- err posting.

I tihnk that means that the cables are good to -20.

p00p.

 

I'd check your cables. My unknown year diehard (??) will turn over my 300 and start it at 5 degrees with no choke and 40 weight HD oil (straight 40HD).. Not saying it could have used some more juice

 

So you think my cables are corroded enough to resist just enough to keep the battery alone from getting her fired up?

 

You need to do a few voltage drop tests to see if your cables are OK. First, disable the ignition or fuel system so you can crank without the engine starting. Voltage Drop (VD) the ground by using a Digital Multi Meter (DMM). To do that, hook your positive lead to a clean piece of metal on the engine block, and hook your negative lead to the negative battery terminal. Then have an assistant crank the engine continuously for ten seconds while you monitor the DMM. VD on the ground should not exceed 0.2V at any time during the ten second crank test. If it does, this indicates a poor ground and excessive electrical resistance. Either bad cables, or corroded connections, or both. Next, test the positive cable going to the starter relay, on the passenger side inner fender. Hook the red lead of your DMM to the positive terminal of the battery, and hook the black lead to the starter relay input terminal (the one with the fusable links bolted to it). Have your assistant crank the engine for ten seconds and observe the meter. If VD exceeds 0.2V, then just as on the ground, you have excessive resistance. Next, hook your red lead to the input terminal of the starter relay, and the black lead to the output terminal (the one with only one cable bolted to it). Crank for ten seconds and observe the meter. VD should not exceed 0.1V across the relay, or it has excessive resistance and needs to be replaced. Lastly, hook the red lead of your DMM to the starter relay output and the black lead to the starter positive terminal. Crank for ten seconds and read the VD. If it exceeds 0.2V, then that cable or it's contacts are faulty and have too much resistance. No matter how many CCA a battery is rated to, it still only has 12.6 volts to push that current with, and the more resistance it has to overcome, the less voltage is available to operate the starter. The ideal VD would be 0.0V (especially on the ground), but it should definately not exceed these levels listed here. Remember, Amps are like the "fuel" in the electrical system, and Voltage is the "fuel pressure". Just like your engine won't make full power with a clogged fuel filter or a kinked delivery line, neither will the starter deliver enough power if the "fuel lines" feeding it are restricted.

Dave

 

Mine with a 5 yr old motorcraft started all week in -25 to -30C mornings, thats -22F for you chaps in the states

 

Argo you ROCK!!!!

Thanks, I'll give that a shot ASAP. It's freezing cold outside, I have no garage here at school, and my spring semester started today, so God knows when I'll get a chance to run those tests, but they sound like a BEAUTIFUL way to check for lousy connections. I just replaced the starter last June, so hopefully there's no way those connections could be bad. I even used Ant-Sieze compound to make sure they don't rust up too bad.

THANKS!!!