It's time to replace the original battery in the V10. What are you guys using? Aftermarket? Ford?

 

The battery on my dads 03' was looking pretty bad and he wanted a new battery. He got a Duralast Gold replacement at Autozone. It has over 850CCA where his old MC battery is 750CCA and the MC in my 04' is 650CCA. Cost under $100. I bought and installed 4 Duralast batteries in the last 4 or 5 years and they are all in service yet. They seem like good batteries and the case is fairly rugged and Autozone has a good warrenty policy. I'm going to get a gold top when my 04' needs a new battery.

 

My ~5 year old checker auto battery is finally on its last leg. Only holding around 10-11 volts, right at 12.5-13 when running. Will probably have to replace it before winter but it lasted through 2 years of AZ summers and 3 years of PA winters. Not too bad in my book...

 

The worst batteries I had were Exide. Deka always worked well for me. My father's dodge has a Deka that is 4 years old. I just put a Duralast gold in mine last year.

 

I did a little research on here and it seems there are only like 4-5 companies out there that produce batteries that aren't specialized such as Optima. These companies then sell them to other companies to rebadge (Napa, Exide, Autozone, Wal-Mart etc...)

That said, I just went out to Autozone and got a Duralast Yellow top. They have a good warranty, you can find a store everywhere and those guys will take anything back. I've had them in all my trucks for the past 10 years and I haven't had a problem yet.

 

Now if you want a great price on a battery, try going to your local AutoZone store and ask them if they have any return batteries. A year or so ago we went to the local AZ store and needed a battery, but told them price was a factor due to the vehicle we were needing it for. They sold us a battery that had been purchased earlier in the week, but returned because it turned out not to be the problem the previous purchaser was looking to fix. But because it had been sold previously, it could not be sold as new with a warranty. Yet is was a brand new battery with a 60 month warranty originally a week earlier....price $20

 

I bought a Deka for my truck last year. Had no problem cranking whatsoever at 2:30 in the morning at 10 degrees or less, in an open barn.

 

My factory Motorcraft battery is going on 7 years old. It works well however it died twice this summer when I had the doors open for a couple hours while loading up. We are going into our 5th Alaskan winter and I am going to see how much more I can milk out of it...

 

Seriously. Don't.

 

What am I thinking! Thanks for talking me off the edge! You are right. We had our first freeze a week ago and I should probably replace it this weekend.

 

4 or 5 battery companies? Probably less than that like 2 or 3

I can't say one way or the other, but my stock Motorcraft battery for my truck (9 years old) is still in service. I pulled it out last summer because it had a low charge, but only because it was sitting in the truck without it running much. I charged it up on the bench, let it sit for a year, and it was still at 12.3 volts, so it went into the Cougar trying to fix a random O2 heater issue. Didn't fix it, but it was better than the battery that was in it

Roadhawk/Seahawk (Deka), Interstate, and a few other brands are pretty good. I'd go with the easiest to find locally with a good warranty. Autozone/Advance Auto/etc would be the way I'd go. I can get Roadhawks at wholesale, so personally I'm going with another Roadhawk next time. Got one in the truck now that was in my stepson's Taurus for 5 years, still going strong. Load tested it and it's still good.

Whatever you do, make sure it's CHARGED before you put it in the vehicle. Check it with a digital volt meter, and if it's not at least 12.5-12.6 volts right off the shelf, do not buy it. Seriously, I'd check it with a volt meter before even purchasing it. If it was allowed to sit discharged too long, it won't last.

 

I have been pretty lucky with the Motorcraft batteries in my Ford Motor products...they seem to die with in a 1,000 miles of the 36/36,000 warranty expiring. So Ford ends up replacing the battery for me at no charge. That has included both gas and diesel products.
Now the down side is, even the new just replaced batterys warranty expires on the same date as the 36/36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty of the vehicle expires.

I was surprised no one mentioned the Walmart brand batteries as a replacement. Fair price, good warranty, and there is a Walmart close to everyone if a replacement is needed.

 

Here's the deal man, my Automotive instructor who is also an ASE Master Tech once told us, "Everything in your car runs off electric from the battery. If your battery is gone, you're walking home."

Me personally, I have to stake my life on my truck in the middle of the night in Winter. Would you rather have a battery that is widely regarded as being very reliable, or would rather have a battery you basically bought because of cheap price and availability.

 

Wal-mart batteries are rated pretty decent. My problem with places like Wal-Mart and K-Mart when it comes to batteries they tend to sit around for a while and hauling your core around all over the store is a pain. I can go into autozone plunk my core on the counter, grab a new battery and be on my way. I also never had much luck with Sears diehard batteries.

I think the reason the MC batteries in the vehicle from factory last so long is because they are fresh batteries and the charging system on the vehicles is new. My dad had a MC battery last 10 years already.

 

Great discussions, guys. This is why the V10 forum is one of the best resources for info on our trucks. Thanks to everyone for your input. I was torn between going Motorcraft or getting one from my local auto parts. Went with the Duralast Gold from Auto Zone. Got more cold craking amps and a great warranty, for less money than my local Ford dealer. Bring on the freezing temps...