I have the original Motorcraft battery in my 2005 V10 Ex. While doing routine checking of things under the hood getting ready for winter...I noticed the 'eye' on the battery is a red color. There is NO indication on the battery anyplace i can see that tells me what 'red' means...

I'm used to Green being good and Black being bad...does anyone know what 'Red' on the motorcraft means?

If I need to get a new battery...I'd prefer to do it before it dies and strands me in the snow!!!...

THANKS!
joe.

 

From what I remember:
Green = Good
Yellow = Marginal
Red = Bad....

I would replace it soon.
Pat

 

The battery is hung-over.

 

Dont get a new batt from motorcraft. I put a motor craft batt in mine a year ago. It crapped out on me yesterday. Went to autozone, they tested it, said it was bad and spent 84 on a new batt which was a duralast gold. 1000 cranking amps at 32 degress or above or 875 cranking amps when it is 32 degrees or below that. U also get a 3 year warrenty and u get a card with a telephone number on it and if u get stranded (if u leave ur lights on or somthing) they will come out at jump u for free. The duralast gold is cheaper then the OEM motorcraft batts. Also if u have ur orig batt it is 750 cranking amps at 32 degrees or above. Autozone also gets rid of ur batt for free

 

Matt,

Too bad about the Motorcraft. If you still had the receipt you could have gotten a new one as they offer a 30 month free replacement, and then from month 31 to 84 it is prorated. I've had good luck with Motorcraft and I've one had to replace one in over 20 years of using them.

 

im not saying that their bad, I love motorcraft parts, but this one was probably a lemon. Not every car company is perfect. The truck alone requires 750 cranking amps which was what the old battery puts out. The reason why i think the battery died was i added subs about a year and a half ago and i think that the subs beat the crap out of this stock 750 CA battery. thats why i bout a 1000 CA batt

 

THANKS to all the replies...

I called Ford just a little bit ago as this is the original battery but only 3 years old...their info stated that the cell this indicator was tied to was going bad and the battery needed replaced.

I then called around (Advance, Auto Zone, NAPA and Walmart).

The first three had 'similar' types of batteries and warranties with Advance and AutoZone having 3 year free and 84 month prorated. NAPA claimed 18mo free and 75mo prorated. All were 850-875 CCA with 1000 cranking (CCA is below 32).

I then checked consumer reports. They rated all 4 of these in their top category.

The Walmart one carries the same CCA and cranking data. It has a 3 year free replacement and then 9 YEARS prorated for a total of 12 years! It is also ~$20 less than the others...

Sooo...I think I'm gonna go with the EverStart from Walmart...plus they are accessible throughout the US and I travel quite a bit towing...so nationwide access was important...NAPA was the next nationally wide one...

Plus I realized that i have a set of EverStarts on my boat for my trolling motor and they have been through 6 fishing seasons and are still holding a charge (they are deep cycle though)...

So I figure I'd save $20 and try the 12 year option...

Thanks again for all the help...looks like red in this case is a bad thing that I want to get rid of before the hard Indiana winter sets in...

joe.

 

Sounds like a good plan, just remeber to check the battery's build date and eye before you buy it. Some Wal-Marts aren't as diligent as they should be about rotating and charging their battery stock. I have seen both very old and very dead batteries on their shelves.

Calvin

 

If u dont know how, their is a sticker on the side of the battery. I had to check to. Whats the specs on ur batt? Also does it have a number that u can call if u leave ur lights or somthing for jump start?

 

Calvin,

Thanks...that's good advice...my wife just called from Walmart after picking up a battery for me...it had a November 2007 build date...so I'd say that was fresh!...but she did have to have the guy dig for this one...as there were ones from Oct, Sept, June, May...so your advice was GREAT...THANKS!

joe.

 

Matt,

My OEM battery is a 750 CCA one.

I looked all over it...but it does have a 'blanket' around it...that I didn't take off as I would have had to decable it...to find the color code...the 'red' bothers me heading into the winter...for $62.28 for a 12 year 850CCA and 1000 cranking battery...It is cheap insurance...IMO...

As far as road-side assistance...I've had Ford since my Ex is still under warranty...but next year I'm adding Good Sam's road side for all the vehicles and RV...about $80 per year for coverage...comparable to AAA BUT it covers my RV as well...so I will have coverage for jumps...but than again when RV'ing...I've got the RV battery to use if needed! LOL

joe

 

Interstate>all other battaries

 

All vehicle batteries are made by 1 of 3 manufacturers.

1) Johnson Controls,
2) Exide,
or
3) East Penn.

Who makes what.... don't ask me.
But I do know Johnson Control > all other batteries.

EDIT: Just found it on the Internet....

Johnson Controls manufactures Interstate batteries.

 

Between me and all my car nut friends weve decided it goes something like this Interstate>DieHard>all the other house brands>Optima

Dont even get me started on all the optima's I've killed! Red or yellow, JUNK!

 

Here's even more information:


The majority of car batteries are created by 3 manufacturers - Delphi, Exide and Johnson Controls Industries.

Delphi makes some EverStart models sold in Walmart and ACDelco.

Johnson Control Industries makes Duralast seen in Autozone stores, Diehard - sold in Sears, Kirkland - the Costco brand, Motorcraft - which Ford sells, some of the EverStarts, and Interstate.

Exide makes Exide batteries, Champion, Napa and even a % of the EverStart batteries.