problem with batteries
 

i have yet another problem now i took my batttery cables off today to clean the corrosion off because i read somewhere on here it could be a culprit for tough starts. so after i take them off clean them real good and reconnect everything its even harder to start. all my gauge lights dim when im tryin to crank and its a good 4-5 seconds before she turns over. i thought cleaning them would help and it has only worsend the problem. so my question here is what the he** is going on here and what are some good batteries to run that arent 100 bucks apiece?

Are your current batteries at least 850 cca, and load test fine? If not, could be part of the problem. Costco has 'em for $70 each. 3 year replacement.

Just a thought....I thought my batteries were going bad due to long, slow cranking. It turned out to be a couple of bad bearings in my starter. A lot cheaper to fix than buying new batteries.

how did u trace it to the bearings in the starter??

Please go back and see if you are able to turn the battery terminal, never, never should it have gotten worse just by cleaning. Next, please take a meter and check the voltage at the top of the batteries, should be 12.7. The thing that stands out in your story right now is you haven't said anything about a clicking noise under your dash while trying to start, this could be telling us you have plenty of power, but a lousy starter was Ranger had shared with you.

I like to check my battery condition with a hydrometer.. (batteries need to be fully charged to test them).. Napa sell a battery hydrometer for around $20.. It will show each battery cell's condition. If just one cell is low or bad, I replace the battery..
Also, check the alternator voltage at the battery at an idle... should be around 14.4volts..
Like Pat says, check the battery terminals. Had a battery last year on my cougar, the battery terminal just plain fell off, flush in the battery top... !!

no clickin under the dash just very hard to start i am about to do a load test on the batteries ill let yall know