DieselDaze

ehhh really not interested in learning about batteries I just want mine to WORK!!!!!

went out to start the jeep today (has been 4 days) and, ruhn,ruhn, ruhn, nothing.....

DEAD BATTERY>>>>. EVERSTART SUCKS>>>>>>>but walmart sucks more

salad

How many CCAs did you buy?

DieselDaze

I think its 550 iirc.... this is the 2nd (replacement) battery since I bought one new in May

Turbo X_J

Probably not the battery.

Parsnip

Everstarts are crap, autozones are decent, advance are my personal fave, because 1) I work for them and get em cheaper, 2) the warranty is pretty nice and 3) I've had yet to have an issue. My opinion, so don't take it as a fact lol I've just had bad experience with o really batteries lol

DieselDaze

thanks for posting that, really straight forward and I've never done that before, I'm charging my battery on slow tonight and will do the test tomorrow..

There is the obvious indicator red light that's on from maybe an alarm?? but I doubt its draining that many amps...

shum8

Wow not much being said about the Optimas here. First off my battery on my other truck died 3 weeks ago. GMC Z71 with 5.3. Nothing other than factory electronics. Lasted 40 months. I paid $119 plus tax for it. They tested it and said marginal. Meaning they had to think on it a minute before they decided to help me out. End result, the price of a new one had gone up to $150. They gave me $50 toward a new one. Hard to pass up so I got another Interstate. Then believe it or not the battery on the Cherokee dies the very next day. So Im thinking Optima red top. IVe had 2 with outstanding life from the. One in my tractor and one in my Ski Nautique. Amazon is the only way to fly. $151 delivered to my door. Autozone wanted $230 for one. OK subtract my cost of fuel for going to get one and that lowers the price even further. My truck gets 13 mpg and the nearest parts house is 20 miles. So basically I got my Optima red top for $140 and didnt have to leave the house. Ill not drive all over town and worry about pricing again. Internet sales are the way to go.

DieselDaze

if you're talking about your vortec motor, you have something wrong.... should be getting 16+ city all day long...

problem with shopping internet all the time and not allowing a B&M store an opportunity is slowly killing local economy... we all fish prices on the net and sometimes makes sense but lately (last couple years) I've been wanting to get out and actually shop what I'm interested in, so I pay taxes and a few extra bucks I feel I've served mankind somehow by doing so

btw, they did mention optima in the thread, also talked about how the quality has gone down lately so you may want to reconsider...

investinwaffles

I have personally had terrible experience with Optima redtops. I had to replace mine 3 times in another of my vehicles, pretty much every 6 months. Replaced it with a Duralast Gold battery that is 3 years old and functions perfectly. Just my experience though, I have heard alot of people that use only Optima.

Because of that, I went straight for another Duralast Gold (as it was mentioned, they are manufactured by JCI). Put in a type 34 battery but had to cut the lip on the tray to get it to fit. I put a rubber battery pad in and it hasnt moved since I installed it. I will say that I am not thrilled with their 3 year replacement warranty, and afterwords its only prorated or something, but it seems to be the norm with all the manufactures these days. My friend has a 6 year old Interstate Megatron that works perfectly as well, and he has 2 big subwoofers that he gets quite a bit of use out of.

Stock Replacement vs the oversized type 34 (600 vs 800 CCA). No more dimming lights and tons of reserve power for when I leave my lights on by accident or have my audio system cranked.

salad

Really getting off topic here but if I lived in an area where this was even an option I'd gladly pay the couple of bucks to maintain the convenience of a local shop. However the reality of the situation is that I would need a second and third job to afford even basic maintenance...

Blower motor resistor pack
PartSource: $74
NAPA: $75
RockAuto: $13

Hub to steering knuckle bolt
Dealership: $18
FactoryMoparParts.com: $5

Upstream O2 sensor
PartSource: $90 (this might be the SALE price)
RockAuto: $35

Just ain't happenin'.

Batteries and filters, on the other hand, come in reasonably.

DieselDaze

no I hear ya,that's just crazy.... I'm mainly referring to house and living, you know not only your day to day stuff but also the things you need but really don't need that you end up finding on the net...

I'm all about saving $$ but if its only a couple its no biggie, i can touch and feel, even scratch and sniff in some cases..

3X30

So from what I learned here with a little research:


The OE replacement (group size 58) is adequate for typical daily driving. You pick your favorite supply.


The group size 34/78 DT has a higher amp capacity and is value added for extra equipment such as stereo amps, extra lighting and of course a winch. It should fit with little to no modifications. Pay attention during installation!


Battery Size compared (inches):

Group 58
L 10 1/16
W 7 3/16
H 6 15/16

Group 78 w/DT
L 10 3/4
W 6 7/8
H 8

I'm converting to the Group 78 DT (dual terminal) this weekend in prep for a winch and some lighting.


Hope this helps those that are truly needing help with battery choices.


Current battery in 93 XJ is group 58.

Fred/N0AZZ

I put the largest one that will fit into the space and buy the best/longest warranty one. 4 years ago I started using batteries from AutoZone I don't remember the brand/name but 84 mo. warranty I think. So far including both of the business's Ford Crew Cab F-350 Power Strokes, diesel Motor Home or 4 of the others XJ/WJ/Town Car or Conversion Van have any problems. The van has had issues for a long time of running down batteries because of all the things using power inside, so far so good but only 4 mo for it.

When its really cold outside if you turn on the lights for a minute to warm the battery you may have better luck starting up the car, it helps.