Any recommendations for a new van battery?

ehc0720 · 10-31-2012, 11:03 AM

My van battery is only 2 yrs old but it was bought at a Walmart. It drops below 12 volts in like 2 days sitting in the driveway so I think its shot.

**daveb** · 10-31-2012, 12:06 PM

For a Starting battery I'd suggest switching to AGM (if you're using an AGM house batt). Sears sell a battery made by odyssey:
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f20/spec ... y-1072045/
If switching to AGM make sure it's rated as a starting battery not a deep cycle. They're starting to make combo start/deep cycle batteries but staying specific seems to be the way to go.

If you want a house battery I prefer a 4-D lifeline but Deka is a good brand as well.

If you go through batteries on a regular basis the overall price might be more important than quality. Proper battery maintenance is critical and if carried out correctly and good battery like a Lifeline should last 5 years or more.

Gnarvan · 10-31-2012, 01:13 PM

Have you eliminated the possiblity that some rogue current draw is draining your battery? A lot of places will do a free battery check to make sure you have a battery problem and not something a little more sinister.

BrianW · 10-31-2012, 02:33 PM

Sam's Clubs on the east side of the country are now carrying "Duracell" batteries, which are made by East Penn batteries (Deka's manufacturer). They seem to be priced well and have really good warranties. I bought a set of three of their AGM deep-cycle batteries for my house battery, and also one for my van's starting battery.

TwoVans · 11-01-2012, 12:00 AM

I went with the Sears DieHard Platinums for my starting batteries. A plus is that the terminals are an exact match which makes the swap relatively easy. Also, Sears is nationwide in the event they fail under warantee.

Too early for a long-term report, but so far I'm very pleased

jage · 11-01-2012, 09:39 AM

I use Autozone Duralast Gold, only because they're easy to swap when they go bad. One codicil, the warranty is from purchase time- not swap out, so your warranty doesn't reset when you get new batteries. Still, I believe all batteries are junk these days and have high rates of fail- so I don't worry too much about brand but go economical and easy to replace... heh, it's more like "renting" your batteries.

ehc0720 · 11-29-2012, 08:49 AM

I must have something slowly draining the battery, I've had the battery load tested twice and was ok both times. I put a volt meter on it and I loose about .1 to .15 volts a day sitting in the driveway, after about 7 days it won't start. It charges up just fine and as long as I use it every 2-3 days it seems fine. I think I'm taking it to the Ford dealer today to have them check it out. Could the isolator be bad? When I put a trickle charger on the van battery after a while the house indicator light starts flashing fast (boost mode?). Should a charger on the van battery be also sending power to the house battery?

ehc0720 · 11-29-2012, 09:09 AM

Before I take this into the shop I'm going to disconnect the negative terminal and monitor the voltage for a few days and see if it drops at the same rate with it hooked up.

86Scotty · 11-29-2012, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ehc0720

Before I take this into the shop I'm going to disconnect the negative terminal and monitor the voltage for a few days and see if it drops at the same rate with it hooked up.

Good plan. Sounds like you have a drag, not a bad battery.

WM batteries are Johnson Controls batteries btw, so if you do swap, you might want to try a different manufacturer. I have em too, even though I know they aren't great.
What Jage said is true.

**daveb** · 11-29-2012, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ehc0720

I must have something slowly draining the battery, I've had the battery load tested twice and was ok both times. I put a volt meter on it and I loose about .1 to .15 volts a day sitting in the driveway, after about 7 days it won't start. It charges up just fine and as long as I use it every 2-3 days it seems fine. I think I'm taking it to the Ford dealer today to have them check it out. Could the isolator be bad? When I put a trickle charger on the van battery after a while the house indicator light starts flashing fast (boost mode?). Should a charger on the van battery be also sending power to the house battery?

Do you have an isolator or a separator...they're two different componets. If you have a isolator (such as a surepower 1302) corrosion can be an issue. Several items inside the conversions also pull a bit of amperage and the isolator is supposed to keep the stuff in the conversion from killing the starting battery system. I would completely disconnect the house charge cable (de-energize the isolator) from the engine, charge the battery and try it again. At least at that point you will know if it's an engine thing or a conversion thing. I've had an alternator supply a slight draw and do what you're talking about. No sense paying Ford to troubleshoot something they can't fix and many times jump to point at the conversion causing the problem when its an engine issue.