Battery upgrade

[jsd245]

Since the battery box was the only area of the new truck that was rusted I set about replacing it .  It wasn't exactly straightforward with the DCM battery box. Maybe it was because it was a big truck, but none of the holes lined up great and it interfered with the running board mount, so some modifications had to happen. I also retained the original support which wasn't really rusted bad so it still bolted to the running board bracket and was supported.
 

While doing that I also upgraded the  battery cables, which were  way too small (someone had replaced them with just standard 12 volt cables) and since the optima battery was so small I decided to parallel two. Holy cow what a difference in starting. Spins it over much faster and almost instantly starts, even when cold . Before if  left any extraneous load on, even a turn signal running I couldn't start the truck. I guess with the small cables the voltage drop was too much. So technically I have 1600 CCA now and 200 minutes of reserve. Hopefully these optima's last a while because they are pricey. 

[dgrinnan]

Not a bad solution.  When I first got my truck up and running I was afraid the 6v battery was going to keep draining between starts because it would sit for long periods.  Once I got the truck road worthy it seemed to "settle in" and now the standard 6v battery seems fine, even if the truck has been sitting.  When I have to replace the battery I will give your solution some thought.  

[jsd245]

On 5/16/2023 at 10:22 AM, dgrinnan said:

Not a bad solution.  When I first got my truck up and running I was afraid the 6v battery was going to keep draining between starts because it would sit for long periods.  Once I got the truck road worthy it seemed to "settle in" and now the standard 6v battery seems fine, even if the truck has been sitting.  When I have to replace the battery I will give your solution some thought.  

Yes that’s why I got the optima. Was hoping it would hold its charge longer under infrequent driving. I really am amazed at how much quicker the truck starts now, which I guess is probably a function of the correctly sized cables so there is no voltage drop.