To the Non-Readers amongst us I'll say up front, Sorry for the long a## post .

So, a little background.
My stiction having '06 runs well above 125° ECT. The Alternator (2nd rebuild) was repaired by a local shop in Dec, 2010. It died again early Feb, 2011 (yup, the fifth time counting the origonal failure) and the guys at the shop hooked me up with some free parts (diode plate and regulator) they described as being "for the police cars and ambulances" they do for the city. Batteries were replaced Feb, 2011 after the passenger side failed load test with AutoZone DuraLast Gold (850CCA,1,000 CCA@32°), yellow tops, just a couple weeks after the Alternator repair. After all this, battery voltage would never sag during cranking below 10.5ish and stayed between 13.8 and 14.2 after the glowplugs were off. A few weeks ago I saw FICM voltages in the low 40's for a couple of refresh cycles(ScanGauge) during cold cranking on two different occasions. Replaced the FICM relay and it didn't return. FICM volts bounces around fairly quickly, mostly 48 but 47, 47.5,46.5, etc. Temps dropped off here pretty badly over the last weekend-mid 20's- and I did shampoo the carpet in the truck over the weekend so the doors were open for awhile. It had sat, un-started from after work Last Friday until Tuesday.

The problem.
Hopped in to go to work 5:00am and the crank was weak for a couple seconds then a rapid clicking under the dash with all the lights on the instrument panel flashing in time. Released the key and it continued to crank! Very slowly and painfully but still turning over. Pulled the key and the instrument panel shut down but engine was still crawling over. Mashed the garage door button and sprinted in to my tool box and grabbed a wrench. Back out to the truck disconnected passenger side + cable, engine continued to crawl over, pulled driver side + and it quit. Drag out the battery charger (2/12/50amp model) and connect to the passenger side first-set to 12a. The gauge shows 20% charged and started climbing slowly. Went inside and called work (Taking the day off) came back out and charger has a green light (battery charged). Humm, disconnected and reconnected and it would go from 20% to 100% charged in about 20 seconds. Battery is toast. Over on the driver side, battery shows 40% charged so I leave it connected and wait a couple hours, go get a biscuit in wifes car, take a nap and wait for AutoZone to open.

At the store.
Passenger side battery showed 250amps, driver side showed 650. Both failed the load test badly. I had hoped the driver side one was ok as I had a use for it. The manager, who was knowledgable about amps, volts, battery types etc. Says my warranty is outside the free replacement but still had a value of $155 toward replacement (I had paid $107 each+tax). Not too shabby, let's replace them. He rolls out two solid black group 36 batteries that say Duralast GOLD on the side and they look a little shorter to me. While he's punching buttons on the computer I lean over to check the label and notice right away 700CCA. Well crap, here we go. We had quite a long discussion and he pulled out promotional literature and went over details of the new designs of the new line of Duralast batteries. Swearing this is the best battery they have ever sold and will last longer than anything else in the store. I kept coming back to the CCA test being the ONLY measure of a battery common to ALL manufactures and the only real way to compare them. He countered with the 850CCA rating of my old batteries being achieved by using thinner plates and mechanically weakening the battery, hence the ridiculously low CCA test on the passenger side one I was returning, clearly it had failed due to an internal short. Finally, after all this discussion I said thanks for the interesting discussion, but what else ya got? 850CCA or better for my truck? He had NOTHING! Even the largest Platinum series AGM (on his shelf anyway) was 800CCA. They stock the Optima, same thing, biggest in the store was 800CCA.
Well, now I'm scratching my head over what to do. I don't want to loose my credit on my old batteries, but do I really trust these little wiener batteries in my truck,,maybe I could use them in my other vehicles.. The manager see me studying my dilemma and launches one last pitch. These are the best batteries in the store for your truck regardless of the rating, they'll crank faster, provide more power for accessories, and last longer than anything else we have. This battery is a new design from the plates to the seperators to the internal connections and the "S" in the part number (65S DLG) means it's made from all new materials including the lead in the plates. I'll give you some "extra" credit on your purchase price and get you good batteries for cheap. The warranty starts over also, 3yrs free replacement and 96mo pro-rated. Give them a shot and you won't be disappointed.

Follow up.
So, two 700CCA batteries cranks my truck much faster than the old ones did . Temps have dropped further, it was 20° here this morning and it cranked right over. Battery and FICM voltages are exactly the same, except FICM stays on 48v much more. Right now I don't feel very confident about them. I expect they will work fine through the rest of the winter, take a beating this summer and fail when temps drop next fall. I'll get them swapped under warranty and use the replacement in my other vehicles, and buy some proper batteries somewhere else.

Questions.
Do you think I got a decent battery or lost to the film-flam man?
Anyone hear of recent developments in battery design that could account for his insistence that these lower rated batteries will last longer in this application?
How about my voltage readings? Interesting that they didn't show any issues prior to the batteries dying. And they were clearly in BAD shape.

When I installed the new batteries the starter rolled over one more time and quit when I made the first connection, think the smaller starter relay in the CJB was stuck and needs replaced or the solenoid on the starter stuck? Ignore it and hope it doesn't become a problem later?

The truck runs noticeably better with the new batteries, think that's related to higher amperage (voltages are the same) or maybe due to the reset when I disconnected both batteries for a few hours?
My clock and radio stations didn't reset but my lie-o-meter did on all functions, how does that work?

Thanks for reading and for your thoughts.

 

I replaced my gold's with the Platinum AGM and it cranks/turns over quickly and my voltages are still solid after a year. I think 1000cca for a 6.0 is overkill, but I guess thats debatable

 

Well, had the tunes (music) cranked up yesterday, sitting in traffic I realized I was listening to a buzzing noise coming from the speakers between songs. Put the radio on a non-station and cranked it way up, shure enough loud buzz, changes pitch with the engine, changes pitch in time with the turn signals. Not a pop when the relay opens/closes but a change in pitch. I think I have a bad connection somewhere or a diode in the alt is crapping out. I'm off work tomorrow (hallelujah) so I'll know more then. Plan on a AC current check and a voltage drop test.

I stopped by the local rebuilders thinking this might be a good time to get a better alt. as soon as I got a little way into my description of what I wanted he smiles and says he knows exactly what I want and he's built several of them. After rummaging around he finds a new front half of a 3G case. No luck on the back half, he'll order a new case and he's sure he has the rest of the stuff he needs. He mentioned modding it so it could be clocked for extra clearance at the CAC tube and no need to change the pigtail on the truck, plug n play with an under sized pully, tested to 170+ amps, 2yr guarantee $160. Pick it up Tuesday. I told him to build it.

Another interesting development. I was at O'Riley's, Tractor Supply, Advanced Auto, and Wal-Mart today and not one of these places had a group 36 (or 24) battery in any of their lines with more than 725CCA. we don't have a dedicated battery store nearby or I would have checked there also but it looks like the biggest batteries in town are 800CCA Optimas and DuraLast Platinums at Auto Zone. I don't know if something is going on locally, or if some changes are happening in the battery market?

 

how long's the warranty on these batteries? all batteries get weaker with age, but if a 700cca ages much slower than an 800 it might even be useful for longer - quality issue I suppose. I've just sorted an issue on one of our sites where a twin 640cca only lasted a couple of years cranking an 18L Cummins (I said you can't be serious even my truck has twin 800s). we get at least 5 years using 1100s at other sites, so not really surprising. does mean that 700s should have no problem when everything good and they get charged properly, and the charging in cold weather and short trips could be the killer

 

The ones I ended up with are 3yrs free replacement and 96mo prorated. Like I said in the post above, the S in the part number is supposed to mean all new materials, implying fresh lead is better than recycled I guess. They also get a good premium on the 96mo batteries, I saw 700CCA batteries yesterday well under $100, these were $137.99 ea before tax. They do seem plenty powerful right now as far as cranking speed. I just expect them to get beat up pretty quickly in this application.

 

I'm still running my Gold Tops from Autozone installed January of '11. I load test them before every winter and keep them on a battery tender during winter months because I don't use the truck every day. I'm still on my original alternator with 168K, and ED at FICMREPAIR did the FICM, it's perfect. Battery condition is critical on these trucks, I never let mine get soft. If I do clean my interior I'll charge the batteries in the truck before starting it.

 

I've had good luck with them also. Good point on the charge after having the doors open for a couple hours, really didn't cross my mind at the time. Mine were installed 9Feb 2011. They had been swapped a few times side to side, cleaned up, level kept up, slow charged when the truck sat for a few days etc. I expected more from them but maybe I have a charging system issue. Should find out later today. Either way, the new batteries are DuraLast Gold but they don't have a yellow top in the store anymore.

 

I mounted a battery minder on my truck and Ran the plug down by my block heater so when my truck sits I always plug the minder in. It's been working great with my platinums

 

A while back I had the same clicking/buzzing noise with the lights in rhythm as well. I replace both batteries with the Wal-Mart Everstart Maxx-65 batteries. After that, all was well. As far as what you were saying with the low supply of batteries at Wal-Mart, the day I bought mine they were that last two on the shelf. I have always ran these batteries in other vehicles and really like the 850cca.

As far as newer battery technologies are concerned, I do know that the AGM (absorbed glass mat) batteries are better and will take more abuse that the old led plate batteries. In my drag car we recently switched to a AGM battery that only weighs 15 lbs and is only like 400 cca. It turns over the high compression race engine great and better holds up to being totally discharged and recharged.

 

I just went through the same exact thing with my truck Rusty with the same batteries. I went back and made them replace them when I got a 7.7V crank 2 weeks into brand new batteries. Luckily they had 850's at a store that was close and I had them that afternoon. What really chapped my buns was the 10.4V cranks on a warm truck. Simply unacceptable in my book.

 

Tim, did the 850's they replaced them with have a yellow top or all black with GOLD written on the side?

 

Black with gold writing. No more yellow tops.

What the store manager told me was that corporate in Memphis had made an executive decision that the 850's were not needed in southern regions and that the 700's were designated group 65S (for southern). I ran mine for 3 weeks with fairly mild temperatures and they just dropped off way too much. I had lots of 9's on 35-45 degree mornings and that was even with the block heater plugged in for 3 hours. Maybe I just got a bad one off the shelf. Regardless, he had no problem swapping them out AFTER he tried to sell me some Optima's, to which I politely told him "No Thanks".

 

I replaced my 1.5 year old batteries with 840s and added a battery tender to the block heater plug so far so good. The less than 2 year old Batteries were motorcraft from Ford they were cranking at 450 and 600 fully charged.

 

here's the info on AGM:

Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) Battery Information - Battery University

note the 5th paragraph about overcharging on long trips. good thing is that they can be charged quicker so are better if you're doing short trips

 

I've had really good luck with Sears Platinum AGM's in the bassboat. Based on that experience, I decided to go with them in the truck. They've been running strong for over five years now.