contemplating a new battery

[ncc74656]

i currently run group 31 batteries, factory is group 26. i have about 3.5KW of stereo but my primary concern is the starting of my vehicle. im trying to find a battery for 200.00 or less as i need 2 of them. my truck takes about 280A for 15-35 seconds before i crank the starter and the starter takes 550-850A (depending on temps) for 5-15 seconds (depending on temp and time left sitting) to turn over. i see your batteries on the lower end have 550ca so id think there cca would be 300 or so and that is no where near enough.

there are times that this cranking can be longer, as high as 45 seconds to start.

temps around here are -25/-35F most winters

can anyone give me any input?

Edited December 12, 2013 by ncc74656

[scottiej]

i currently run group 31 batteries, factory is group 26. i have about 3.5KW of stereo but my primary concern is the starting of my vehicle. im trying to find a battery for 200.00 or less as i need 2 of them. my truck takes about 280A for 15-35 seconds before i crank the starter and the starter takes 550-850A (depending on temps) for 5-15 seconds (depending on temp and time left sitting) to turn over. i see your batteries on the lower end have 550ca so id think there cca would be 300 or so and that is no where near enough.

there are times that this cranking can be longer, as high as 45 seconds to start.

temps around here are -25/-35F most winters

can anyone give me any input?

The starting sequence you've described is very unique and not typical for most vehicles. From what you've described, you will need a battery that can provide an average of nearly 500A for nearly a full minute, and sometimes longer. Unfortunately any "inexpensive" battery is not going to stand up to this much current for everyday starting on a regular basis. A typical vehicle will draw around 800-1000A for a few milliseconds, then average about 250-300A for the duration of the cranking cycle. For most cars, all of this would happen in a 1-3 second period, so using a small battery like a D925 to crank a 900 cubic inch motor isn't too uncommon in the racing world. However, when the current is long and drawn out like you've described, a smaller battery will not have the capacity to continue to crank with the same speed over that amount of time. Your best bet is going to be sticking with a decent size battery that has good capacity, and cranking power. In the XS Power lineup, I would suggest looking at the D3400 at the smallest for the temperature range you've specified. The other key thing to remember is that if this vehicle is left sitting for long periods of time, it will be a good idea to fully charge the battery before storing the vehicle, and you will want to either use a battery maintainer to keep it full, or disconnected from the vehicle after it's been fully charged. This will keep the battery from getting pulled down and ruined by sitting for long periods of time in a low voltage state.

I hope you find this info helpful! If you need more help, feel free to call our tech line at 888-4XS-POWER.

[ncc74656]

yes, most of what this vehicle has is "unique" so im having a hard time finding inexpsnsive parts. that said i will look into your battery line. the truck is a turbo diesel with out glow plugs so thats why it takes so much.