What battery do you guys run in you cummins-
today was the second time i had to charge my battery- completely dead- its an interstate- i've heard a lot of good about the optimas- i know you want high cranking amps but not sure which battery to get
Justin

 

i run an optima red top starts it up with no effort battery is a little pricey

 

Is it dead from age or is it a relatively new battery thats leaving you stranded? If its new and going completely dead Id start looking for a short somewhere...

 

no battery came with truck- im assuming its just old- its covered in grease and looks old- didnt check the dates though

 

I've also got the red tops, I accidentally got two 720 CCA batteries instead of the available 800 CCA, but they still work great in Minnesota winters. I've had them for 4 years now and have no complaints. I've taken them out of the truck 4 or 5 times to use as a trolling motor battery, draining one down completely and they haven't given me any issues yet.

Another great side effect is NO CORROSION I say they're worth the money if you can afford it. If going with a normal lead-acid battery I'd say go with the Wal-Mart ones, as you can't beat the warranty and there's always a Wal-Mart within reasonable distance.

 

Ditto on the Optima red.

 

The Interstate is a great battery if it's big enough. I've never run an Optima so I can't say. Have you charged your battery completely and had it tested? When it's charged and you have everything off, doors closed, hood light out, ect. do you any arcing "sparking" when you hook it up?

 

Ditto Ditto, on the Optima Red Tops as well I run dual as well and they are worth the money.

 

hey don not sure, what do i use to test it to see if arch is sparking?

 

oh what are the numbers on the optima red top isn't there a variety

thanks for all the advice?

 

Been running the same Interstate for 10 years. Only time it's been on the charger was when I left the door open. That said, I'll probably walk out tomorrow and have a dead battery. Oh well........

You probably have a short somewhere. Or it's been abused (charged ar too high a rate for too long) or really old.

 

i should take a picture of the one in my truck ,I think it may be the original . The old critter starts better on one than my 2006 started on 2 plugged in

 

I'm running dual optima red tops. Started in -40c this winter up north.

 

Optima red top works fine. When it is cold out,it takes a little juice to start.

 

Optimas are great, however, if they are allowed to go dead, you cannot just throw them on a standard charger, it wont work. I have picked up several "junk" Optimas free this way. Hook them up in paralell with a good battery and then charge until the Optima is above 10 or so volts, then you can charge it normally.
I have an Interstate in my rig. Good batteries.