My truck is getting hard to start in the morning...mostly when it gets cold. When the temperature gets down below 45 degrees it has a very hard time starting. It barely has enough juice to turn the motor over. When I plug the truck in, it turns over fine. When it's about 45, it starts ok but still has a little hesitation. What do you all think? Batteries dying?

 

Take the batteries to your local Parts house and get them load tested.
Sounds like they're about gone.

 

I agree with what Shovelhead said. If they load test OK then let us know and we start guessing from there.

 

Ok. Thanks. I'll have one of those places check it out. If the batteries do need changing, what is a good battery?

 

I heard alot about the Optimas, but when I compared $$$, CCAs, and warranties, I went with an Advance Auto Parts "Titanium Series" conventional battery.
More CCA, same warranty, about $40 less per battery.



http://advance-auto1932quality.cross...71604&offerid=

 

If your batterys are the originals I would replace them. The heat from the summer beats them up pretty bad and yours are almost 5 years old so you did get your moneys worth out of them.

Bad batterys can cause all sorts of strange problems so dont let it go.

Good Luck

Jason

 

UPDATE:

Took it to the local Kragen to have batteries checked. Passenger side battery registered 265 and the driver side was at 420. Batteries need to be changed out. Went to Sears. They have there Gold Series for $79.99. Costco has the Kirkland brand for $58.99 which is a 725 CCA with a 120 reserve. Anybody try the Costco brand? I'm leaning that way.

 

The costco batterys are made by one of the big battery companys but I cant for the life of me remember who it was. I have put one in a ford escort and when my truck is due for batterys thats what I will be using. there have a good warranty and MOST things at costco are pretty good quality.


Jason

 

Johnson Controls is the manufacturer of most batteries you'll find labeled as "Store Brand".
They also make the Optima batteries.

http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/bg/

 

Costco also has Optimas for a good price at times.
They're the only battery I use nowadays because they don't corrode or spill acid. They are truely 100% maintenance free. Worth the extra price in my book to not have to deal with corroded wires when it's time to go.
I'm currently running over 20 Red Tops in various farm equipment, tractors and trucks. Never a problem, one set is eight years old.

 

Mopar is actually getting into the gel cell market, like Optima. They only have 1 part number so far, a group 34/78 universal. I would expect more soon.

 

Let me tell you a little story about batteries. I previously had a 93 3/4 ton and the monster 1150 ca battery (only one) died after 5 years so I searched around and the only thing I could find was one from the dealer and one from NAPA well with a $40-50 difference I went with the NAPA. A year later the NAPA stranded me but no big deal it was under warranty, I go to NAPA and get a new one, the guy tells me the warranty doesn't start over but continues from the original purchase. Well that one died right about at warranty time and I didn't want to deal with it again so this time I went to the dealer and got a new one and it was still in the truck running fine when I got rid of it. It's the old get what you pay for thing. Check on the warranty, see if it starts over again, ask around and see who has had what type of battery and how long they lasted. When my truck needs new batteries it'll probably get Optimas but that's just me, I like things that are tried and true.

 

I ended up getting the Costco (Kirkland) brand. 725 CCA with a 120 minute reserve. $58.99 each. We'll see how they hold up.
Thanks all for your replies. That's what makes this sight so great.

 

I just did this Friday. Went to WalMart. Got their Everstart (I think) Maxx 1NN. 1000 CA's and 875 CCA's. $58/battery and 3 year warranty. Wherever I wind up there should always be a Walmart near by in case of needing replacement.

Ben