Battery question

Do you have a winch?

I tried the 'eliminators', but they wouldn't hold up in my CJ7. The vibration kept breaking the plates so the battery would show 0 volts. They only lasted 8 months or so.

I have had great service life out of them in other vehicles.

I went Optima for their supposedly vibration resistance. I did get 3 years out of it, but same deal, one cell got damaged.

I guess that doesn't help much, because I didn't find a good one for an off road Jeep.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

J wrote:

Not yet but thinking about it...

If you do any sort of offroading where there is even a remote chance of parking on your side, then you will definitely want a spill proof battery, like an Optima. You can buy an Optima Red Top that fits your Jeep at Costco for about 99 bucks. I don't know if WalMart carries them or not, but the price should be pretty close if they do. I have seen them at many auto parts stores for about 109 to 119, so you can save 10 to 20 bucks at Costco or maybe Wally World.

Wow. I have had my Optima since 1998 when I bought my CJ, and I have no clue how long it was in before that. It is just now starting to show signs of being tired.

My red-top Optima is 5 yrs old and still cranks the 455 up well. It seems to have outlasted the 2 Interstates and the Champion I had.

I am not quite sure what has happened to mine. It won't hold a load. It drops to 10 volts or so under load after sitting for the night. New alternator too.

I think the old alternator might have over charged it as it was quitting. It started putting out high volts.

I am thinking on trying to rehydrate it, don't know if that works on an Optima, guess I should ask them. They still have acid, it is just all soaked up in the plates, so I figure it likely got dried out.

Mike

CRWLR wrote:

I am new at off-roading and was going to buy a winch. Is it necessary to have a deep cycle battery if you have a winch? I have always thought that you would want to have your engine running if you are using the winch (if your engine can run) thus not drawing from the battery. Is this a true statement? Is the Optima a deep cycle?

They make both. The red top is not a deep cycle, and after winching for 2 hours with girlfriend holding throttle up, it was totally dead. I only have a 60 Amp alt, until it wears out and gets replaced by a 100 Amp. A dual battery set-up would be better, but it costs more. A traditional battery is better for heavy short loads, like starting an engine, a deep cycle is better for small loads over long periods of time. I really don't know which is better for my winch, it's a big old worm drive ramsey that draws a LOT of current when i use it.

Good point, you seem to speak from experience :-). So, lets say I eventually get a new winch (a nice Warn 9.5ti). I am thinking that I will not have to buy a new battery just because I installed a new winch. But, when I have to eventually replace my battery, what should I shoot for? I would probably want something sealed like an Optima, but do I look for anything else (like maybe a deep cycle)?

You don't have to buy a new battery just because you get a winch. Always have your motor running (if it will), and let the winch rest periodically. When you do replace your battery, get the biggest CCA one that will fit, or go to a dual setup. I guess the Optima's are nice but for my money the standard 4x4 duty dual battery setup is the way to go. A single Optima is over $100, I bought two Champion 4x4's for that, then the battery tray, solenoid and cables.... your done. Leave the deep cycle batteries to the boaters.

-- JimG

80' CJ-7, 258 CID 35" BFG MT's on 15x10 Centerlines 4.56 D30-D44 SOA D300 w/4:1 & Currie twin sticks Warn 8000i w/dual batteries LockRight F&R

Divorced mine back in 93...... ;-)