How long have your factory batteries lasted?

[dcallaway]

My 03 dually stilll has the originals @ 95000 mi. It's never seen the inside of a garage here in Anchorage Alaska. Temps run from -30 to 80 degrees. Gets pluged in @ temps lower than 15 degrees, if possible. It's been a great truck!

 

[scottmcd]

Replaced the OE's last week, with 221k on them. 85months of starts, long idle periods. It was no fun lifting those things out of the engine compartment.



I agree, it does start nice with fresh power though!

 

[subodh]

changed min last week my truck was built in middle of 2005 and we had minus 30 celsius now so they wasnt really strong after the espa heater was on

 

[MZahn]

2005 and 130 miles per day commute. Replaced batteries at 178,00 miles and 5 years on the factory units. I read about which replacements to use and bought the carquest 880 CCA batteries. They spin the old 6 fast.

 

[E7mack96]

An update: I replaced my original batteries (2003 Ram) this past Saturday. They made it to ~ 10 years, 117,000 miles and ~8500 engine hours. Not too bad.

 

[AH64ID]

They made it to ~ 10 years, 117,000 miles and ~8500 engine hours. Not too bad.

13. 7 mph average! That's a LOT of idling...

 

[BIGNASTY]

Changed mine at about 60K!!! Didnt want the O I TRIED TO BY-PASS THE CUSSING FILTER feeling when you turn the key and hear a CLICK or SILENCE on I 160 between Cortez CO and Grand Canyon South Rim AZ.

 

[Bob4x4]

Regular use of the truck will stretch the batt life. I am on my 3rd set of batts on each truck. The old one gets used daily,the 05 pretty much is the wk end truck

 

[TGVET]

Seven years past June OEM and seem to be doing well, longest use of any battery to date. I go by a battery shop daily, thinking I'll have a load test done to see just how good.

 

[NavyDood]

Truck build date 03 Nov. Still on the original batts.

 

[Crunch]

Mine were replaced almost a year ago after 8. 5 years of excellent service. That's why I went with the OEM replacements. The price was on the low side of the retail and autoparts places I called too, so it was a win-win for me.

 

[Roscoe14]

04 & 1/2 and I'm still running the original batteries. Red Top Optimas are on my wish list for Santa though

 

[AH64ID]

I'd use caution with Optima, they don't seem to be the battery they were 10 years ago.

 

[Prairie Dog]

I'd use caution with Optima, they don't seem to be the battery they were 10 years ago.

Lots of complaints about them not having enough power to start really cold engines.

I really wanted to use them because they'll never leak but they just don't have the reserve I need,

 

[ceastmen]

My 2001. 5 is still on the original batteries which blows my mind!

When I tell people how old they are I get the "no way response".

They start fine, but I know a good thing must come to an end.

I need to start looking since winter is coming, Costco has a good price on group 27 batteries.

 

[NavyDood]

I really think it has a lot to do with how your truck is used and I believe my OEM batteries have lasted like they have because of my 90 mile round trip commuting for work and plugging her in when I know the morning temps will be lower than 50°F.

 

[RVTRKN]

Truck through a couple of codes recently related to possible low voltage condition. It was confirmed that the right side battery needs to be replaced and that the left side battery is weak but is still able to hold enough charge to keep truck functional. The most common battery issue on our trucks is the right side battery will fail first prematurely. It was explained to me that the battery cable crossing over to the other battery from the left side to the right side, will corrode at the left side battery connection. This condition will fool the computer into thinking that the batteries need charging and the alternator will then over charge the right side battery. Now that I know this, I will now clean both battery connections every year and apply the appropriate grease to terminals to prevent future issues.

 

[TLane]

My plan is to "rotate" my batteries every year. I think the alternator charges the right battery but the starter pulls mainly from the left battery. With a heavy cross-over cable, it shouldn't make any difference by I suspect it does. As long as I'm cleaning both battery connections as suggested by RVTRKN, I might as well pull the batteries, clean the pans, and swap them. I certainly don't think it will hurt the batteries any.

 

[AH64ID]

With the size of the crossover cable I doubt there is much of a load difference between the two.

The important this is to make sure the crossover cable doesn't become loose, corroded, or broken.

 

[rscurtis]

I just used one of the original batteries from my signature truck to start one of my old generators. It's a Kohler 2m21 with an exciter cranked 4 cylinder engine. No problem at all. I hadn't touched the battery in 3 months. Static voltage was still 12. 42 volts.