2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission That Battery Thing

[99guy]

I remember reading a thread about battery failures, comments made suggesting the right (passenger side) batt often goes first. Don’t recall anyone knowing reason for this. I’m wondering (dangerous), would it be wise to switch the batteries, side for side sometime, say maybe at ½ their expected life or so. Would this even out their failure times. I know it would be wise to change them as a pair when the time comes and hate to change both when 1 may still be serviceable. Any one tried this?

 

[illflem]

Never heard of this but...

The only reason I can figure there would be any difference in battery life from side to side is that only one side has a battery temperature sensor. This could cause the battery without the sensor to receive too high of a charging voltage when too hot/cold. On early 12 valves the sensor is on the passenger side but at some point the sensor was moved to the drivers side.

 

[Bill Lins]

Re: Never heard of this but...

Originally posted by illflem

On early 12 valves the sensor is on the passenger side but at some point the sensor was moved to the drivers side.

My '98 12-valve has it on the driver's side.

 

[HC]

It could be that the passenger side battery sees slightly higher voltages due to location closer to the alternator or something similar; but my guess would be that this is not a significant factor. Again, this is a guess, but I would bet that being closer to the exhaust and turbo, the right side is simply hotter, especially during the summer. Heat kills.



Is it worth rotating? Your call, and depends on how much you enjoy tinkering under the hood. To me, a strong battery is so important to reliable diesel starting that I'd say just replace both of the SOB's before the first one fails. And before I began rotating, I'd probably address the "probable cause" by fabricating a heat shield and/or ducting some cool air. Or it might be as simple as installing an exhaust header blanket. Or a blanket + a heat shield closer to the battery. Of course, then you'd have to decide if you believe those who feel that the exhaust blankets make it more likely to loosen header bolts or crack the header. I don't think that's a real problem, but that's JMO, not a proven fact, and it's based on my "near stock" configuration, not a heavily BOMB'd engine.



I do believe in replacing both batteries at once.

 

[Steve Campbell]

"would it be wise to switch the batteries".....

I think the reason the batteries give up at different times is due to poor "connections". I think it would extend the life of the batteries to switch sides if for no other reason than it would give you one more reason to clean and inspect the connections.

 

[99guy]

Steve, could be. I’ve seen an abundance of people that fail to keep those batt connections in good shape. I have several pieces of ag equipment, many with multiple batteries and have tried many of those connection protection products with limited success, until …. . I found an aerosol spray called “Black Oil”. I don’t think it’s advertised for this purpose but the stuff is absolutely great for batt connections. It’s also kinda nasty stuff to as the name implies. Literally stays forever on connections and seals them preventing corrosion. I spray a coat on the terminals before hooking up the cable and then a little more over the connector after installed. Don’t get it on good clothes! You might want to try it, find it at a farm supply or maybe auto parts store. You’ll never have a corroded connection again.



BTW I have no affiliation with this product.

 

[Big A]

What sort of warranty do we have on our batteries?

Big A