Crap Batteries

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by Midwest Trucker, Jan 8, 2021.

  1. Farmerbob1

    Farmerbob1 Road Train Member

    3,685
    5,784
    Jan 17, 2017
    0
    The first full set of batteries I got cost me about $600. I was sold the wrong type (starting batteries are not spec for Opti-idle trucks) and they failed in a year.

    The second full set of batteries cost me over $1000, but there were a couple extra hours of labor charged for diagnostics because neither I nor the dealership thought that a full set of one year old batteries should be bad already. Even still, paying over $1000 for a set of batteries irritated the hell out of me, but I #### well wanted to find out what was wrong with the truck before trying to fix it. Throwing parts at a problem you don't understand can get a lot more expensive than paying for troubleshooting.
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. tommymonza

    tommymonza Road Train Member

    4,519
    12,844
    Sep 10, 2013
    S.W. Florida
    0
    Yea I was not a big fan of having the truck running if I didn’t have too even though my company didn’t care how much You idled.

    I’m a light sleeper so the vibration affected my sleep.

    I had a Webasco also and it would drain the batteries down enough that the low voltage cutout it was hooked through would kick it off after a few hours.

    Shopped checked batteries and put new batteries in . Same scenario.

    Couldn’t make it through the night without it kicking off.

    Kind of defeats the purpose of having the separate heater other than arriving to a cold truck and being able to fire up the heater.
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2021
  4. 86scotty

    86scotty Road Train Member

    3,898
    10,150
    Aug 27, 2017
    Appalachia
    0
    CENTENNIAL 950cca. These are the good ones I got from Volvo. I can't say how long they will last but they're still super strong at 1 year. I just Googled around for about 15 minutes and figured out they are made by Trojan, a really good name in batteries. No wonder. I'll buy em again.

    https://herehydro.weebly.com/uploads/9/3/9/1/93913/battery_manufacturers_and_brand_names_list.pdf

    Not sure what's going on with some of y'alls bunk heaters but something is up. Espar/Webasto don't pull but like 7 amps when heating the glow plug to start, then they drop significantly. Basically you're just running the fan and fuel pump after they start. 1 or 2 amps on high.
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2021
  5. BUMBACLADWAR

    BUMBACLADWAR Road Train Member

    1,899
    1,922
    Dec 5, 2013
    0
    Well...Interstate Batteries is just the distributor.Theyre manufactured by Exide and Johnson Controls.The confusion starts with those "Green Tops" that say Interstate on them. Pretty much the same battery you get at Wally World or Autozone.JMO
     
    Rideandrepair, Diesel Dave and bzinger Thank this.
  6. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

    20,660
    100,391
    Dec 18, 2011
    Michigan
    0
    I don’t have issues with batteries because I do one thing, I install maxwell expert modules in every truck and have little issues with batteries. They are ~$800 and install is easy and the last time I replaced batteries it wast because they were bad but damaged by an accident.

    Op my advice is to complain to kw, they can deal with the dealer and possibly get you some money back.
     
  7. Midwest Trucker

    Midwest Trucker Road Train Member

    5,768
    20,578
    Aug 31, 2018
    0
    Can you link to this maxwell setup you use? You basically have one maxwell and 3 normal batteries hooked together then?
     
    Rideandrepair and Farmerbob1 Thank this.
  8. TallJoe

    TallJoe Road Train Member

    7,490
    16,266
    Apr 12, 2016
    Chicagoland
    0
    Interesting. So what would it do... extend the remaining batteries life by dedicating the module to start ups?
     
    Rideandrepair Thanks this.
  9. tommymonza

    tommymonza Road Train Member

    4,519
    12,844
    Sep 10, 2013
    S.W. Florida
    0
    That’s what I would think. I suspect the wiring was under sized or something that created resistance.
     
    Rideandrepair and 86scotty Thank this.
  10. SmallPackage

    SmallPackage Road Train Member

    4,505
    13,543
    Dec 20, 2019
    Marion Texas
    0
    I’m glad @Ridgeline brought this up. It looks very interesting. If $800 makes the batteries last dang near forever that is a good thing. Figuring i’ve got 4 trucks with 3 batteries each and I try to keep one spare on a shelf for a quick replacement of one that always shorts out at the wrong time and most are $130-150 each. I’ve spent probably $5000 in batteries over the last 20 years even with the top of line brands.
     
    Rideandrepair and D.Tibbitt Thank this.
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.