Battery replacement and fitting etc

[Lancer1993]

Most batteries made for a particular car but I agree there is not much room to move, around 8mm or less on the negative terminal you can see in the picture.

That Optima one is actually 2mm lower than the Century one.

Hopefully I won't need one any time soon but I have no idea how old the one on my CJ is.

So glad the previous owner didn't skimp and got a battery at nearly double the stock CCA!

[burfadel]

It's not hard to get a battery bigger than 356 CCA!

[Davy]

Really? I better check the book. Pretty sure the battery in the car matches the book, which is much less than 540 CCA!

My bad. I don't know what I was thinking when I typed that. It is indeed 356 CCA as you said. I just checked my manual (RA) and it says both 55D23L and 75D23L (520 CCA according to the manual) are compatible.

[Lancer1993]

I was checking some battery myths and a modern car will only use the CCA it's designed to use, getting a battery with double the CCA is a waste as it can't use all that power. But depending what accessories you have attached and how often you use them while the car is not running can have an affect on the battery.

[burfadel]

That's true, although I have seen in other vehicles of varying brands that when going to a higher capacity CCA they car starts over quicker. By that I mean flick of the key and instant start as opposed to holding it there for half a second etc.

I suspect it's more the case they chose the smallest capacity battery that the car would allow to save costs (it all adds up over tens of thousands of cars) instead of cutting corners elsewhere. Batteries are a user replaceable item, so they don't really lose much by going cheaper for that. I believe it isn't even a calcium battery, which just means you should check the fluid levels more often.

[burfadel]

So after what time and mileage have people on here needed to replace the OEM battery? I could just wait until it goes flat, but I would rather have a reliable battery (such as the Century Ultra Hi Performance 75D23L) that I can rely on not to conk out on me when I go away for Christmas!

Conversely though, if they are expected to last the time or distance (or both), then I would wait so as to not replace a still-OK battery. I could just go get it tested, but I already know they'd recommend replacing it due to the low capacity.

[Lancer1993]

You'll get a warning when it's starting to go, and it just depends where you're going and if you have any road side service. Might be better to wait if it is still starting okay and if you have to deal with it while away then so be it.

Always good to have some jumper leads and maybe a charger just in case. Batteries don't take long to replace but that's cold comfort if you're stuck on the side of the road late at night or in the middle of no where.

If its worth spending the money now is your call, it could be worth dropping into a battery place, they can usually do a battery check on the spot of free to see where you stand.

[burfadel]

I might charge it up, I've got a Projecta Procharge charger. The rejuvenation mode runs for 24 hours and sends high frequency pulses through the battery which supposedly breaks down sulphation. Seems to work, it has recovered seeming dead batteries before. The car is essentially 2.5 years old, so I guess the battery is as well . I'm guessing it probably won't last too much longer. I'll probably be driving the car in very hot weather in January, I believe the heat could possibly knock the battery for six. I'm surprised they don't even come with a heatshield cover.

[zedd82]

Id bet the RA uses the same battery as the other CJs, probably even the stock on in the EVO sold in AU.

The battery in the Evo is I believe a Panasonic and it has a vent hose coming out of it to vent any gases to to outside the car as it is stored in the passenger compartment.

[Lancer1993]

I stand corrected, forgot the EVO has them in the boot, guess you'd use similar on any CJ where you wanted to put the battery in the boot.

[chris]

Still have the original battery in my Ralliart now eight years old, I have found in all my cars over the last fifty years that the oem battery last longer than a replacement battery.

[Lancer1993]

Like I said earlier I like the Optima batteries but they do come at a high price, add the optional mounting plate and it's like 3 times the cost of a stock Century one. And as we know the air intake hides most of it so buying on looks alone is pointless.