Upgraded? To Walmart Value Power Battery...

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The real knock of the typical automotive 2-battery system is charge position and sense position.

In my Rams, the system senses from the driver side battery, and charges the passenger side battery (which carries over the the driver side).

This system works perfectly most of the time, but if the driver side battery starts getting weak, the system will cook the passenger side battery by ramping up the alternator to compensate.

Sensing and charging the same battery in a dual can result in one battery being neglected, however. Neither system could be considered unreliable, either. They just both have their own little faults.

Diesels do not have isolators for one simple reason: Both batteries are starting batteries. On a cold day, doing long cranking events while you have a super hungry grid heater going requires a lot of juice. There's no point in isolating them.
 
Batteries in parallel are in general troublesome. Better to isolate them with a heavy duty switch that can be turned on when needed.
 
I agree that a selector system is ideal, but I wonder if that is how GM does it when they install two???

Matching batteries in parallel is critical. In the worst-case, they can dry out and go into thermal runaway (burn) due to overheating.

If a non-OE strap was used, one must be very careful to ensure that the impedance in the conductors also matches. Otherwise, one will naturally always undercharge and one will naturally load higher.

I agree that the charging system should be looked at if a 2011 in Iowa is having battery issues that bad.

Otherwise, its a neat project, so long as the OP recognizes that greater care and assessment must be taken.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
I agree that a selector system is ideal, but I wonder if that is how GM does it when they install two???

Matching batteries in parallel is critical. In the worst-case, they can dry out and go into thermal runaway (burn) due to overheating.

If a non-OE strap was used, one must be very careful to ensure that the impedance in the conductors also matches. Otherwise, one will naturally always undercharge and one will naturally load higher.

I agree that the charging system should be looked at if a 2011 in Iowa is having battery issues that bad.

Otherwise, its a neat project, so long as the OP recognizes that greater care and assessment must be taken.


GM does it two different ways. They have a version where there is an isolator, and they have a version where the two batteries are just wired in parallel like mine. The version where the batteries are wired in parallel is only available on the diesel options, not the gas options. The version with the isolator is available on both gas and diesel versions.

I am not having "battery issues" at all. It was simply time to replace the battery in my truck (five years old and starting to show signs of weakness), and GM offers two battery trays. It was cheaper to buy two "value" batteries over one "Maxx" battery, and I had the wires and connectors to give it a shot.

I work with off highway equipment on a daily basis...many of which run batteries in parallel with no special anything separating them. I am not going to run these new batteries to the end of their life either, but instead will replace in about 5 years or at the first sign of weakness just like I did this time.

I do realize what I have chosen to do. I design prototype off highway equipment for a living, and I know the risks/rewards of a dual battery system.
 
I bought a $49 value battery from WM during the last weekend. It went into a tractor and the tractor won't be around long, so I won't be worrying about the warranty. I'm still just a little reluctant about putting one in one of my cars because the last time I checked the value battery for my car, it was rated 100 CCA lower than the mid-priced battery and 200 CCA lower the the highest priced battery that they sell.
 
Consider that lower rating might be their marketing dept sabotaging the battery. Could be better.
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Car radios don't draw much unless there are some large amps drawing high idle current. You ought to check your charging system.


Mt truck radio only draws about 300 ma when the volume is not cranked up. I used to keep my radio on for hours at a time till one evening in the winter, I was working on my truck in my friend's garage and after about four hours, when it came time to leave the engine would not turn over. The radio times out after 10 mins unless the Ign switch is left on in Acc. Ign switch in Acc keeps the various computers in the truck awake and combined they draw a lot more current than the radio.

There was no one around. I looked around in the garage and found a 120v radio. Took it apart and found a suitabe DC supply inside the radio. Hooked that up to the truck battery and in an hour I was able to start the engine.
 
no he did not.the starter will take what it needs.
but it now has huge headroom in a bad situation.like extra severe cold or run way down.its much more likely to start despite these conditions.
if what you stated were true everyone who got a oddessy agm would fry the starter quickly.the lower internal resistance is similar to doing what the op did.with all connections as good as the oem wiring he halved the battery ir/esr.
and did it without a fragile thin plate battery.
only negative is the weight.and who cares on a truck anyway?
Originally Posted By: Johnny2Bad
You have doubled the current available to the starter.
 
Originally Posted By: DriveHard
The original OEM battery on my truck was starting to get tired. Slow cranks in the cooling fall weather and the low battery alarm would go off if I listened to the radio for anything more than a minute or two. The Wallyworld Everstart Maxx direct drop in was about $125 (size H8). So instead I decided to "upgrade" to two batteries. Since the Silverado already has two battery trays I picked up two 24F Value Power batteries for $49 each and dropped them into the truck. My thought is stressing two cheaper batteries half as much should make them last twice as long...right ;-) If I get 5 years out of the pair I will be more than satisfied. For now the crank speed is dramatically increased and I have not heard a peep about low battery and I listened to my radio for a good 10 minutes yesterday without it running. We will see I guess.


You were able to pick up a Value Power?

On Walmart.com website, they all seem to be out of stock and for more than a month now.. are they actually in stock at the stores?
 
Originally Posted By: mareakin
Originally Posted By: DriveHard
The original OEM battery on my truck was starting to get tired. Slow cranks in the cooling fall weather and the low battery alarm would go off if I listened to the radio for anything more than a minute or two. The Wallyworld Everstart Maxx direct drop in was about $125 (size H8). So instead I decided to "upgrade" to two batteries. Since the Silverado already has two battery trays I picked up two 24F Value Power batteries for $49 each and dropped them into the truck. My thought is stressing two cheaper batteries half as much should make them last twice as long...right ;-) If I get 5 years out of the pair I will be more than satisfied. For now the crank speed is dramatically increased and I have not heard a peep about low battery and I listened to my radio for a good 10 minutes yesterday without it running. We will see I guess.


You were able to pick up a Value Power?

On Walmart.com website, they all seem to be out of stock and for more than a month now.. are they actually in stock at the stores?


Yes, my local walmart has tons of them...including a whole center island dedicated to the Value batteries with several different sizes and a big sign stating the $49 price.
 
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