Volvo battery replacement.

[oletimer]

Back in 2011, I had a speed sensor shutdown while on the road.  Made it to Volvo dealer in Salt Lake City, and after a day and 1/2 was told I had a bad battery, just need to replace one!!  I said I didn't think that was the problem, plus I NEVER replace one battery in a bank of three, so replace all three.  I did find later, the problem was a bad wire connection behind the seat.  Anyway, last week, after the truck sat for 30-45 days, no start, low voltage.  I had one bad battery.  The only one I could find quick was at Batteries Plus, and they only had one.  Well, I seldom use the word never, but I had to get to Spacecraft the next day, so I replaced one bad battery.  Got back home, and the truck sat for 2 days, no start, low voltage, one bad battery.  I'm not crazy about mixing brands of batteries, and Batteries Plus now has 2 more Duracell 31-C 925 batteries, my question, are these any good?  I checked my fault codes, and most codes are for the low voltage problem, and I don't have any bad grounds, and I guess 6 years is about all you get out of batteries anymore with all the electronics.  I do find it strange that 2 of my batteries died with a week of each other, but I guess time will tell.  Both me and the "Top Dog" are getting itchy feet, and just about ready to head South, so don't want to have trouble on the road.  I guess I rambled again, but any thoughts?  Mostly, has anyone used Duracell batteries in their truck?

As always, Thanks,    Dick T

[SuiteSuccess]

Dick,

Not in my truck but I used two Duracell in my trailer.  Had them less than 14 months and they died despite being on BatteryMinder over the winter in my garage.  Fully charged before storage.  Of course Batteries + gave one year warranty and wouldn't replace. My opinion only, I'll never use them again.  On edit, check with all the dealers KW, Pete, Freightliner,Volvo.  They often have pallets of batteries for a really good price.  I had some Paccar in my truck that lasted six years.  Just replaced last year with new I got from local Peterbilt dealer.

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

We found that when we needed to change batteries, we went to Volvo or Kenworth.  They usually have pallets in the store and the prices are good.  We changed all four after making the mistake of try to change just one.  

Since the batteries are in parallel and older batteries in the set will have different internal resistance, causing the next battery to fail sooner if you only change one.

Since most of the time, Red Rover had the inverter/charger plugged in and the batteries were under smart charge.  But in our early days when the Volvo would be in the storage lot, we disconnected the batteries.  There are a lot of parasitic load in a class 8.  Even a couple of days can be too much. 

[SuiteSuccess]

Mark,

You are right about parasitic loads.  YouTube has videos on how to measure it and I used to have pictures of the multimeter loads I found.  When my truck was parked at a facility without electricity it was amazing how quickly my batteries discharged to "protection mode"if I couldn't drive it.  That's why I installed a cutoff.

 

[Dennis M]

I have four 950 CC batteries from Batteries Plus that are probably four years old. When I stored up north in the winter I took the batteries out and put them in the garage on Battery Tenders.

Now that we store it in AZ in the winter I use a solar powered Battery Tender. Hooked this Battery Tender Solar Controller to a solar panel similar to This one.

This setup has kept the batteries topped up in spite of parasitic draws. The controller never goes green for a full charge, but the the truck cranks better than it ever has after several months sitting.

[Brad & Jacolyn]

Best price I have found for batteries was at the Volvo dealer.

 

Brad

[RandyA]

I might be stoned to death for mentioning Harbor Freight, but here goes.......

They have a digital battery analyzer or tester that actually does a good job of determining the balance of your batteries.  You can also find some inexpensive testers on Amazon under the brand ANCEL. 

The long standing conventional method of battery testing when a hydrometer could not be used to measure the specific gravity of the electrolyte was to charge then rest the battery, measure voltage and then do a load test to determine the voltage drop over a specified time period.  This worked, or works, but does not provide the information a digital tester can.

On most of our trucks we have 3 or 4 group 31 sealed lead-acid batteries in parallel (yes, some older models have 4D or 8D batteries).  We cannot use a hydrometer on a sealed battery. What the digital tester can tell us that load testing cannot is the battery's internal resistance in milliOhms (mOhms).  This is perhaps the most important reading to determine if your batteries are still balanced or if one or more is dying or dead.  What we want to see with fully charged and rested batteries is a reading from each of the batteries that is under 20 mOhms and within 4 mOhms of each other.  The batteries should be charged as a single unit with all of them connected in parallel - you can do this simply by driving.  Rest them for at least 30 minutes and then disconnect them from each other so they can be tested individually - not as a parallel package.  The digital tester will also give you a state of charge in % and a reading of the CCA the battery will provide.  Ideally one would test and record the readings for the batteries when new, mark the batteries with an ID, make a record of the values from the analyzer and use these figures for comparison as the batteries age.

I typically do not buy off-brand electrical test instruments if I want a precisely accurate measurement.  But, since we are looking for a comparison value rather than a true 100% certified standard an off-brand Asian made instrument is fine.  It can also save you hundreds of dollars.

For anyone that wants to know the health of individual batteries in your parallel package a digital tester is the way to go.  You can mix brands and age of equally rated CCA group 31 batteries as long as the internal resistance (or impedance) meets the above values to create a pack balance.  It is not a good idea to parallel a battery rated at 1,000 CCA with one rated 700 CCA regardless of group size.

IMHO a Duracell (Sams Club) battery is just as good as an Interstate, Autozone, Advance Auto, DieHard or other well branded battery.  The number of plates, type of insulators and electrolyte will be identical for all of the reputable group 31 wet cell starting batteries with the same CCA rating.  I have four 750 CCA batteries in my truck purchased at the Volvo dealership.  Other than the high core charge of $30 if you wanted to keep a battery they had the best price in my area.   Differences can be significant between brands when comparing deep cycle and AGM batteries.

[oletimer]

Thanks for the comments guys.  The KW dealer in Topeka has some EverReady 31s, so I guess I will get a couple of those, and have a "mixed" bank until one of them shoots craps.  Then get 3 new matched.  I will go to HF, and get that digital tester.  I need to walk in make the purchase then walk out without looking around, because my tool box is FULL.  Mostly with S&K, Pronto, MAC, Craftsman, but have lately found HF ain't bad when seldom used.       Dick T