Vacation - Battery disconnect ?

[Plati]

I'm travelling a lot this winter, month at a time. Don't want my 2003XLT battery to run down and freeze. Battery Tender at AutoZone is $44, fughetaboutthat. Is it OK to just disconnect the battery? If I do that ... is it preferable to remove positive, negative, or both battery cables? Negative (ground looks a lot easier to remove). I've got a 3/6 amp battery charger but thats to not be used as a battery tender, right?

The Owners Manual says ... if battery is disconnected ... the transmission must relearn its shift settings, idle has to relearn, fuel trim has to relearn, and worst of all I will lose my preset radio stations. Sounds bad since everything works so well at the moment. Not sure I want to risk that.

 

[1955moose]

If you've got a safe place to leave battery tender plugged in, that's the best bet. Just disconnecting a battery then rehooking it up, especially in extreme weather, you'll lose some of the charge. I think it's about 1/10th volt every 2 days. If that theory's correct, your 12.6 volt fully charged battery will be at 11.3 volts after 30 days. Personally I don't think the drop is that critical. If your just going the disconnect route, why not install one of the battery disconnects, that hooks up on the positive side of battery. Cheap to buy at any parts store, and easy to install. Owners of classic cars use them all the time.

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[Max Fernandez]

It is always better for your battery to go with a battery tender. My humble recommendation is to go with that.

 

[Plati]

It is always better for your battery to go with a battery tender. My humble recommendation is to go with that.

Think you're right. I'll put a crowbar in my wallet and buy one. Probably can beat that AutoZone price. Then I'll have one when I need one forever.

 

[Trainmaster]

These cars have a bit of a drain. I store my '67 pickup all winter in an unheated garage and it starts right up in the spring. I'd put the battery tender on it if it's going to be laid up for months. For a month at a time you shouldn't have any problem if you run it every month.

 

[stamp11127]

I've been using Harbor Freights battery tenders for years without issue. May be on sale now.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

Think you're right. I'll put a crowbar in my wallet and buy one. Probably can beat that AutoZone price. Then I'll have one when I need one forever.

TS has one for $20. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...zhOqxzPamxQ-5Lo-Rnr_YzGRzqE4SlhEaAgClEALw_wcB

 

[1955moose]

I would have loved to have s battery tender back in the 70's when our motorcycle batteries would be replaced pretty much every year. I think back then the quality wasn't that hot either. But yeah like we've all said, get a tender, plug it in, and like the Jersey boys say, fahget about it. Their safe, and they work.

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[lbv150]

Get the original Battery Tender, not an imitation. If it's any consolation, I have a permanently installed under the hood a waterproof 6 amp charger and mine gets plugged in every night.

 

[CaptOchs]

Harbor Freight battery tenders are around $5-$8. They will fit inside the engine bay.

Other then that, just pull the battery and stick it in your basement.

 

[blue oval guy]

If you have a good strong battery, leaving it sitting in an indoor garage for 3 to 4 weeks should not even be an issue? should not not need to disconnect. And if its a little slow to start up, so you throw your charger on it for 30 minutes @ 10 amps.
Now if your battery is old and so so, then absolutely use a trickle charger.

 

[rjdelp7]

Harbor Freight has an Battery Tender( Jr knock off), I paid $19.99. It on its 3rd year and works good. I have the Harley/Battery Tender junior. It gets extremely hot(130 degrees). I don't like leaving it plugged in. I contacted Battery tender. They sent me a new version(out of warranty), for $9 shipping. The new one weighs half or less. EBAY has new or used Battery Tenders, around $20 or less. Anything over 10 days, just disconnect the battery.

 

[Motorcity muscle]

Have used battery tender chargers on my old cars for years, couple batteries are getting close to ten years old. Use the battery disconnect on the negative terminal and the BT comes with a clamp on style and permanent ones that bolt on to cable. Use them all winter and they do not get warm. Have had the charger for six years now, use to pull the batteries and keep inside.

 

[Plati]

Battery is 6 years old, 50K miles. Was gone 3+ weeks. 2003 Expo sat & waited like a loyal Golden Retriever. Freezing weather. Battery voltage not even sufficient to unlock w/remote. Down to 7.15V. Probably not low enough for battery to freeze I hope. Will purchase & use Harbor Freight battery tender before next trip! Got it on 2amp charge now, overnight. Want 13.45 volts after charge and later 12.45 after rest period... or new battery will be installed!

... charged 12 hours overnight, only up to 12.85V, seems low, wanted 13.45. will let it rest a few hours and see what i have

... threw the 6Amp charger on it for 3 hours, got it to 13.4V. Drove it a bit and later it was back to 12.4 which is about right. Battery probably ok but I'll check it in a few days to make sure

 

[Plati]

Ok. I did just buy and test a Battery Tender Jr. Seemed fine. So on my maiden voyage, stop and Expy wont restart. Jumped it with the JumpNcarry, got home. Started a couple times and then same deal, wont start. Not enough juice. No idiot light and alternator working fine. I'm fairly sure its a bad battery ... the battery maintainer idea was a bit late! I think I let it run down and freeze. Read voltage while starting ... it drops to 7V. Bad battery! Of course this happens RIGHT after using battery tender so I had to wonder if that caused the problem, which it didnt! Always works that way though

Auto Zone has a 750cca Platinum for $212. Is that one good?

Should I buy one from AAA?
They will come to house ... $125 for 850cca with 3 year warranty.

Who sells the biggest baddest Expy battery in the East?
Any advice will be appreciated.

 

[lbv150]

I just bought one from the Ford dealer for around $120 Motorcraft 750. Interstate C65XHD is comparable in price too. I use either in my trucks.

 

[JExpedition07]

If you do autozone or advance do two things. Buy their better line and check the date on the battery. You don’t want one that’s sat too long in the shelf.

I’d stop by the dealer honestly. MC are good batteries and not too pricey.

 

[rjdelp7]

I read, the only difference in batteries is the warranty. They all are made at 1 of 3 companies. Walmart's batteries are exchanged with no questions. So you can 'trade up' before the warranty expires.

 

[1955moose]

I've been using an Orielly's battery for close to 2 years now. It was their best at $145.00. I sit parked listening to radio or CD pretty much daily, which is hard on battery. I agree with the grab from back not front of battery rack. I used to manage Oreillys, back in the Kragen days. We loaded fresh batteries like milk from the rear. Unless that store goes through a ton of group 65 batteries, the ones up front have been sitting for up to 6 months or more. If you have a vehicle that uses a battery that's not so popular, say a reverse terminal group 24, that battery up front of rack can be up to a year old.

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[Plati]

Think MrDelp is right, lots of similarities in retail batteries. I ended up buying an Auto Zone "gold" since I had to get this done this morning and move onto other things. Probably would have bought Motorcraft from Dealer if they were open on a Sunday morning. Funny scene me standing at register at Auto Zone ordering battery on my phone so I could get the discount. Seemed silly. Install guy did good job but did not loosen positive clamp enough before seating & tightening so it would spin on terminal. I think this is typical mistake. I fixed when I got home. Paid $129 .... date code was December 2018, which is nice!

If this vehicle wasn't 2 steps from the junkyard I would have bought an AGM battery but no point with this beater.

This battery was showing signs of being spent 1) would not hold a full charge 2) would discharge in 2 weeks if not driven 3) battery tender ran a long time and light indicated not up to 80% charge 3) died and wouldnt start Expy. 4) dropped to 7V during and otherwise normal start. 5) 6 years old and I was worried about it 6) Had discharged in freezing cold weather more than once. The surprising thing to me was how normal it seemed until it was DMOATS. From now on any battery over 3 years old gets tested occasionally to see how healthy it is. You cannot judge the health of a battery by starting your Expy!