2015 Needs a new battery

[machete-lc]

Anyone have a battery recommendation for a 2014+ Power Wagon? Went out to run an errand this morning and truck wouldn't start. My ride is a 2015 but build date is 2014, so battery is 4 years old. I live in the desert southwest and this isn't unusual for as far as battery life. Now it is time to choose wisely and get a battery that will not only hold up to the heat and dryness of the southwest but also run accessories without issues. I have only have the single alternator so a good battery is a must. Suggestions?

[Colibri]

In my experience it’s hard to beat an odyssey battery

[Pit Slave]

Odyssey is what I have as well. Ordered it from Amazon. These will take the abuse. I had run mine down to 7 volts and charged it at 60 amps with no issue. This was 1 year and 10 months ago, so it's certainly one I highly recommend. Plus, the winch likes it better than the factory one.

Sent from my rotary phone using Tapatalk

[verdesardog]

I think the two batteries in my truck were original when I bought it, if so they lasted about 8 years here in central Arizona with summer temps over 100* often. Now I use Walmart extreme or what ever their premium battery is and they have a three year free replacement guaranty and last about 5 years. That seems like a decent cost effective alternative to more expensive AGM's.
The winch on my truck is hydraulic so it doesn't care what batteries are in the truck. LOL

[ramv]

I have been happy with thee ORiellys AGM, good performance for the price

[Ducky's Dad]

I have had very bad luck with Odyssey Grp 31s in my '05. Most Grp 31s will just barely fit the PW Grp 65 box (assuming they are the same on yours as on the 3Gs), but you'll need to fiddle the hold downs and maybe belt sand the ends of the battery a little to get it to slide down into the box. I have gotten almost exactly 3 years to the month on my last three Odyssey 2150 Extreme Grp 31s, and I just ordered new batteries for the truck (one starting Grp 31 and a pair of Grp 34 house batteries). I ordered V-Max batteries, mostly because they offer a true deep cycle that will fit my house boxes. The Odyssey Grp 31s are very fussy about charging voltages and require 14.7V to achieve 100% state of charge. The voltage regulator in my PW is in the ECU and cannot be changed, even by a dealer, and it maxes at 14.6V. So, to get decent life out of an Odyssey Grp 31, you need solar with a controller programmed to 14.7V for the absorption charge, or you need to regularly put the battery on shore power with an appropriate smart charger. As I understand it, the Odyssey has slightly higher resistance at the posts than do the competing batteries such as Northstar. Alternator output is important in terms of amps, but you still need 14.7V to push those amps into a big Odyssey. After my second Odyssey failed at the three-year mark, I upgraded my alternator from 160amps to 270amps to try to get better life out of my Odysseys. It did not work. I bought three different Odyssey-branded smart chargers, plus a Ctek and an Optimate smart charger. None of those worked either. My current Odyssey is three years old later this month, and it will only charge to about 60% of capacity, even after multiple cycles on the Odyssey smart chargers. 60% of that battery is still plenty good to start and run the truck and most people would not notice that it is failing, but there is little reserve for winching or emergencies, and I keep fairly detailed logs on battery status. I have a Northstar Grp 31 in my Tundra, and Toyotas are notoriously low voltage for alternator output (usually maxing at 13.9V), and that Northstar has been trouble free, installed the same month that the Odyssey was installed in the PW. The biggest difference between the two trucks' usage is that the PW goes to Arizona a lot, generally between Yuma and Gila Bend, and it gets brutally hot out there. Heat kills batteries, and that is probably part of the issue with the Odysseys. The other part seems to be the 14.7V thing. A Grp 31 flooded lead acid (FLA) battery will probably last longer in the heat than will an AGM and will cost a lot less, but also gives less AH and CCA. Lithium batteries have come a long way and usually have built-in battery management systems (BMS), but heat is harder on lithiums than it is on AGMs. Gel batteries look attractive until you look at their goofy charge profiles, and then you realize that heat kills them faster than it does lithium. So we are back to FLA or AGM. I like AGM because of the extra capacity. My recommendation is a Northstar Grp 31. Deka now makes a new AGM that uses what they call Fahrenheit Technology to deal with heat in big rigs that are so streamlined that the batteries get reduced airflow, and that battery comes only in Grp 31. Has not been on the market long enough to get any real world feedback, but it seems like a good idea. Capacity is about the same as Odyssey and Northstar. V-Max makes a dual purpose starting battery in Grp 31 that has better specs than Odyssey or Northstar or Deka, and it's cheaper, but only a one year warranty. That's the one I ordered because I wanted to match the chemistry between my starting battery and house batteries. V-Max will give you a 10% discount on your first order, free ship from Michigan, no sales tax; makes a compelling proposition, except that warranty claims will be an issue if they arise. I'm willing to roll the bones on the warranty because I figure they can't be any worse than my Odysseys. The other battery you should look at is the FullRiver line. They offer a true deep cycle (TDC) under the FullRiver brand and a dual purpose under the FullThrottle line. Very popular in Australia, so should handle heat well. A local Bronco guy is running a FullRiver deep cycle as his starting battery and says it's the best battery he has ever used. Sample of one. I would have bought FullRiver or FullThrottle for my PW, except that they don't offer a TDC that will fit my house boxes. If you want a TDC of the highest quality, look at Lifeline. Expensive but appear to be worth it. FWIW, Odyssey's customer service and support is superb, excellent, fantastic. But needing a fourth battery after nine years convinced me to try something different.

This is what you get for asking battery suggestions.

[machete-lc]

Thanks for all the detail! Exactly why I asked. I will look into the Full River brand to see if there is anyone locally that has them. We have a 4 Wheel Parts store that carries Odyssey but I am a but reluctant at this point. We also have an Interstate distributer, anyone had any luck with their premium batteries?

Appreciate the help!

[Ducky's Dad]

Interstate may think they have a line of premium AGMs, but the rest of the world is not so sure about that. They are decent batteries, but "premium" is a stretch. Depending on where you are and how you use the truck, your best bet might be to buy a mid-market battery like the Deka or Interstate and just plan to replace it every few years. I won't be terribly surprised if my new V-Max lasts only three years (like the Odysseys), but it's a good bit less expensive than the Odysseys.

[Colibri]

I’ve had 7 years of service out of my first group 65 odyssey without a hiccup and a year on this new one so far. Extra lighting air compressor vhf radio and occasional winch use. Never any trouble.

Have two wranglers with them one of which is running dual batteries. Been 5 or 6 years on those so far with no trouble. Similarly outfitted as the truck

My e350 runs an odyssey as well, but only for about a year or two so far. Also compressor lights winch etc.

The m35a2 has a pair or odyssey ordnance batteries in it. It starts first time every time even after sitting for a month or two.

I’ve tried others but haven’t found anything better, Trojan agm is comparable in quality though. I run two Trojan AGM 8D batteries in my bluebird all American. There’s almost 5000 cca combined lol. Been starting the cat c7 even in 14* Fahrenheit that we had in my part of Texas this last winter. I’ve never had opportunity to try their smaller batteries though.

[Pit Slave]

The size I have is the factory group 65 in my 05 Power Wagon. It charges at 14.6v (idle) ~14.8v (1000rpm's and up) Again, if your charging system isn't functioning correctly, it will kill any battery, period.

Sent from my rotary phone using Tapatalk

[waldo]

I've used Odyssey in mine with no problems.

[OffroadTreks]

I’ve tried others but haven’t found anything better, Trojan agm is comparable in quality though. I run two Trojan AGM 8D batteries in my bluebird all American. There’s almost 5000 cca combined lol. Been starting the cat c7 even in 14* Fahrenheit that we had in my part of Texas this last winter. I’ve never had opportunity to try their smaller batteries though.

Trojan is top tier quality for deep cycle. If I hadn't gone with lithium's in the Airstream, I was originally planning to go with Trojan 6V AGM's. Just the lithiums beat them in every sense.

Anyhow, the new trucks are Group 94R:, fyi.

I'm almost at the mark too where I should be thinking about the battery. But I don't seem to have any issues. I check mine regularly.

[Ducky's Dad]

Looks like a 94R is almost the physical size of of a 31, and lots of 31s are available with reversed posts, if that's an issue. Also looks like a good 31 will give you about a 25-30% increase in capacity over a 94R. Back on Odysseys, it seems that the 31 is the only one that causes trouble, at least in my experience. I have had several Odyssey 34s and 34/78s, and those have been fine.