19doug90

How many cold cranking amps does a 1990 350 need to be able to start. My batter is done and im wondering if i could borrow the one out of my moms 4.7L v8 dodge durango.

EDIT i checked and the ford windstar which is my backup car to drive has a battery that puts out 750 CCA which should be enough. Is there anything else i have to check to make sure itll be okay for my car.

19doug90

come on this is a super simple answer. When picking a battery do i have to worry about anything other then how many cca's it has? if not 750 should be fine for my car.

Vader

There are only a few things that differentiate lead/acid batteries. CCA usually indicates the number and size of plates and connectors. Reserve capacity usually indicates the size of plates and amount of electrolyte. Then there's physical size.

I always try to get the largest battery I can fit into the tray. That usually provides the largest reserve capacity and maximum space between plates so that sulfation will not affect the battery for as long as possible. With a physically small battery, only a little sulfation of the plates can interfere substantially with the charging and capacity of a battery. Excessive sulfation can cause the surface lead to flake off the plates and collect in the bottom of the cells. The deposits in the bottom of the cells can cause shorting at the bottom of the plates, resulting in internally shorting cells, inability to hold a charge, and early failure. A little overheating of the battery can also short the cells more easily since there is less space between the plates.

750 CCA should be more than adequate, but for the longest service, there are oither factors to consider.

BTW - Gel cells tend to suffer less from many of those ailments.

robertg

iTrader: (2)

i'd always try and get a battery with as many cca as possible.

a customer priced a battery for a 92 cadillac the other day, and picked a battery with 770cca, 925 cranking amps.

i'll check the one out of my z28 in the morning. i think it's around 650 cca.

chevymad

Robert you dont actually want the highest cranking amp battery possible. Unless its an optima/orbital type contained acid battery. As Vader was saying the more plates you pack into a battery(higher cranking amps) the closer the plates are. The closer the plates get the easier it is for them to sulfate. Especially if the car sits at all. You really only want enough cca to crank your motor on a cold morning, and a decent reserve. I usually try to find a battery with 550-650 cca in a v/8 car in this area. Everything of mine though is going to the optima type battery. Biggest plus to me there is the fact they dont leak acid all over your car, eating up your fenders.

19doug90

yeah i know about that im wondering why the hell mine leaked out of the negative/ground terminal....its weird but oh well ill get it warrantied

DartByU

Just repeating what I read somewhere, but to get the longest life out of a battery look for the biggest that will fit with the least CCA's, that type battery will have more space between the plates and have less sulfation.

robertg

iTrader: (2)

hmm, thanks for the advice, brandon.

i'll keep everything in mind.

may even consider an optima type battery.

19doug90

rofl thats why im having these problems....you know the whole shpeal with those is that you can even shoot them with a gun and they wont leak....well mine started leaking out of the negative terminal for no reason?!?!? its getting warrantied as we speak.

Abird4u2nv1

iTrader: (-1)

I run a 800cca battery on my LB9, pretty good size too, slighty bigger than the tray, never had any battery probs in a year and a half o it being in there. Hope this helps...

chevymad

I've seen a couple leak.. but only if they've been overcharged or charged too fast. They're made to be charged fairly slowly.. and if you look up the info on chargin one, they'll tell you you can fast charge it. But only if you monitor the temp of the battery while doing it.. and stop charging if the battery gets up to 120*(i think). When it gets that hot the acid will come out of suspension in the fiberglass matting and leak. The battery's shot after that too.

When you get a new battery you might want to check to maker sure your not getting too much voltage. Another thing that can cause it to be charged too fast, is when you run it down considerably(like listening to a stereo for a long time) then run the car for a long time.. Your alternator puts out 100 amps, though it wont do that continously its still waaaay too much for a spiral battery to handle for that long. A 60 amp charger will cook an optima/orbital in about 1/2 hr. They start steaming and leaking. So there are drawbacks to these.. I still like em better than a standard battery.

19doug90

Well im 99% sure (ill never say 100%) my system is not over charging it. I think i did something really dumb and tried to jump the battery when it was dead because i was in a hurry and didnt know any better. Hopefully they will end up giving me a new one and now ill know better. So now to my next question....assuming this battery is in a daily driver and that i do use my stereo and everything else how do i keep the system from over charging the battery if apparently my stock system will fry it?

88Camaro350

I have a 600cca ac delco battery in mine. Came out of a 2000 z28. Guy bought a new battery from my work and I tested the old one...it was good so I took it.

Its been in there for a year...cranked over my 305 and 350 fine... did fine in 0 degree weather and 100 degree weather.