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dodge m37 batteries

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 6:31 am
by nutsfor59
hi,may sound dumb but are there any pros/cons to having maintenance free batteries vs regular standard batteries ???do they cause any kind of problems in older charging systems etc,??? thanks

Re: dodge m37 batteries

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 9:09 am
by cuz
Maint free batteries are just like sealed bearings. Instead of being able to service and maintain them you simply throw a larger amount of money at replacing them when they wear out. Good maintainers can get 5 to 10 years out of a serviceable battery. Sealed batteries often don't give the chance to correct minor internal issues with them and will usually not last as long. Also in most case the sealed battery will cost you more when compared equally in output performance to an unsealed battery. There are excellent modern batteries on the market that are sealed and will serve well but you also pay dearly for them. In a dual battery system where the two batteries are normally maintained and replaced in pairs this also can add significantly to your operating costs.

Re: dodge m37 batteries

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 10:24 am
by nutsfor59
hi,ok that sounds good to me,how about this.... the batteries i have in there i got oversize and way overboard on cca and ca amps from what is called for,could or would this make a charging system work harder to achieve full charge or maintain one ??? they are for a late model dodge diesel truck and way above what a dodge m37 needs or what is called for,maybe i'm setting the bar to high for my system to attain ?? or are all battery voltage simply what they are regardless 6v,12v,24v,??,thanks

Re: dodge m37 batteries

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 5:15 pm
by cuz
The 100 amp system you installed will charge those batteries easily. If you start with those two batteries fully charged and reading at least 24.5 to 25.0 and hit the start switch and the voltage drops only 1.5 to 2.0 volts or so they are good to go. If your alternator is not putting out 27.0 to 27.5 Volts the problem is in the charging system. I'd get away from the shotgun troubleshooting and just follow the printed guide correctly and in sequence, write down the results you get on each test and post them here or email them to me for help interpreting the results.