Battery and CCA's

I'm looking at replacing the battery that came with my XJ when I bought it 9 months ago.

It has only 550 Cold Cranking Amps. I dont have the cash for a Deep Cell Battery.

How large can I go with the cold cranking amps? I was thinking in the range of 900 / 1000 CCA's, would that harm any components under my hood?



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Laredo, '91, Auto, AW4, 4.0L HO, Stock

XJ91 said:

I'm looking at replacing the battery that came with my XJ when I bought it 9 months ago.

It has only 550 Cold Cranking Amps. I dont have the cash for a Deep Cell Battery.

How large can I go with the cold cranking amps? I was thinking in the range of 900 / 1000 CCA's, would that harm any components under my hood?

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900 CCAs is fine. I have a 1000CCA battery in my Comanche and have never had a problem, and it is very comforting to hear the engine turn over like a rocket on those cold mornings The only disadvantage with a higher rated CCA battery is that its plates are closer together than those in a lower CCA rated battery. As a consequence, just make sure the specific battery you buy hasn't been dropped or banged around severely.

Erik
88 Comanche

Cold Cranking amps are checked at 0*F,Cranking amps at 32*F.Just be sure what you are compairing when buying batteries.
The red top optima 34/78 has 800 CCA,s and 980 CA,s as an example.
Wayne

Before you go buy a larger capacity battery you need to examine your XJ. That 550 battery should start your XJ with no problem.

I think you may have a starter that drawing too much current, you know on verge of wearing out, and that your problem. I had a 86 mustang 5.0, at 154,000 miles with the factory starter I had the battery dead one day at work. I got it started and the the garage. The put an amp meter on the starter cable and found I was drawing 500 amps to start the engine, should of been half of that.

Also before you change the battery you need to do some maintenanace like Craig H wrote about, read this: http://www.olypen.com/craigh/charge.htm. You may also want to clean up the chassis grounds and apply some ox-gard. Get a wire brush for a drill, clean off the paint, apply ox-gard, and re assemble. I saw my head lights improve and the addition battery ground can not hurt. I'd also run a wire from the alternator to the chassis to improve the alternator's ground path.

After you check out your starter for it working right and cleaning the grouds I think a 550 amp battery will serve you fine.

Also do you have any additional electrical accessories you have added which may be drawing extra current or are never shut off which may be draining your battery and caused it to fail?

martin said:

Before you go buy a larger capacity battery you need to examine your XJ. That 550 battery should start your XJ with no problem.

Also before you change the battery you need to do some maintenanace like Craig H wrote about, read this: http://www.olypen.com/craigh/charge.htm. You may also want to clean up the chassis grounds and apply some ox-gard. Get a wire brush for a drill, clean off the paint, apply ox-gard, and re assemble. I saw my head lights improve and the addition battery ground can not hurt. I'd also run a wire from the alternator to the chassis to improve the alternator's ground path.

After you check out your starter for it working right and cleaning the grouds I think a 550 amp battery will serve you fine.

Also do you have any additional electrical accessories you have added which may be drawing extra current or are never shut off which may be draining your battery and caused it to fail?

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martin, when weather permits I'll try those great sugestions.


I do not have any other extras as stated above STOCK....Battery is about 4 yrs old.
When I start it lately with this cold weather it cranks for a good 10-12 sceonds longer than on a warmer day.

I read your post as saying the battery was only 9 months old, that why I suggested all the maintenance because that too short a time for a battery. Now that I know the battery is 4 years old then I'd agree it a routine maintenance item. If you have one of those battery hygrometer you can see how good the acid is before you replace it.

I paid $33 for my last battery for the XJ. I got it at Costco, has a 3 year free/100 month pro-rated warranty. It is made by Johnson Controls, the same people who make the Die-Hard which Sears charges $80. Our XJs use a group 58, later XJs use a different battery group which the optima is a listed "alternate".

I learned on my 69 Camero buy the right battery "group" for your vehicle. I had a too small battery tip over and burn up. The corner gas station put in a battery of the right capability but not the right dimentions so the hold down would actually hold it down. Nothing like smelling sulfer.

Also your long cark could be a bad fuel pump. There is a check valve that over times can fail to hold pressure and it requires the system to come up to pressure first. You might want to try turning on the key, listen to the pump run, turn off, turn it on again THEN start the engine... see if that does anything. If so then you could be in need a a fuel pump.

I also found I had better starting when I installed a new cap, rotor and spark plug wires along with new spark plugs. Not knowing the maintenance of the vehicle your long crank can still be something other than the battery.

Hope one of these solves your problem

My 580cca Autozone battery ($49.99) works great.

martin said:

Also your long cark could be a bad fuel pump. There is a check valve that over times can fail to hold pressure and it requires the system to come up to pressure first. You might want to try turning on the key, listen to the pump run, turn off, turn it on again THEN start the engine... see if that does anything. If so then you could be in need a a fuel pump.

I also found I had better starting when I installed a new cap, rotor and spark plug wires along with new spark plugs. Not knowing the maintenance of the vehicle your long crank can still be something other than the battery.

Hope one of these solves your problem

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I do hear the pump prime before I start up, but I have not tryied twice. (I'll give that a shot)

New plugs, wires, cap, rotor 6 months ago. Oil changed every 3 months to the day. No matter how little it's driven.