Battery swaps in all vehicles

B.C.

B.C.

Well-Known Member
Remember the good old days when you just took the battery out of your vehicle and put in a new one, closed the hood, and drove to the pub and had a $40 lunch to celebrate changing the battery yourself, saving $30 not paying a shop to do it.
Well I write this post as an education about modern vehicles, and why I miss those older vehicles simplicity.
Before you simply change the battery in your vehicle nowadays, or do it for your buddy to help them out, first research the vehicle a little bit. Many modern vehicles use a computer system to control the battery charging. No I am not joking, sure I kid around a lot here on the forum, but this is my serious post of the week, I will try not to let it happen to often ;)

Your modern day vehicles ( not all but most) have a smart charging system that knows what type of battery was installed at the factory, and will not properly charge the new battery if you switch types, lets say flooded cell, to AGM, lithium, or even possibly gel. So the charging system might need to be updated to what type of battery you put in it. But it goes much further than that so keep reading.
Lets say that you replace it with an identical battery, although nowadays you likely won't.
But lets say that you did, so think you are done...you are wrong.
These new charging systems go a step further, in that many of them allow for battery aging and know that over time your battery cannot hold a charge as good as it once did. So it slowly over times keeps charging your battery a bit slower, and not charging it as much as it did a new battery. No I am not drunk or smoking BC bud, I am total sober and telling it to you straight. So your vehicle may need to be told you just installed a new battery, so it treats it like new and charges it correctly. Some vehicles allow you to do this yourself and the instructions are then likely in your owners manual. That is the book in the glove box that you usually ignore and it gets in the way of your important stuff like bottle opener, boat keys, condoms, and flashlight. Well pull that book out and read the part on battery replacement, or call your dealership. The computer likely needs to be updated now, and with any luck it is a do it yourself way, or you may need to drive to the dealership now with your new battery installed ( yes it will start and drive okay without hurting your vehicle) and get them to plug into your obd port and update your system to let it know you put in a new battery. And maybe tell it that the battery is not just new, but also a different type of battery.

I know that I am the joker around here, but an occasional post that might be helpful I thought can't hurt either.

Cheers.
 
I know you're being totally serious B.C. I'll be the first to admit that I'm electrically challenged but I do know you shouldn't put an AGM battery in something set up for a flooded cell. Sure it will work, for awhile, but eventually its gonna give you problems. The people with the newer highlanders with the start stop feature are finding this out now. Toyota uses some type of hybrid flooded cell battery in them and its failing under warranty. The sad part is they are backordered with no expected delivery date, and they're not available on the open market. Ive read many reports of 1 and 2 year old highlanders being held hostage by the dealer waiting on new batteries. They won't replace it under warranty unless vehicle is there and waiting on a battery. According to toyota their hybrid flooded cell is what is required. Makes you wander if all these so called advancements and inovations are really worth it. Yeah, remember the good old days when you could actually field strip youre car in youre driveway, fix what needed fixed, and put it back together.
 
I miss them old days to.
I have an old 1967 Fargo Power Wagon I want to restore some day, and I may then just use it for all my truck needs, because its stone cold simple, and I can repair it myself as it has no computers or crap. Just a 318 cubic inch V8 with crab, 4 speed manual, manual hubs, manual transfer case, built like a tank, and has massive steel bumpers and even a pto winch.
Even working on my 18 year old Prowler is fairly simple compared to most vehicles made now. Sure if an efi computer or something dies it gets towed to a shop, but generally it's not bad to work on, and doesn't really care say what battery I put in it, heck i can put in basically any 12 volt battery that fits in the space.
I don't see me ever selling my Prowler, I liked them and was looking for one years ago, found this one, last year they were made, and old couple drove it occasionally on nice summer days, had 13,670 kms on it when i bought it in 2011. It was in mint condition and I keep it that way.
Hopefully they bury me in it.
 
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Ps. Batteries don't seem to last very long nowadays. In December 2019 I replaced the neighbors battery for her in her 2017 F150, so it would at least start. That morning it died she called me asking for help, I drove her to work, then went to Napa and got a battery for it, put it in the truck, then drove her truck to Orchard Ford and had them reprogram the computer to tell the truck it had a new battery and it was a different type. They charged me $60 plus taxes. I picked her up when her shift ended driving her truck and handed her the two bills, the battery bill, and Ford dealer bill. She was shocked that it would not be smart enough to know itself and had to be reprogrammed. Many people are shocked to learn that, hence my writing the long winded original post hoping to educate those who were not aware.
 
After I burn out the stock battery I use either a NAPA or a local place called Powertron. Seem to last much longer with better performance.
 
I really like the Napa AGM, that is what I would put in my own truck, and what I put in the neighbor's Ford.
 
I have had excellent from Duracell batteries. They are sealed lead acid and seem to last quite a long time. My neighbor has had his battery for 5 years and over 60K miles with no troubles. My two Duracell batteries are 3 and 5 years old, with 25K to 45K miles, no troubles.

One thing I found when I bought my new 18 TRD Off Road was that the battery was VERY low on acid. The top of the plates showed in two or three cells. I topped it off with acid and have had to add a total of less than 2 ounces of water per year to keep the level where it should be. I wonder how many Toyota batteries die because they are under-filled from the manufacturer?

My 06 Sierra got 6 years and 72+K miles from the original Delco battery. I replaced it because I was afraid it would fail and leave me stranded. Unfortunately you can't buy the same battery over the counter that GM uses in their vehicles from the factory.
 
I just read an interesting thread over on TacomaWorld about the agm/ flooded cell debate. In order to get full use from an AGM battery in a flooded cell system you need to add a diode to trick the alternator into charging at a higher voltage. However, the kicker is that 3rd gen tacos, the charging is controlled by the ecm so diode doesn't work, need to get ecm reprogrammed.
 
I know on my neighbor's ford f150 the computer had to be told that a new battery was just installed and the new one was an AGM not regular.
I'm pretty sure that if i replace the battery in my Ram or Bullitt they would need new programming, where my Prowler doesn't care, just stick a battery in it.
 
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