Importance of a good battery

[SlowPoke McGee]

Gen 1 Viper: So I managed to leave my interior lights on and drained the battery. Decided I might as well change the battery while I was at it.
1st I needed to reprogram my alarm (by pushing lock and unlock button down for 3 seconds, horn honked 3 times, then pushed lock and then unlock....I say this because there were many opinions on how to do this when I researched, but this is what worked).
2nd I pulled out what looked like a 500 CCA battery (small) and replaced with an Oem 800 CCA battery.
3rd Started it up and went for a drive.

What a difference. This may have been placebo but the car seemed to have gained 30 hp and stayed much cooler (more power to the fan, injectors, etc?). The voltmeter also read much higher than previously. Am I crazy or did the proper battery really make that big of a difference?

[gage]

Never underestimate the power of quality juice... These cars definitely do tend to act funky when a battery is on its way out

[SlowPoke McGee]

in truth the battery wasn't that bad I don't think. It was only 2 years old BUT in an attempt to save a few bucks, the previous owner put on a much lower CCA than Oem. I'm wondering if that may have been the limiting factor.

[Vprbite]

They do here kooky woth a low battery.

In my gen II, the way I knew the battery was going was the car wouldn't start. I.e. There wasn't much waning for me. Did the drive for 2 weeks and then nothing.

On my gen III, it feels like you get a couple slow starts. Where you go "is it not star...oh it's ok." And you get like 3 to 5 of those.

I've heard of the gen I and II doing wonkey stuff when the battery gets low though, especiall get with the alarm. So if you notice alarm stuff, probably time for a new battery. Obviously a tender will help and is cheap insurance

[MalingatorGTS]

One of the greatest things is hard wiring a battery tender in. Is a simple plug in when the car is in the garage. My car lives on one, even with a good quality battery. For some reason they love to suck them dry while sitting in the driveway or garage.

Don't feel too bad about it, go read all the stories about Pagani's needing jump starts at events from sitting for a few hours LOL!!!!! I have video of one just a week or so ago LOL!!

Why people try to save $20 on buying a good battery is beyond me.

[My98RT10]

My battery is 8 yrs old (Mopar OEM). No issues. Every winter I remove it and connect it to a tender from time to time (not constantly). I am curious how long it will continue to work....

[City]

My battery is 8 yrs old (Mopar OEM). No issues. Every winter I remove it and connect it to a tender from time to time (not constantly). I am curious how long it will continue to work....

Let's hope your experiment ends with the car in your garage and not on an autobahn.

[My98RT10]

Let's hope your experiment ends with the car in your garage and not on an autobahn.

Very true... ;-)

[1ststrike]

A good battery does wonders

['93 RT/10]

I could tell the battery was on its way out in my Gen I because it was idling weird similar to when the throttle cables need synced. But the cables had just been synced recently. I got home from my drive and shut the car off outside the garage so I could open the door. Went to start it back up about 5 minutes later and it wouldn't even crank. It was an Interstate battery and was almost 10 years old. It was always connected to a tender in the garage.

[sfm79]

I had to jump start my Gen1 last week for the first time since ownership. I put it on a charger over night and it started the next day. I will replace the battery now.

SloPokeMcGee mentioned 850CCA, is there anything else I should look for? What brand are most owners buying?
Are there any precautions I must take before or after the install.

Thanks

[SlowPoke McGee]

I'm a big fan of the Red Top Optima battery.
Opima Battery.jpg
https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-u..._button=Search

If you've got a powerful stereo system they recommend the yellow top battery.

Combine it with this trick charger and you've got your bases covered in style.
Digital400_Battery Tender.jpg
https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-u...r/digital-400/

These battery's come at a premium but I don't think you'll find a better battery. They don't spill corrosive acid all over your battery tray which is a huge plus especially in a hard to get at location.
You'd think I work for Optima haha.

I add some dielectric grease to each battery post and that's about it.

Update: I was mistaken and have corrected my above post. Oem is 800 CCA not 850 CCA.

[sfm79]

The previous owner gave me a spread sheet of all maintenance done on my car going back to 1997. I looked at it and noticed the battery was changed on 7-7-2006 with a Sears battery. I've owned the car since 2011.
That battery has lasted 10 years. I may look at Sears and see what replacements are available.

I tried to read some battery reviews and somebody has had a bad experience with just about every brand out there including the Optima. Sometimes you just get more confused trying to read those things.