My Hybrid Tech stated that he had to use the built-in Jump-Start Procedure 3 times before my
Hv battery would start the
ICE . He said it was getting near 3yrs old and the heat here in Florida takes a toll on it so I should consider replacing it.
Suggestions have been around that our standard car battery should be replaced with a deep cycle battery. After thinking about that for a while, I decided I would stay with a battery that met the specs of the original OEM. I have been noticing a drop in my battery
SoC even while my generator was charging my
Hv battery. I thought the 12V battery was taking a big adjustment from the DC/DC converter to top it off when I seen those drops in the
SoC . It seems that this is happening more often now. For all of the reasons above, I've been looking for a replacement. After all, if replacing a 12V battery may improve my mileage by holding a charge longer, it may be worth it.
At first, I thought just go to Sears and get one of their best Diehard batteries. Sunday I was in Costco and thought I'd take a look at the replacement they recommend from their line. Costco listed a 96R, 500 CCA for a replacement, but they had none in stock. Today, I called Sears and they said they only had a Diehard Gold that would fit. When I ask for the specs, they gave me a 40R, 590 CCA. I told them that Costco's book said I needed a 96R, 500 CCA, but he said Ford recommended their 40R battery as a replacement.
At this point, I did some research to find out what the difference was, and looked at the battery in my
FEH for the specs and measurements. I found that the 40R and the 96R had to do with the measurements and CCA ratings. The stock Motorcraft battery was a BXT - 96R, 500 CCA. I've always thought the stock Motorcraft batteries were junk and I would never replace one with another.
After digging into warranty and size, I found the Sears battery would not fit, and I had the same problem in a Ford Focus I own a while back. I was not about to cram a big battery in the holder again. The generic 96R was very close to the stock replacement size, but I would still not have a perfect fit in my stock battery holder as the stock Motorcraft battery.
Both the Costco and the Sears batteries had a 3yrs replacement and 100 month prorated warranty. The Sears wouldn't fit and the Costco 96R was not in stock, so I did some research on Motorcraft batteries.
The higher end Motorcraft battery offered the same warranty as the Sears and Costco battery. At this point, I called the dealership and ask if they carried the higher end "MAX" Motorcraft battery. They told me no, but they had the stock BXT - 96R that was the stock battery for the '05
FEH for $85 which was $2 less than the Sears that didn't fit. Then, I found out that the BXT - 96R Motorcraft battery had the same warranty as the Sears and Costco battery, which was 3yrs full replacement, 100 month prorated coverages.
I had no idea I have 6 months of full replacement value on my stock battery. Any recommendations or ideas of what I should do?
GaryG