What size battery is needed?
A battery should be big enough to allow reliable cold starting. The
standard recommendation is a battery
with at least one Cold Cranking Amp (CCA) for every cubic inch of
engine displacement (two for diesels). CCA rating is an indication
of a battery's ability to deliver a sustained amp output at a
specified temperature.
Specifically, it is how many amps a new, fully-charged battery can
deliver at 0 degrees F for 30 seconds and still maintain a minimum
voltage of 1.2 volts per cell.
A rule of thumb says a vehicle's battery should have a CCA rating
equal to or greater than engine displacement in cubic inches. A
battery with a 280 CCA rating would be more than adequate for a 135
cubic inch four-cylinder engine, but not big enough for a 350 cubic
inch V-8.
Battery manufacturers have been trying to outdo one another by
introducing batteries with higher and higher cold cranking amp
ratings. There was a time when a battery with a 550 CCA rating was
considered a powerful battery. Now there are batteries with 650,
750, 850, and even up to 1,000 CCA available.
One reason for the "amp wars" between battery manufacturers is that
bigger is definitely better. How much overkill is really necessary
to assure reliable cold weather starting? Two amps per cubic inch of
engine displacement? Three, four or five amps? The bottom line is
bigger sells better.
The difference between a group 23 battery and a group 24 battery is
1/2" in length, 1/16" in width and 7/16" in height. It does not
sound like much, but it is enough of a difference that the longer
battery might not fit the space provided for the shorter battery if
a swap were attempted.
Since there is little or no effort on the part of vehicle
manufacturers to standardize original equipment battery dimensions,
aftermarket battery suppliers are faced with the task of trying to
cram as many amps as they can into the smallest battery case that
will fit the most applications.
Consolidation reduces the number of different batteries a jobber has
to stock to cover the various vehicle applications. It also
simplifies manufacturing by building fewer basic battery sizes.
The most powerful battery in the world will not be able to do its
job properly if battery cables are not up to the job. One often
overlooked source of cranking trouble is undersized battery cables.
If the original equipment cables have been replaced with cheap ones
with undersized wires, the cables may not be able to deliver the
battery's full amp load to the starter.
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