waking this one up from the dead. I ended up getting a new battery and opted for the AutoCraft Gold with coupon BIG35, got $35 off ended up being $92 out the door. LC123 doesn't work FYI. I disconnected the battery to reset the PCM after check engine light came on from doing the SeaFoam deal. Reconnected and it was dead. Truely weird.

 

Peace of mind is a good thing, so change it if you can. As far as the alternator goes, it doesn't matter the condition of your battery, your alternator is still going to produce voltage. Your alternator does not produce more or less voltage depending on the battery, the only thing that makes a alternator work harder is the ambient outside temperature and the accessories that you turn on in your truck ( lights, radio, amp etc. ). So don't worry about overworking your alternator, as long as its pulley is turning, its working and producing voltage.

 

Um, yeah it does. If the battery is a bit thin, the alternator bumps up the voltage to replace the electrons that were removed. That's how many alternators die - replacing juice removed by frequent starts, lots of power usage (wipers, lights, radio, etc.).

 

Alternators die from bad diodes and worn brushes. Extra loads don't really have a say in the life of it unless your battery internally shorts or a jump start goes awry. The actually produce a/c current which is then converted to DC before heading to the truck.

 

The alternator does not bump up nor does it decrease the voltage, the voltage regulator does. The alternator itself only produces voltage, it doesn't regulate the battery condition. Everything draws from the battery and the alternator is there to keep constant voltage to it. If the electrons were always replaced by the alternator you would never need to replace your battery. Tally, I am in no way an expert on this, but this is what I have experienced over the years of replacing batteries and alternators.

 

http://www.ehow.com/about_5422984_ca...r-failure.html

 

I had my battery tested a couple weeks ago. Test showed it to be at the low end of acceptable so I recently replaced it with a new Interstate battery. IMHO, much like running tires until they are completely worn out, it isn't worth getting stranded for a couple extra months of use!

 

I'm with ya there. I'm often torn between "run it 'til it drops" and preventative replacement. I don't think I'd compare batteries to tires, though. Depends on what part of town it won't start in, I guess Batteries used to give a warning, but no more: One time, it starts right up, the next try: dead as a hammer.

I have 8 years and almost 112K on the OEM battery in my Ram. I keep a solar cell charging the battery whenever it's sitting idle for a long period of time. I only drive it on trips, one day a week to work and when I need a truck - < 6K in the last year. It'll get an Interstate from Costco when the time comes.

 

I have an 2004 and just replaced the factory battery last week. I was blown away that the battery lasted that long. I noticed a slight slow down when i started the truck and knew the battery was on its way. A few days later the truck wouldn't start, I put a charger on it for just a few minutes and it started and i went straight to Sears and got a new Die Hard. 135 bucks out the door, it took longer to do the paper work than for the guy to install it and my battery worries are over. 7 years is a long time for a battery, be glad you haven't had to sweat battery problems prior to now. Go get yourself 900 or 1000 Cold Cranking Amps and forget about it.

Joe

 

it also really depends on where you live too...i live in phoenix where it gets ungodly hot. i use only optima batteries and still in this heat need to replace them about every 3 years. there is about a thousand factors that weigh in on this.