New battery spec

[jimbob]

Hi guys,

Well the battery on my MK VII finally gave out after over 6 years, however, i live in the UK and am struggling to find a replacement with the correct exterior dimensions for sensible money.

I checked the autozone website and it specifies 850cca, i can get one of these from a guy who imports these but its like $200 and i dont know how long he has had it on the shelf for, also i only get 12 months warranty. I can however get a 680cca battery brand new for $100 with 4 years warranty.

Will i be ok to use a 680cca in my Mk VII? also what are the likely problems i may have if any?

Thanks

 

[02LSE96LSC91SE84TC]

If its any help I believe my MarkVIII used the exact battery as my MarkVII. Being newer maybe that'll will help.

 

[OldSchool1]

Hi guys,

Well the battery on my MK VII finally gave out after over 6 years, however, i live in the UK and am struggling to find a replacement with the correct exterior dimensions for sensible money...

Part Number: 65-DLG
Weight: 44.5 lbs
Warranty: 8 YR
Notes: *** 850 cold cranking Amps (1000 cranking Amps) *** -> 3 year free replacement <-
Description: Duralast Gold battery
CCA: 850
Reserve Capacity: 165
Pro Rata Warranty: 8 years
Length: 12.0625 in.
Width: 7.5625 in.
Height: 7.5625 in.
Voltage: 12V
Weight: 44.5 lbs.

The reason that I use this battery is because it's the right size and cold cranking amps for our Mark VIIs and the warranty and the fact that the store is 1/2 mile from my house.

The last three that I bought are still under warranty and have yet failed to turn over my Marks. Since you're a bajillion miles away from the nearest retailer, I can understand the $80.00 shipping fee on a 44 pound lead battery. If you have a way of exchanging it in say four years, I'd go for it.

 

[jimbob]

Hi again guys,

Thanks for the feedback, Oldschool1 - unfortunately i cannot get these in the UK, and i found out that car batteries cannot be sent via airfreight.

However, i did manage to get a 780cca Bosch batt which starts the car just fine, we had -5 deg centigrade the other morning which is just about as cold as its going to get where i live.

It turns out though this was only part of the problem!! i have something draining the battery over night as this new one went flat in 24hrs!! I have started searching for the issue that is drawing current. I found this thread...

http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=14729

...which looks to be very useful, i just have one question. It states that a possible cause is 'BAD KEY CYLINDER IGNITION SWITCH (not ingition switch)' - the extra bit in brackets confused me!!! should i change the bit the key goes into, or the electrical bit at the end of it?? ...my key cylinder is very sloppy so would not be surprised if this is the culprit, and am thinking i should change it anyways before it leaves me stranded.

Thanks again guys

 

[OldSchool1]

Hi again guys,

Thanks for the feedback, Oldschool1 - unfortunately i cannot get these in the UK, and i found out that car batteries cannot be sent via airfreight.

However, i did manage to get a 780cca Bosch batt which starts the car just fine, we had -5 deg centigrade the other morning which is just about as cold as its going to get where i live.

It turns out though this was only part of the problem!! i have something draining the battery over night as this new one went flat in 24hrs!! I have started searching for the issue that is drawing current. I found this thread...

http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=14729

...which looks to be very useful, i just have one question. It states that a possible cause is 'BAD KEY CYLINDER IGNITION SWITCH (not ingition switch)' - the extra bit in brackets confused me!!! should i change the bit the key goes into, or the electrical bit at the end of it?? ...my key cylinder is very sloppy so would not be surprised if this is the culprit, and am thinking i should change it anyways before it leaves me stranded.

Thanks again guys

I love squishing electrical gremlins

For those that don't know:
Our ignition keys go into our key cylinders
Our key cylinders move linkages
Our linkages move ignition switches
Our ignition switches are always hot no mater which of the four positions that they are in. The four positions determine which path(s) voltage follows.

The link above is to a thread diagnosing a battery drain for our 1990-1992 Mark VIIs. The likely hood of there being a bad ignition switch in these years of Mark VII are slim to non as Ford made ABSOLUTELY SURE to redesign the ignition switch after SIX YEARS of replacing the 1984-1989 designed switch. More on that in a moment.

So the above linked thread references a "bad key cylinder...". What this means is that if the key cylinder is worn or the key is worn, then the two may not move the linkages to their proper positions. If the linkages do not move to their proper positions, then the ignition switch will not move to it's proper positions. If the ignition switch is not in it's proper position (in your case ... OFF) then some circuits will remain hot or partially closed. Circuits left hot or partially closed will drain a battery overnight EVEN IF YOU DON"T VISUALLY SEE WHAT IS STILL HOT! Pulling fuses is a good test for SOME circuits but MOST accessory circuits in our cars are ALWAYS HOT (up to and through the accessory, breaking ground to regulate it) no matter WHICH position the key cylinder is in.

Soooo, like so many other electrical gremlins, the way to squish them is to know how the system is SUPPOSED to work and return that system to it's original form and only then, can you truly troubleshoot your battery drain. If your car is post 1989 *AND* you have a sloppy key cylinder, you MUST correct the sloppy key cylinder and ENSURE your car is actually turning off BEFORE troubleshooting. If you choose to troubleshoot before doing this, you can check all of the systems listed below and come up with some true readings and some false readings which will lead you to the wrong conclusions. Eventually, you'll either grow tired of chasing gremlins and sell or junk the car, or you'll replace parts until the gremlin mysteriously goes away. It's less expensive to correct KNOWN issues than to throw parts at the car randomly.

To save a trip from following the above link, here is what I suggest for trouble shooting a battery drain in a 1990-1992 Mark VII (pre 1990 Mark VIIs are discussed in the link in my signature).

*repost from 2005 *
Common draws of current in Mark VIIs:


BAD KEY CYLINDER IGNITION SWITCH (not ingition switch)

*interior lights
*glove box light
*under seat lights
*under dash lights
*vanity mirrors
*rear seat courtesy lights (switches down = off)


non functioning accessories

*windshield wiper motor burned out/shorted
*trunk pull down motor burned out/shorted
*windshield washer motor motor burned out/shorted
*door lock solenoids
*window motors burned out/shorted
*seat motors burned out/shorted
*exterior lights and their switches
*brake boost motor (not sure if you have this in 1986)


*AIR RIDE COMPRESSOR RUNNING (shut off the switch in the trunk, driver's side wall)
*aftermarket radios (spliced wires makes all of this moot)
*aftermarket alarm systems (spliced wires makes all of this moot)
*aftermarket HID fog lights (you get the picture)
*coins stuck in one of the three cigarette lighters (thanks NYC LSC)