Tow Vehicle Battery Question

[RSmoak]

Vehicle: 2006, F250 XLT Super Duty, Crew, SB, 6.0 PSD, Auto, 3.73

Can someone explain my dual battery wiring? Presumably they're connected in parallel because it is a 12V system. The batteries are getting old and I'd like to replace them before any problems commence. But ...
1. Can I replace them one at a time without losing clock, radio, tranny shift module, etc settings?

2. Should I buy the biggest, baddest, highest CCA batteries I can find, or is it a non-issue in a dual battery system?

3. Are there any issues with replacing the batteries one at a time over a couple months?

4. How does one jump a dual battery system?

5. How do I use my dual battery system to jump a single or dual battery system?

I think that covers everything.

Thanks,
Ralph

[RSmoak]

Vehicle: 2006, F250 XLT Super Duty, Crew, SB, 6.0 PSD, Auto, 3.73

Can someone explain my dual battery wiring? Presumably they're connected in parallel because it is a 12V system. The batteries are getting old and I'd like to replace them before any problems commence. But ...
1. Can I replace them one at a time without losing clock, radio, tranny shift module, etc settings?

2. Should I buy the biggest, baddest, highest CCA batteries I can find, or is it a non-issue in a dual battery system?

3. Are there any issues with replacing the batteries one at a time over a couple months?

4. How does one jump a dual battery system?

5. How do I use my dual battery system to jump a single or dual battery system?

I think that covers everything.

Thanks,
Ralph

[Hitchhiker]

The system is two 12v batteries connected in parallel, the two negatives are electrically connected together and the two positives are electrically connected together. When replacing them they should be replaced as a set because an older one that still may be good but is somewhat weaker than a brand new one will pull the voltage down on the new one. Also, they'll charge at different rates.

I'd suggest just replacing the two batteries with two of the same CCA that Ford put in initially unless you've done some extensive modifications and need more power.

As far a jump starting, if you'll observe the correct polarity with the cables and attach them properly to vehicle being jumped, it's not much different than jumping with one battery. Think of your two batteries as one since the positives are connected together and the negatives are both commonly grounded.

[450Donn]

In theory you I suppose could change battery one and once it was reconnected change battery two and not loose the information. However a wise person will disconnect both batteries and change both. You should not loose any of the ECM or BCM functions in the few minutes it takes to change batteries. Generally these require about a 1/2 hour or longer without power to reset to factory presets. So I guess you would be down to resetting the clock and radio presets.

[Hitchhiker]

There are inexpensive devices marketed that plug into the cigarette lighter receptacle to maintain the 12 volts while a battery is being removed. I've never used one but I presume they'll keep you from having to reset the radio, clock, etc.

[RustyJC]

If you use the device Richard suggested, be sure your lighter socket isn't disabled when the ignition key is switched off. My truck has a lighter and a power socket - the lighter goes off with the ignition, but the power socket is hot all the time. The power socket would be the one to use in my case.

Rusty

[teamroper60]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RSmoak:
1. Can I replace them one at a time without losing clock, radio, tranny shift module, etc settings? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes you can.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RSmoak:2. Should I buy the biggest, baddest, highest CCA batteries I can find, or is it a non-issue in a dual battery system? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I would go for the biggest you can find. I went with new Motorcraft Gold's from O'Reilly's. 850 CCA's and they also have a 7 year warranty.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RSmoak:3. Are there any issues with replacing the batteries one at a time over a couple months? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That is not recommended. Generally, by the time one of the batteries has gone weak/bad, it begins to take a serious toll on the other. Replacing one now and another later is likely to have you chasing bad batteries for a long time..

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RSmoak:4. How does one jump a dual battery system? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I go off of the passenger side battery, simply because there is not nearly so much stuff attached to it but you can use either one.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RSmoak:5. How do I use my dual battery system to jump a single or dual battery system? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have never tried jumping another dual battery system but if you are referring to another truck with dual batteries, I think you'd just need to hook up to one.

[RSmoak]

Thank you all.

[Frank P. Martin]

If you're going to change your batteries one at a time, You'd better be real, real, careful that the positive terminal doesn't ground out or you might be changing something more than just your batteries.