HMMWV Battery replacements

[simp5782]

24Fs from walmart if your cheap.

 

[TOBASH]

I used the search tool on this forum.

I did a search for "battery" and found the following thread that will interest you if you read through all of the posts regarding this issue.

https://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?182652-HMMWV-Battery-replacements&highlight=battery

 

[gem1410]

wallmart 600cca economy--$49---they fit in the battery box and work great--i use them in backhoes and humvees

 

[twisted60]

Just changed out my 6TL AGM batteries, 1 was shot only showed 10.7 volts and after all night on my Genius 7200 still at 10.7 and the charger was giving my a bad battery code. Other 6TL AGM is good but changed them both for Exide 24F batteries, the 24F's fit in the tray with room on the side to spare, used the battery hold down, had to place about 7/16" of wood as spacer to get things snug. 800 CCA, good fit, a 40 month FREE replacement and half the price of 6TL from NAPA. Oh ya !

 

[tage]

Just changed out my 6TL AGM batteries, 1 was shot only showed 10.7 volts and after all night on my Genius 7200 still at 10.7 and the charger was giving my a bad battery code. Other 6TL AGM is good but changed them both for Exide 24F batteries, the 24F's fit in the tray with room on the side to spare, used the battery hold down, had to place about 7/16" of wood as spacer to get things snug. 800 CCA, good fit, a 40 month FREE replacement and half the price of 6TL from NAPA. Oh ya !
View attachment 754289View attachment 754290View attachment 754291

You're welcome

 

[tage]

Yeah those 50$ 24f from Wal-Mart is what I use for tractors, genie, and battery banks.
Only a year warranty. Haven't tried to do a warranty claim on them, but walmart can be weird

 

[simp5782]

Yeah those 50$ 24f from Wal-Mart is what I use for tractors, genie, and battery banks.
Only a year warranty. Haven't tried to do a warranty claim on them, but walmart can be weird

Beats paying 100 to 150 for the name brands and they last half their warranty time and then they try to jerk you around


I have had good luck with cummins batteries. The 24fs are 65 from them with a 3yr warranty. They sell their 1400cca 8Ds for 150each or 198 with the core charge

 

[tage]

Well that's the thing. Those non virgin lead batteries are made by the same manufacturer. They're all the same. Why pay extra for name.

I'm actually kinda curious on how I'm going to warranty my exide batteries from home depot. None of those places load test them like a parts store.

 

[steelsoldiers]

Good info on the 24F’s. May try them in my deuce. I used Optima Red Top’s in my CUCV and HMMWV with the 6TL adapter plates. They worked great and are pretty reasonable if you wait for a good sale on the Advance Auto site.

 

[Wire Fox]

I ultimately went to NAPA and bought their 6TL batteries. They were fresh manufacture, exceed the minimum specs the HMMWV calls for in the parts manual, and you know that they're going to survive all the conditions that the HMMWV -10 says it can handle. I specifically needed the reserve capacity for radios and a power inverter. If you wait for a bit of a sale and then buy them with a NAPA rewards account, you get enough cash back that they don't sting as bad as what your average 6TL will do. All that said, a pair of group 24 batteries will do if all you want them to do is start and run your HMMWV and drive it without any of the extreme conditions. It will save you probably $125 that way.

 

[papakb]

I've had my HMMWV for 18 years now and have gone through several sets of batteries along the way. I originally went the purist route and bought 6TLs because that's what the military used. My first sets seemed to last a couple years and then die pretty quickly. Back then they ran around $180-200 from Interstate and I just bought them. Around the 3rd set something changed and they would fail around 14 months and Interstate only warranteed them for 12 because they were a "specialty" battery. HUH?? I started looking around for alternatives with the same CCA capacity and size and came up with the 24F series batteries. They're a shade less in CCA but their height and length allowed me to fit them into the original battery tray and use the original hold down bracket so I went with them. I've never looked back. I can get them anywhere at reasonable prices and their 3 year warranty means if one fails I can generally get it replaced almost anywhere. Something you can't do with 6TLs or Optimas.

Another nice thing is when they drop into the battery box you can position them so you don't have heavy wires running everywhere or overlapping. You can install them in series with a simple , short jumped between them. I like simple and clean, especially when it comes to electrical circuits that have the capacity to generate lots of power.

One thing you need to be aware of with the 24Fs though is they come in two flavors for some reason. They're referred to as North and South batteries. One has raised top fill ports and the other are flat topped batteries and they're the ones you want to use the stock hold down bracket.

 

[tage]

Thing with diesels is that they need cca. The glow plugs take a very large draw, starter, ect. The alternator puts out the amperage to run accessories. That's why class 8 trucks will have 4 batteries. Not that they're wired in series, but they are wired in parallel...

 

[Milcommoguy]

Not so sure the top fillers are North or South specific. Many batteries supplier, while they look the same are sold with a North or South destinations. Internal designed different (plates, separators and all) for colder or warmer climates. Here in sunny California it may not make a lot of sense. Starting a diesel engine, all the CCA's you can get as stated is the idea, but in hotter climates, the higher density batteries don't last as long. You do want one's with flat tops to fit well in the HMMWV.

A little note, Auto batteries have only two states. Charge and discharge. Long term storage is not one of them. Here in SOCAL five years and on the sixth winter, plan on battery headaches, and that's if it not abused, drained flat dead, under / over charged, or killed with tap water.

Your mileage or Amps may vary,

CAMO

 

[JoeJrTheBarber]

I run Optima Red Tops in all of my cars / trucks / etc and never had a issue...

 

[Mario]

Thank you for saving me a few hundred dollars.
I got 6TL batteries that were less than a year old from a buddy. One had 3 (that's 50%) bad cells. The other one, while appearing to charge fine, had 1 bad cell. After taking them to Interstate distributor, I was told that they only had a 6-month warranty. I returned the batteries to my buddy.
I considered Optima YellowTop 34/78 next. I liked that besides the top posts, it also had side terminals for accessories. With local prices around $230, it was going to be over $500 for a set.

Then I found this post.
Ended up picking up two of these "Exide Extreme 24F Auto Battery".
At $99 each, it was much less expensive than other options.

If you're going to go this route, order your batteries online, with local pickup.
Why you ask? Well; when I called and asked about a core charge, I was told that there was one. However, when I placed an order online, with local pickup, there was no core fee charge. My order was ready for pickup faster than I could drive to the store. I even asked the guy at the counter if I could go back to the aisle and pick up matching date codes -- he obviously didn't care. I got mine with a Nov. 13th, 2018 MFG code, and Dec. '18 ship date.

 

[Mario]

Thank you for saving me a few hundred dollars.
I got 6TL batteries that were less than a year old from a buddy. One had 3 (that's 50%) bad cells. The other one, while appearing to charge fine, had 1 bad cell. After taking them to Interstate distributor, I was told that they only had a 6-month warranty. I returned the batteries to my buddy.
I considered Optima YellowTop 34/78 next. I liked that besides the top posts, it also had side terminals for accessories. With local prices around $230, it was going to be over $500 for a set.

Then I found this post.
Ended up picking up two of these "Exide Extreme 24F Auto Battery".
At $99 each, it was much less expensive than other options.

If you're going to go this route, order your batteries online, with local pickup.
Why you ask? Well; when I called and asked about a core charge, I was told that there was one. However, when I placed an order online, with local pickup, there was no core fee charge. My order was ready for pickup faster than I could drive to the store. I even asked the guy at the counter if I could go back to the aisle and pick up matching date codes -- he obviously didn't care. I got mine with a Nov. 13th, 2018 MFG code, and Dec. '18 ship date.

 

[kc5mzd]

I took mine to WalMart and was able to talk them into installing 2 group 78 batteries at 50.00 each - with free installation. When I got home I added a couple of 1x4 boards so the top tray would work again. After several years they still work great. I guess I got lucky. They were side posts and I purchased 2 sets of side mount replacement bolts. By removing the top post hardware the old cables worked fine.

 

[Coug]

I still have the cheap Walmart batteries in mine and need to replace them at some point. I thought about doing it when one went bad last winter, but it was still under warranty and a free battery was better than buying one. My balancer seems to keep them balanced and as long as I plug into my charger periodically (connected through the NATO slave port) they do fine.

I was wondering if anyone has tried the DEKA 6TMF batteries? They're a 6TL format, ~$250, and 1225 CCA.

I know it's been a while, but thought I would add something to this.
I found one, and only one website that lists the 6TMF as a 1225CCA battery. They also listed it as AGM, which it is not. It's just the Maintenance Free version of the 6TL, still a flooded lead acid battery. Every other website, including the DEKA website, list the 6TMF as a 750CCA battery (other sites list it 740). The only 6T AGM type batteries I can find are all in the $5-600+ range.

Just remember, if something seems too good to be true, it usually is.

 

[papakb]

I guess the question you need to ask and understand is how much CCA power do you need? The answer is dependant on the climate where you live so I don't think there's a perfect, one size fits all answer.

 

[Milkman357]

I recently replaced the batteries in my M996A1 and after years of using Interstate 6TLs that only lasted about 28 months I decided to go with 24Fs. They are the same height and length as the 6TLs but a couple inches narrower so you can use your old battery hold down bracket with them. They have the same CCA ratings and come with a 3 year replacement that beats the snot out of the Interstates. I changed the routing of the cables to a much simpler path as you can see and you can use a quick disconnect jumper between them as a security measure if you want to. For whatever reason these 24F batteries come in 2 versions called North and South(????). One has flat top fill covers and the other has the old sytle raised fill caps. Look for the flat top batteries. Here's a picture of how this turned out:

View attachment 746069

Yes, they do fit into the original battery. I put some high density foam alongside the batteries but after several hundred miles of driving I don't see any evidence of the batteries moving. It does add some insulation to the batteries too.

Well done! I have been running the Cheapo Walmart batteries in my M-1009 for years. My Humvee 6tls just gave out, they were new in 2003. Yeah, surprised me too.