original battery life

[Silver Bullet GT]

How long do Motorcraft batteries generally last? My car still has the oiginal one that come in it from the factory. When I went to start my car this morning it was deader than a doornail. Wouldnt even attempt to crank. Its just a little strange the batteriy would go out all the sudden like that since I havent had any problems until now. No slow cranking, dim lights, failing to start, etc.

 

[Dan_Soprano]

should last between 3-4 years..........speaking of which, mines due too!!

 

[99SilverGT]

How long do Motorcraft batteries generally last? My car still has the oiginal one that come in it from the factory. When I went to start my car this morning it was deader than a doornail. Wouldnt even attempt to crank. Its just a little strange the batteriy would go out all the sudden like that since I havent had any problems until now. No slow cranking, dim lights, failing to start, etc.

Pretty sure mine is factory. I have 63k miles on it? It does seem to be getting a little weak though so I've been thinking about replacing it.. Power windows are rediculously slow if anything else like headlights are on and also vice versa, headlights dim bad if they're on and I go to put a window up or down.

Haven't checked the alternator to see what kind of voltage its putting out yet, but Im pretty sure its the battery.

 

[NFCStang]

Almost 3 years...still going

 

[TripleBlk]

How long do Motorcraft batteries generally last?...

Mine lasted 4 years , 8 months, and was still strong when I replaced it for preventive reasons. Pretty impressed by how long the original lasted.

 

[mrvax]

Uh oh.

 

[StangIt #1]

My car was built in 10/98, and I'm still using the OEM battery. Had it tested recently (along with the alternator), and they said that the factory battery is still very strong.

 

[bowens99GT]

I'm still using my stock one. 37k on the car and its a 99 model.

What would be a good battery to buy when the time comes?

 

[GTblack_00]

Theese are wet lead acid batteries!!! They are workhorses and good for about 8-10yrs untill they get the first run into the ground, then they are trash.

Some are better than others, but should not die easy unless you let them discharge more then 50-60% frequently

A great replacement is an optima dry cell, you can run em dead and they will still be good, rated less cca's but the are still better, (hobby was car hi-fi) Deep cycles rule!!

 

[Dark Knight GT]

Almost 3 years...still going

My 01 GT is nearly 3 years old too and Im still going strong and fine on the stock battery. Although my brothers battery just went out about a month ago. It was about 3 years old too.

 

[Isaac-1]

Mine is starting to get weak, 99GT built in Oct of 98. As to the sudden battery death, it happens, a number of years back I had a fairly new battery die on me while I was stopped at a gas station, it went from working fine, to completely dead instantly.

Ike

 

[GTblack_00]

Mine is starting to get weak, 99GT built in Oct of 98. As to the sudden battery death, it happens, a number of years back I had a fairly new battery die on me while I was stopped at a gas station, it went from working fine, to completely dead instantly.

Ike

This is caused by a plate in the batt completly erroding or touching another plate of oppisite charge and shorting out the batt (most of the time), not that common.

 

[Silver Bullet GT]

Well I got the old battery out and replaced it with a new one I bought from Sears. Got he best one they sold that would fit. One of the technicians there said 3 years is typical for a battery in Central Florida due to the weather and high humidity. He also said when the weather suddenly changes as cold as it was last week a weak battery can die overnight.


Anyways Im back in business.

 

[JonJon]

Still original, 48k later and 4.5 years.

 

[el_kid_1]

I have 2000 GT and the original battery is still strong. When the time to replace it comes, I will get an Optima...I heard they perform very well. What do you guys know about the Optima?

 

[LS2 KLR]

I just replaced mine at 74k miles in the TX heat!

 

[skywarp]

I put a Optima in when mine died. Went to PEP BOYS and they said they didn't have one for the car. I had one from my 88SS laying around and used it. Its been fine.

 

[StangIt #1]

Mine is starting to get weak, 99GT built in Oct of 98. As to the sudden battery death, it happens, a number of years back I had a fairly new battery die on me while I was stopped at a gas station, it went from working fine, to completely dead instantly.

Ike

:OT: What was the exact build date of your car? My '98 was built in mid-October, so I'm trying to find out exactly when they stopped building the '98's and started building the '99's. Thanks.

 

[LAZERREDGT]

I bought one today, my old one lasted about 4 yrs. The guy at the parts counter noticed a hump on the side of the battery and said that it's caused by the alternator overcharging. I'll take off the alt. and have it tested tommorow.

 

[downsouthman1]

Mine was built in like October of 99 as a 2000 & is still running the stock battery. Also about 2 weeks after I bought it in April of 2000 I put in a system w/ 2 500 Watt 12s bridged off a 750 Watt amp w/ a 1 farad capacitor. I think the cap is the reason my stock battery is still around today. Also running stock 130 Amp alternator w/ underdrive pulleys.