H7 vs H8 battery replacement

[David James]

2021 Ram V8
Should I replace my current battery with a H8....why.
75,000 miles, has the original OEM battery.
Its starting to drag a bit when starting.

It’s probably coming up on a look. I’d run a load check on there before pulling it out - you can get it done at a favorite garage or a place like PepBoys. As far as replacement, there are only about three USA manufacturers of batteries and their labels are readily available in public source. I’d shop by price, warranty and of course if that particular battery is specd for your vehicle. Get the largest CCA number that’s available and will fit into the space. FYI, my OEM battery was replaced at about 4 years and 70 k miles - it wouldnt crank one day, put a jump on it, started it, took it in for test and it no longer met protocol. Replaced with an Duracell made by East Penn and purchased from Batteries Plus - price was right, warranty was right, and they did it in five minutes at no additional cost. It is an H7. Some folks have mentions a spacer in the plate, and while removal may allow an H8, is there any issue since your truck is the mild hybrid etorque that prohibits the larger physical battery? Good luck.

 

[truck2014]

I once owned a 1964.5 Mustang with a 4-speed, 260 v-8 and a generator. One day, I came out after work to the employee parking, only to discover that some mouth breather had stolen my battery! Not to panic, and, realizing that a generator has residual magnets, I wrapped the cables with rags, turned on the key, and got a hand to push start the car. I drove to the parts store and bought a new battery. Can't do THAT today!

I thought my old 50’s Chevs , and fords were supposed to be started that way , park on an incline for some help .

 

[Dusty]

Granted I don’t have a RAM but I recently upgraded the factory H6 battery in my F150 to an H8 and even my stop/start started working again, much to my dismay.

When you disconnected the battery to install the replacement, it may have reset a value in the PCM to a default value, which would be stop/start enabled.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 126870 miles.

 

[Grenadiers]

My Gen 4 2019 150 classic's stock battery "gave up the ghost" a couple of months ago. I was able to keep it alive and kicking using my CTEK charger and that helped postpone the purchase of a new battery till I could complete my research on which battery to go with (flooded, AGM, H7, H8, warranty period, etc.).

One day I was talking with my neighbor and he had just replaced his battery with an AGM from Costo. He was telling me that it came with a 100 month warranty.

Researching their H7 AGM combined with their warranty sold me.

https://tires.costco.ca/Batteries/Product?ItemNo=1545890&batteryname=Group-H7-AGMAbsorbent-Glass-Mat-Automotive-Battery&BatteryType=Automotive&lang=en-ca

All the specs for this AGM exceed my stock OE battery. I installed it about 2 months ago with no issues since.

Anyway, my 2 cents worth...

 

[Wild one]

I wonder why there is no CCA (cold cranking amp) rating for this battery, especially coming from Canada? Seems strange.

Which battery are you talking about???

 

[Wild one]

Is there an adapter than, that you could hook into the plug for the NOCO to go like to the front of the grill with a cover on it? The last thing I wanna do is leave my hood open for any reason.

You could buy a cheap block heater cord with a cover,cut the block heater end off,run it through the grill,and either add a simple female plug to it,or solder the end of the chargers cord directly to the cut off end.Depending on the actual end of the charger,you might even get away with just adding a cheap cover to the cord end.

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[GTyankee]

South Main Auto installs NOCO & tells his initial thoughts on installation, etc.

Direct-Mount Onboard 12 Volt Charger

In this video I help a lady out who stores her truck over the winter. One of the issues is keeping the battery charged over that time. I install a "NOCO GENI...

www.youtube.com

When NOCO charger was made in China
Englishman disassembles it to see if is a good charger ??

NOCO Genius 2 Charger Teardown and Parametric test Part 1

I have been asked about the NOCO 2 so I bought one to have a look and see how it works.

www.youtube.com

 

[Tominator223]

My 04 5.7 made it 5yrs OE battery. Probably had 150k mls. Optima red top since. 10-13 yrs is what I’ve seen from the optima’s. Group 34 I believe & 1000cca. I believe they have 3 type34’s of different cca’s. Also the blue top they have is a marine battery & marine batteries are supposed too be able to be run down & recharged more than a conventional.

 

[brian42]

I got 7 years out of my first set of Optima Red Tops and 2 1/2 years out of the second set. Johnson Controls sold Optima around the beginning of COVID so hopefully their quality has gone back up.

 

[HEMIMANN]

You could buy a cheap block heater cord with a cover,cut the block heater end off,run it through the grill,and either add a simple female plug to it,or solder the end of the chargers cord directly to the cut off end.Depending on the actual end of the charger,you might even get away with just adding a cheap cover to the cord end.

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Solder? What century is this, my man? Shrink tube butt splice!

 

[Tbucket]

Yes, that’s what I used and it works quite well!

Strange that there is nothing on the dash. My ‘22 RAM has a button on the lower dash where I can switch off the auto start. I’ve gotten used to the dern thing where it no longer bothers me.

 

[HEMIMANN]

South Main Auto installs NOCO & tells his initial thoughts on installation, etc.

Direct-Mount Onboard 12 Volt Charger

In this video I help a lady out who stores her truck over the winter. One of the issues is keeping the battery charged over that time. I install a "NOCO GENI...

www.youtube.com

When NOCO charger was made in China
Englishman disassembles it to see if is a good charger ??

NOCO Genius 2 Charger Teardown and Parametric test Part 1

I have been asked about the NOCO 2 so I bought one to have a look and see how it works.

www.youtube.com

The idea to mount a static battery maintainer inside an engine bay never occurred to me - don't know how long it would last exposed to constant high heat plus vibratory shaking. I always assumed they were for wall mount only. So that's what I did, and extended the 12V wired out of the engine bay instead of the 120V input lead.

I guess having it installed on the vehicle means you can plug an AC extension to it for charging if you're on the road a lot, but I'm not so didn't think of it.

Anyway, NOCO "was" made in China? I thought it was always made in USA?

 

[RamDiver]

Solder? What century is this, my man? Shrink tube butt splice!

Splicing without soldering in that environment is a time-delayed fault waiting to cause grief.

.

 

[HEMIMANN]

Splicing without soldering in that environment is a time-delayed fault waiting to cause grief.

.

Nah - been doing it for years. Crimp with heat shrink.

 

[RamDiver]

The idea to mount a static battery maintainer inside an engine bay never occurred to me - don't know how long it would last exposed to constant high heat plus vibratory shaking. I always assumed they were for wall mount only. So that's what I did, and extended the 12V wired out of the engine bay instead of the 120V input lead.

I guess having it installed on the vehicle means you can plug an AC extension to it for charging if you're on the road a lot, but I'm not so didn't think of it.

Anyway, NOCO "was" made in China? I thought it was always made in USA?

AFAIK, NOCO started out being made in the USA but shifted to PRC like everything else.

The NOCO 2D I bought last year is made in China. I'm not so sure about how long it will last living inside the engine bay but the idea of customizing the rate of charge to the battery's environment sounds sensible.

Likely a very bad idea for those in excessively hot environments but, batteries never last there anyway.

.

 

[RamDiver]

Nah - been doing it for years. Crimp with heat shrink.

LOL, this reminds me of an ancient debate among cave divers.

Gavin underwater scooters were marginal in build quality and often required make-shift modifications to keep them going.

The big debate was always, solder and heatshrink or crimp.

I might use crimping for non-critical circuits but anything that could disable my truck or scooter always gets solder and heatshrink.

I think it's a personal choice and I'm OK with you doing you and I'll do me.

.

 

[MontanaHandyman]

In theory it should last longer in cold regions, take advantage of the longer battery life by having more capacity in the bank. Plus, for interstate the h8 for some reason was even cheaper, just need to make it sit in the tray, no reason not to go h8 imo, huge benefit in cold states. If you think of capacity as chips in a bank account, you have more chips to lose thus longer lifespan as far as capacity goes, is the theory. In warm states, maybe not worth even messing with it, just stay with h7 because you already have a low lifespan.

Understand the balance of batteries, cold = long lifespan less capacity, hot = less lifespan more capacity.


View attachment 561277

So, according to that chart, I get to stay home when it hits -4F... kinda like a snowday, only different!

 

[turkeybird56]

AFAIK, NOCO started out being made in the USA but shifted to PRC like everything else.

The NOCO 2D I bought last year is made in China. I'm not so sure about how long it will last living inside the engine bay but the idea of customizing the rate of charge to the battery's environment sounds sensible.

Likely a very bad idea for those in excessively hot environments but, batteries never last there anyway.

.

Now, I only get 2-3 years max on Battery, whether My Truck or Mower here in Central TX (heat). On my MC, I get a good 3 years. I also have a 850 mAh charger/maintainer for the MC battery with a piggy tail attachment that I plug in during cold temps or if I know MC gonna sit long time.

 

[Rlaf75]

I upgraded to the H8 a few months ago. No issues at all. Pop the plastic stop out of the battery box and it fits perfectly. Even though the battery is physically bigger I was still able to use the stock battery insulation. It's tight but does stretch over the bigger battery

 

[HEMIMANN]

LOL, this reminds me of an ancient debate among cave divers.

Gavin underwater scooters were marginal in build quality and often required make-shift modifications to keep them going.

The big debate was always, solder and heatshrink or crimp.

I might use crimping for non-critical circuits but anything that could disable my truck or scooter always gets solder and heatshrink.

I think it's a personal choice and I'm OK with you doing you and I'll do me.

.

Well, it beats the zip clips I used to use!