Battery Questions Ranger & RZR both

[Scooby]

I bought my 2005 500 Ranger used in 2007. This is the sealed battery that was in it. The last couple times I tried to start it I had to jump start it. Now I pulled out the battery to look it over and put it on a 2 amp charger for awhile . (But honestly I fear it has a bad cell).
Could this have been the factory battery in 2005 ?

My friend has a 2009 RZR he took out the factory battery and replaced it with an Oddesy (he has all kinds of electrical dodads
Would his RZR battery work for me ?

If not I think I will buy a DEKA sealed battery. I can get one local from one of the sites sponsors for under $100 with tax and everything.
Anyone have any experiance with those ?

Here are pics of the battery that was in my Ranger:

[caglezxj]

I have been hearing good things on the Deka Batteries. A buddy of mine is running one and has a lot of electrical doodads as well. As for the RZR battery. It would work. They all use about the same components.

[ELK_HUN10]

I do not think that is a factory battery. Don't know for sure though. If you are charging it with a two amp charger, you need to charge it for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight. After you charge the battery, check the voltage, it should be at least 12.4 volts and higher. Wait one day and check the voltage again, if it has dropped below 11 volts, you most likely have a seriously damaged cell in the battery. If you have a dead cell, you won't be able to even get it up to 12 volts. Many of the modern batteries will work in your machine. The battery holder will determine the size dimensions of your battery. Get the highest ah rating on the battery that you can. I buy one or two batteries each year for my toys. Walmart has the best price. They usually come with a one year guarantee. I always carry a backup battery with me or jumper cables if needed. I always will need them. One thing that seems to be real hard on a battery is letting them set for a long time without using them. When stored, a battery should be bought up to full charge about every 3 months and they will last longer. I also disconnect one cable if the machine is going to be stored very long. Theoretically it should not make any difference if a cable is disconnected with the key off, but it does.

[Scooby]

I havent seen his RZR battery yet But on the phone he was saying it was a different size physically(smaller) than the oddessy. So he was worried it wouldnt work for me. But if its just smaller I can always figure out a way to snug it into place in my battery box.
Do you know CCA's the factory batterys have ?

Here is the Deka specs:

Deka ETX30L Powersport AGM Battery

Sealed, Maintenance Free, AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) Battery
For Motorcycles, Scooters, Personal Watercraft, Snowmobiles, ATV's, and more


List Price - $171.95

CCA 365
Amp Hour 26

Weight 21.7lbs.
Length 6 5/8 in.
Width 5 3/16 in.
Height 6 7/8 in.

[Scooby]

Does walmart have sealed batteries for the Ranger ?

Here in AZ a vented battery doesnt last long, plus I dont like the overflow

[ELK_HUN10]

The Rzr factory battery is 18 ah and says Polaris, made in USA. It also says to charge at 1.7 amps for 5 hours. The last 20% of a battery charge takes a long time. If you use an automatic charger you can leave the charge on it as long as you want, it will take care of the charge rate and time. The Walmart here does sell sealed batteries. Walmart has a computer terminal by the batteries and also a big book at the counter that cross references the batteries with the manufacturer's specs. I paid $130 for a battery for my snowmobile from the Artic Cat dealer that Walmart did not have and I thought that price was ridiculous. But I had to have the battery. The battery in the picture had a higher amphour rating than the Deka and the RZR battery. For a price that high of the DEKA battery, buy a good jumper battery and a regular sealed battery. That way you will always have power. Just be sure to charge up the jumper battery occasionally. My jumper batteries last about three years as long as I don't leave them outside when I am not using them. I have three of them. I carry them with me when I am using my toys. One of the jumper batteries has a compressor on it. That is nice but it is a waste of money, you can buy a higher capacity jumper battery for the same price and it takes up less space.

[Scooby]

Thanks, LOTS of great info !!!

My battery charged at 2 amp for about 6 hours and the charger says fully charged and switched itself over to Float mode. So I took the battery off and test with a meter.
Right now it has 12.6 V so following your advice I'll leave it alone and recheck the voltage tomarrow.

I'll check walmart and see what they have, and just to clarify I can buy the new Deka for just under $100 total tax included.

[GRAZOR]

My RZR factory battery says Polaris right on it and was made by Yuasa. I don't think the one you show is a stock battery but probably a replacement equal to it.

The factory batteries are adequate for the machines in stock form but they are quickly overdrawn after we begin adding accessories. There are lots of threads about this here and elsewhere.

Keep in mind our recharging systems can only do so much before they too are over drawn. The guys at my dealership are not up to speed with these matters but you might ask around at auto-electric shops or if you have a place that does the high end stereo and alarm systems for cars. These guys are often pretty well informed about various power requirements and what is available.

Gary

[Transformer]

I go thru this a lot on the GL1800 (Goldwing) riders forum as well.....Don't get caught up in battery numbers.

Example: The battery that comes in the Razr(S) is the same size battery that comes in a 1800cc Honda Goldwing, 1550cc Harley Softail and various
other large displacement motorcycles. DEKA is the OEM supplier to Harley-Davidson and by contract cannot market a direct replacement battery with
the same or greater CCA than the battery supplied to Harley. This protects battery sales for dealers. The Harley version says 300CCA on the label, while the DEKA says 270CCA. It is the same exact battery!! Every one we have tested has been over 400CCA.

The battery size in the Rangers is the same as the DEKA ETX30L (exact replacement) and is rated at 365CCA. All we have tested have been over 500CCA. This battery is the one supplied to Harley for their large touring bikes.

If you are not going to use your Ranger for a time....put the battery on a Battery Minder or Battery Tender (brands) to keep it topped off. The Premium AGM batteries do not discharge as fast as a wet stock type battery and have been known to last in Goldwings for up to 7 years if a minder/tender is used when stored. If it will last in a bike with stereo, cruise control, navigation, abs brakes, cb radios, grip/seat heaters and various other electrical components stock or added, it will last for your Ranger/Razr if maintained.

I replaced my original battery as soon as I got the HD home and have since added a second for the Viper winch. Wet batteries leak (vent tubes), and dry out very quickly in the low humidity of the Southwest, requiring constant attention for peace of mind.

The Yuasa is a very good battery. The Odyssey is expensive and requires box modification. DEKA is an option worth considering.

[GRAZOR]

Thanks Transformer! Great info and excellent post.

I do believe there is a big difference but don't know for sure about this though. Rangers and the RZR seem to have a rather light duty altenator that might not have enough juice once we get the engine running and all the various added electronics fired up. I have heard about and experienced low voltages when I get the stereo blairing and the lights all on and the GPS and a few of the other options I have added all going at once.

Maybe someone here can give us some actual numbers of how much juice the altenator pushes so we might figure out why the dim lights occur. Another real issue we all have is the inability to bump start if our battery does die while out in the boonies. I keep a second marine battery and a shorty set of jumpers because I have already walked out once and had to carry a charged battery all the way back.

I don't know the correct terminology but there has to be a limit to just how much voltage the engine recharge system is capeable of producing. If you exceed that with all your stuff running then there might not be enough reserve left to recharge the battery while you are running and draining it.

Gary