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Battery Group Size

4K views 12 replies 4 participants last post by  apn73 
#1 ·
Hi,
I've got an '08 K2500HD 6.0 vortec w/VYU (snow plow prep. package), and it has the single battery. What size battery does this thing take? I went out this morning to clear the driveway of the 6-8" that we just got and click, no start. I had to jump it with the wife's mini-van, not one of GM's prouder moments. This is the second factory battery to bite the dust during the winter months, glad that it's out of warranty so I can put a decent battery in it. What do you folks recommend.

Also, while we're on electrical topic, the key chime has become very faint, can just barely hear it. This is the chime that comes on when you open the drivers door with the key in the ignition, or when you leave the headlights on. Is their a volume adjustment that I haven't seen, or has something bit the dust?

Thanks,

Adam.
 
#2 ·
Do a search here,Jerre had a good write up on an electrical issue draining the battery in the newer Chevy/GM's and i believe(could be wrong) the door chime was a symptom(again,could be wrong) but defenitly their was a draw issue that he found.
 
#3 ·
I recall Jerre's post and reread it, hard to tell without doing some troubleshooting, but I found an obvious drain and maybe you can help with it Arc. I've got a 2009 or 2010 7.5' Fisher HD with a fishstick controller. I noticed that the backlight on the controller stays on all the time. Even after you shut the power off the plow, the backlight stays on. I noticed it when I went out to lock everything up and left the controller where I could see it, came back 20 minutes later and the backlight was still on. Maybe it's not enough to drain the battery over night, but three days may have done it in. Have you heard of the fishsticks doing this? It's an easy fix, just disconnect it when you're not plowing, but is there an "official" Fisher fix to this?
Thanks,
Adam.
 
#12 ·
Hey Arc,
I went poking around in the fuse box to see where the installer put that red control wire. There attached it to fuse #36, which is for the wiper. It is a 25 amp fuse and obviously not the right place to put it, where do you usually install this wire? Also, the wire is attached just by sticking down in the same holes as the fuse, it that the proper way to do it?

Why in the world does GM put the single battery over on the side position, undoing the negative battery terminal is pain in the butt! The front position looks so much better and is heck of a lot easier to get to.
 
#5 ·
Check your owners manual!
Some year gmt-900s with the DIC buttons you can adjust the chimes
volume to either hi or lo.
The chime volume comes out of the left door stereo speaker.
Usually if the chime is screwing up its a signal that your radio is
going kaput soon. Common issue on the GM truck forums btw.

The battery...........Its a oddball and $pendy because of placement.
 
#7 ·
Oh, that's just great! The radio works very well, at the moment, hope you're wrong about it and has a nice long life.

I love how the auto manufacturers make this odd ball crap so you have to go back to them and spend the big money. I am not opposed to retrofitting in a standard group size. I've seen it done in plenty of off-road and industrial applications.

Thanks for the tips,

Adam.
 
#8 ·
The deal with the battery in the gmt-900s is/was that only GM/Delco
had the correct $pendy replacement!
My battery STB just before the factory warranty ended. I checked
online and nobody had a replacement battery except for the dealer
or a Delco retailer ! The dealer replaced under warranty.

I don't see why the battery is/was a GM only part. Heck its only
a plain old top post battery anyhoo!

ARC is right just switch your handheld to a switched power lug.
My handheld is connected to a switched power lug in the side dashpanel
fuse center. If your truck is a 08 the battery is prob. weak and the
handheld on all the time is killing the battery...................

Also note that GM had a dead battery issue and a service bulletin to reprogram
the RAP module (retained accessory power).
Check to see if your interior lights/radio shut off after you shut the truck off and open the
door after a few seconds.
 
#9 ·
After spending some time searching around the internet I finally backed into the group size used in the HD GM pick-ups, at least in the '07-'10 models with 6.0 vortec and single batteries. Group 48 according the Interstate Battery website, just in case someone else wants to know. SonJabb is right in that it is not a common group size and there aren't many options, at least not low cost options. DieHard and Interstate are both $150, Duralast has a group 48 for $110 but don't think that Duralast is very good.

I'm going to put a charger on the current battery and see if it holds charge. I'm halfway to solving the problem, just have to see about getting that "red wire" attached to an ignition operated circuit and that may be all I need.
Thanks,
Adam.
 
#13 ·
I just wanted to close the loop on this thread for the people that were watching to see what had happened. I wound up installing an Interstate Mega-Tron Plus group 24F per the thread over in the diesel truck forum that was linked by a previous poster above, not our diesel forum, but another website entirely. It did fit in there without modification, it's not perfect, but it fits well enough that it doesn't go anywhere. If you want perfection then make a couple of Dremel tool of die grinder cuts on the outside of the metal retainer tangs on the outboard side of the batter tray. 3/8" off of each will be more than enough. The other thing to consider is that the battery that I used is 3/4" longer than your typical group 24F battery, which may be how Interstate gets 800 CCA out of this battery size. A standard group 24F may fit the tray better is what I am trying to say. For those that are sick and tired of the crappy group 48 batteries, you're not stuck with them, you can fit a better, more available and less expensive battery in little to no modification to factory battery tray or the brace above it. You will need to move the plow control module somewhere else if it was mounted to underside of that brace, but there are many other good places to put it. I put mine on the outboard side, behind the radiator puke tank and battery. It's actually cleaner the way I did it than what the installer did, less cable clutter in the middle of the engine compartment. Anyway, that is how this story ended.
 
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