Battery question...

[Chuck Brown]

Boys, I dont know if this goes in the tech section, but since its pretty non-specific, I figured I'd put in Gen. Discussion.

Tomorrow, Im making the run out to my country place to go fire up the '77 Cherokee Chief that was finally delivered last week. Since the PO pulled the battery before they loaded it on the truck (cheap SOB), Im wondering if theres enough tray-hood clearance to get one of those tall Ultima batteries in there?

Also, whats the appropriate Ultima battery to go with, I've spent the morning looking at specs and Im not seeing much of a difference between the red, yellow or blue, other than about 30-40 bucks in price.
Are dimensions all the same, or are they color coded for different applications?

Thanks as always boys,

Chuck Brown

[PlumCrazy]

Blue is deep cycle...great for those things that rarely get started or trolling motors that suck a lot of juice. The deep cycle can take a beating and bounce back as long as it is put to the charge once in a while.

I can't give you info on the others, but I know the blue fit under my hood of Terra when I needed to quick charge it for the boat.

Wayne S

[DieselSJ]

I have a Red Top in mine. It puts out plenty of juice to start my diesel even with just a single battery. Red is the "starting" battery and is probably the best to use for automotive use. The others will work but aren't necessary IMHO. My Red Top sat for 3 months during my build and it still started the engine just fine. I can't see the justification for spending more $$ on the Yellow or Blue.

[flatbackdragon]

have a red top in mine.
hasn't been started since we went to Moad UT in April.
Will find out if the battery works soon as the QT goes back in, could do it now but will wait til I get it back together.

[Wagonforever]

You really don't need a big or expensive battery for a FSJ. The one currently in my 86 is actually a quite small Die Hard Silver, doesn't even fit in the battery tray right. But it always fires my Jeep right up, even after sitting for 5 months over the winter, didn't even need a charge.

What I would do if I where you is go to Cost Co and find a battery that fits, and use it. I got a couple group 27 deep cycle batteries for my travel trailer from there for only $66 each with a 3 year warranty. That's where I'll get my Jeeps next battery from too when this one dies.