Battery upgrade.

H3Wolf · Jan 21, 2017

I want to do a battery upgrade, I'm willing to take out the oem box. Any recommendations?

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rascole · Jan 21, 2017

Do you go off roading? Do you have a winch? If you do nothing but street driving then a regular battery will be just fine. Start putting a load like a winch and lights, upgrade to a AGM. I have 2 Optima yellow tops because of the dual purpose capacity. There are several companies that make quality AGM batteries and there are many opinions here on which one is better. An Optima red top would be a easy upgrade for regular use.

H3Wolf · Jan 21, 2017

Plans for a winch, go off roading as much as I can when time permits it. And have extra lighting and plans for more,

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rascole · Jan 21, 2017

A single battery will work but for added insurance go with a dual setup. I do a lot of camping and with the winch, lights, fridge, and a handful of other toys, the second battery helps. I don't use any fancy electrical disconnects, a quick connect setup works just fine and a lot cheaper. I can sit for over 2 days without starting and the fridge plugged in and it starts right up. This was one of my first projects.

H3Wolf · Jan 21, 2017

rascole said:
A single battery will work but for added insurance go with a dual setup. I do a lot of camping and with the winch, lights, fridge, and a handful of other toys, the second battery helps. I don't use any fancy electrical disconnects, a quick connect setup works just fine and a lot cheaper. I can sit for over 2 days without starting and the fridge plugged in and it starts right up. This was one of my first projects.

My thing is the wiring I don't really understand it to much, I'm fairly good at normal wiring, (lights, and radios*with instructions for the radio) and the money for that is another subject

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rascole · Jan 21, 2017

2 Batteries is simple. Red to red and black to black. I put a disconnect between my 2 batteries but essentially gives you double the capacity. Also, UPGRADE the stock connectors. They are a cause of a lot of small problems due to poor connection.

alrock · Jan 22, 2017

If money is an issue the go with a middle upgrade - single battery, but at least get AGM technology. Better resist vibration and heavy use. I've had the AC Delco in for 2-3 years and it has done well. Bigunit went with Odyssey.

Bigunit · Jan 22, 2017

This is the Odyssey battery I put in the H3T.

Panzer07 · Jan 24, 2017

I went with odyssey as well, got their biggest monster I could fit in the bay...has served me well.

I cut the old belt that secure the oem battery since it was too short and used a 5.11 belt easiest install I also added a heat shield protector around the battery to shield it from the engine hot temperatures.

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citiboy · Jan 24, 2017

Also went with the Odyssey 34-PC1500 Extreme with Stinger terminals...a little trim on the factory box and it fit like a gloves.

??? · Jan 24, 2017

I like citiboy's setup. I too want to upgrade, but want to keep as close as stock. Where's a how-to for the batt connectors? (I'm not very handy)

bigwilliedw01 · Feb 17, 2017

Dual Optima setup on mine, Red Top starter, Yellow Top back up/accesory battery in a Genesis off-road dual battery setup.

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CaseyS · Feb 17, 2017

Dual group 34s with a custom dabbed battery tray. Less than $400 in this setup

Hunner · Feb 18, 2017

I wrote a short post on how I did it. Used the OEM tray.
http://www.hummer4x4offroad.com/for...Alpha-dual-batteries&highlight=dual+batteries

Schwarttzy · Feb 20, 2017

I don't like messing with the wiring harnesses, unless I have too. In all of my experience going off-road, I've never seen factory wiring mess up. However I have seen aftermarket wiring fail at least 3 or 4 times.

I recommend the quick and easy route, which I talk about here https://schwarttzy.com/h3-hummer-upgraded-battery/

H3-Hummer-Optima-Battery-8042-218-D75-25-Red-Top-1536x871.jpg

Big2dabank · Feb 20, 2017

I run the sears Diehard Platinum P4, the P4 is a dual terminal group 34/78 and it fits nicely in the H2 battery tray with room to spare. Pretty much the exact same battery as the Odyssey PC1500DT, but much cheaper. $229 at sears. Here are the specs.

Pulse (5-second) Hot Cranking Amps (PHCA)	1500
Cold Cranking Amps (CCA)	850
20Hr Nominal Capacity (Ah)	68
Reserve Capacity Minutes	135
Dimensions L x W x H (in)	10.85x6.99x7.82
Weight (lbs)	49.5

humvee · Jun 5, 2018

Schwarttzy said:
I recommend the quick and easy route, which I talk about here https://schwarttzy.com/h3-hummer-upgraded-battery/

Just learned that AC Delco batteries we get here are made in Saudi Arabia, which explains why I go through one every 12 months.
The other day amrg came over to jump start my AC Delco, The terminal emitted an amber flame while cranking, lasted 2 seconds, terminal upgrade needed.

Today I bought an Optima Red Top, 34/78.
https://www.optimabatteries.nl/upl_files/File/OPTIMA_RedTop_U4,2L.pdf

While I do run an LED bar, I don't often go off road any more, and when I do, LEDs are on for an hour tops for the drive back to the highway.

alrock · Jun 6, 2018

humvee, did you have a lead acid battery or AGM with AC Delco?

As I'm sure you know living in Qatar, heat kills lead acid batteries, physically breaking them down. A typical lead acid battery life in Phoenix is 2 years. It's just part of the routine. AGMs do last longer

EndeavoredH3 · Jun 10, 2018

I think my battery of 5 years is starting to go, on my scan gauge the battery seems to sit at around 11.2 volts with the vehicle off. More weak than actually testing bad.

Anyways I have been looking into the yellow top optimas since I believe to have a paracitic drain somewhere in the truck but have yet to locate it.

Does anyone have any recommendation of an AGM that will be a simple purchase and drop in?

Mr_Rich · Jun 10, 2018

alrock said:
humvee, did you have a lead acid battery or AGM with AC Delco?

As I'm sure you know living in Qatar, heat kills lead acid batteries, physically breaking them down. A typical lead acid battery life in Phoenix is 2 years. It's just part of the routine. AGMs do last longer

Heat kills batteries, period. During my telco career we serviced remote equipment that ran on Liberty batteries, Lucent (AT&T) and I think we also had some Johnson Controls. These were 12V AGM's deep cycle batteries and out in the remotes in desert climates we were lucky to get two years service out of them. The company bigwigs complained about this but were ignorant of the facts of climate on these units. Those suckers weighed 50 lbs. apiece. We set them up in the cabinets in a string to total -50VDC. (Telco equipment runs on negative battery/ positive ground. Can't tell you why, but it does.)

JPaul · Jun 10, 2018

Mr_Rich said:
We set them up in the cabinets in a string to total -50VDC. (Telco equipment runs on negative battery/ positive ground. Can't tell you why, but it does.)

Legacy setup from back when telephony was first coming about:
https://www.poweringthenetwork.com/uncategorized/negative-48-volt-power-what-why-and-how/

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humvee · Jun 10, 2018

alrock said:
humvee, did you have a lead acid battery or AGM with AC Delco?

AC Delco batteries here are Lead acid, makes sense.
The link I posted is wrong, even though the part number and specs are the same, the one I just got is the High-performance AGM Battery.

alrock · Jun 10, 2018

EndeavoredH3 said:
I think my battery of 5 years is starting to go, on my scan gauge the battery seems to sit at around 11.2 volts with the vehicle off. More weak than actually testing bad.

Anyways I have been looking into the yellow top optimas since I believe to have a paracitic drain somewhere in the truck but have yet to locate it.

Does anyone have any recommendation of an AGM that will be a simple purchase and drop in?

I think most, if not all, of the AGM batteries require modification (cutting) or removing of the battery tray. And the cover can't be used. They are easy to put in. I'm using the AC Delco AGM, but I can't recall the size right now.

Mr_Rich · Jun 10, 2018

JPaul said:
Legacy setup from back when telephony was first coming about:
https://www.poweringthenetwork.com/uncategorized/negative-48-volt-power-what-why-and-how/

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Thanks for that link. I retired nine years ago and I'm an old dinosaur with that technology.

Mr_Rich · Jun 10, 2018

alrock said:
I think most, if not all, of the AGM batteries require modification (cutting) or removing of the battery tray. And the cover can't be used. They are easy to put in. I'm using the AC Delco AGM, but I can't recall the size right now.

It's four years since I did this repair. Optima battery and new terminals. Some careful trimming of the battery cover and it's worked great for me.

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