Had my 2012 F150 serviced at Ford recently and they did a load test on my battery. Battery is rated 750CCA and it tested 650CCA. They told me battery is bad and needed replaced. What say you battery guru's? I've never had an issue with it but don't want to go through the winter with a possible issue.

 

I usually go by age, generally 5-7 years.

 

If it failed a load test, that's it. Opinions don't matter now. My 2013 failed last November, so you made it 2 more years.

If they didn't provide results, you can get it loaded tested for free many places, including Walmart.

Get an EverStart Maxx at Walmart. Group 65.

 

They give me a copy of the test showing it load tested at 650cca. The battery is rated 750cca. Does the load test indicate it 's bad or just diminished in starting capacity?

 

It indicates to me that they want to sell you a battery

 

They usually have a digital tester they use that will see the charge %, put a load on it etc. At the end it usually will show the state of charge, the health of the battery, and say if the battery is good or needs to be replaced. Some of the tools will provide a print out of the results that can be used to confirm as well. You may want to ask them if they can provide the test results.

My truck unfortunately saw the dealer about a year ago. The complimentary multi point inspection results print out had green, yellow, and red indicators. My battery was yellow and they recommended I change it. I still have that battery and truck doesn't sound weak when starting so we press on.

If you do a lot of short trips, it's possible the BMS is not fully charging the battery and making it appear weak. Check out this video on how the BMS works and see if maybe you're in this category.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I_KmO-KaR4A

 

What kind of winter do you have? I went thru about 2-3 years with a questionable battery in MN. Kept failing tests, but never failed to start the truck.