The 98 Ranger is not well. Distance To Empty Gauge shows about 50 miles when charged but Power Limit light comes on and it won't go over about 10mph. The previous owner ran 14 pieces of 10 gauge wire from the battery box up to behind the seat to check the voltage and to equalize charge each pair of two. So I'm looking for 13 measurements of 25 volts but the numbers are all over the place. Attempting to individually charge the lowest pairs is likely damaging a good battery that happens to be next to a failing one. And I'm not very excited about spending 50 cents a mile for more sealed batteries.
That's why I'm Looking for recommendations on 26 flooded 12 volt batteries. There doesn't seem to be enough room under the pickup bed for batteries that need to be maintained. Having the batteries up in the front of the bed is unacceptable to many but I don't see a better option. Sure I'll miss having the weight low and centered. I'll have to learn about the resistor kit that had converted the original series of 39 8 volt batteries to the 26 12s. I'll build an insulated box and relocate the original heaters and sensors etc.
Next, I need to admit that I don't know what my battery requirements are. I can do algebra like anybody else but haven't needed to become familiar with amp hour ratings and such. I expect to need about half the AH rating of most converted EVs because I'm running at about double the voltage. A ton of lead should go about as far as a ton of lead, right?
For kicks, I mapped out a T-shaped arrangement of Trojan T1275 batteries to fit the bed. At 82 lbs they total 2132 lbs. Are these way too big? If I could get 39 8 volt batteries of the correct capacity, I could get rid of the resistor kit. Dollar for dollar Exide sounds like the preferred brand, right?
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