The Ford Barn

rivcokid · 04-23-2024, 06:20 PM

I'm wondering if this is a case of me getting 2 bad Optima batteries, or my car is killing them. It's a 31 deluxe roadster, stock, 6V positive ground.

In both cases, the car started and ran just fine, even after a rest of 2 weeks. In the latter case, I put a new battery in on April 4, ran it twice including a tour with about a dozen stops and no problem. Then, next time I go to use it (anywhere from 2 days to 1 week later) - the battery is DEAD. I checked the batteries with my volt meter and the first one was at .16 volts, the second one (this morning) was at .22 volts. When I take the batteries to have them checked, they both registered fail and were replaced.

I don't notice anything about the car that is different, except last Saturday when I went to park it, I vaguely remember that the ammeter may have showed DISCHARGE after I turned it off.

The lights haven't been on in months. I've used the horn a few times, obviously, but that's about all I can think of so far as using the car. I do have another new battery in the car, but obviously, I'm a but hesitant about it. So, any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

04-23-2024, 06:20 PM	#1
rivcokid Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Riverside, CA Posts: 174	Batteries completely discharging I'm wondering if this is a case of me getting 2 bad Optima batteries, or my car is killing them. It's a 31 deluxe roadster, stock, 6V positive ground. In both cases, the car started and ran just fine, even after a rest of 2 weeks. In the latter case, I put a new battery in on April 4, ran it twice including a tour with about a dozen stops and no problem. Then, next time I go to use it (anywhere from 2 days to 1 week later) - the battery is DEAD. I checked the batteries with my volt meter and the first one was at .16 volts, the second one (this morning) was at .22 volts. When I take the batteries to have them checked, they both registered fail and were replaced. I don't notice anything about the car that is different, except last Saturday when I went to park it, I vaguely remember that the ammeter may have showed DISCHARGE after I turned it off. The lights haven't been on in months. I've used the horn a few times, obviously, but that's about all I can think of so far as using the car. I do have another new battery in the car, but obviously, I'm a but hesitant about it. So, any thoughts? Thanks in advance.