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Old 12-02-2018, 10:23 AM   #21
DHZIEMAN
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Default Re: Battery

Got to thinking, a bit more. A battery that discharges in a 12 hour period has had something either draining the battery or, a combination of a lot of the other stuff listed on the posts. With that said, could it be the gen regulator is stuck or something else discharging the bat? I would also suggest as part of my comment to disconnect the battery ground cable and then do the slow charge and check of liquid levels. And if you can get to the cells, with a hydrometer, check the specific gravity! 1275 + is charged and 1100 is discharged! Also if one cell is down, that is not a good thing. It normally infers something internal, if the bat will not take a charge. Let us know!
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Old 12-02-2018, 12:07 PM   #22
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Default Re: Battery

On the topic of tap water... I grew up in a part of the country where our water came directly out of mountain streams and was probably the closest thing to distilled water one could get. My dad always scoffed at the need of distilled water in a battery.... So we never did. Fast forward to now. I live in a more rural setting and I am not even on city water. Mine comes from the ground. There is so much mineral content in that water that it eventually clogs shower heads and we cannot wash the car or windows with tap water. If any sprinkler water gets on our car, we are quickly running out to wipe it off. In fact I have some basement windows that we can hardly see through due to getting the over-spray from years of plant and lawn watering. I can only imagine what that would do to a battery!

These days, distilled water is pretty easy to find.
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Old 12-02-2018, 02:50 PM   #23
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Default Re: Battery

Quote:
Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C View Post
There is one thing that has been missing in the advice above, and to me this is the same as changing engine oil. You get longevity out of an engine that has the oil filtered & changed on a routine basis, ...and a battery's longevity can be much the same. Google "Battery Maintainer Desulfator" and read up on this topic. MAFCA's Tech Director Jim Cannon has 6 volt batteries that have/are approaching nearly a decade old. His secret to battery longevity is the desulfation process.
This seems to be a complicated subject. I wonder if Bret or Jim might weigh in and recommend a unit.
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Old 12-03-2018, 10:37 AM   #24
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Originally Posted by DHZIEMAN View Post
Got to thinking, a bit more. A battery that discharges in a 12 hour period has had something either draining the battery or, a combination of a lot of the other stuff listed on the posts. With that said, could it be the gen regulator is stuck or something else discharging the bat? I would also suggest as part of my comment to disconnect the battery ground cable and then do the slow charge and check of liquid levels. And if you can get to the cells, with a hydrometer, check the specific gravity! 1275 + is charged and 1100 is discharged! Also if one cell is down, that is not a good thing. It normally infers something internal, if the bat will not take a charge. Let us know!
Perfect advice. I will only add that you should feel the battery once in a while as it's being slow charged for several hours. If it's getting too warm, then stop charging and turn it in for a core. It has a shorted cell most likely, and could explode. It has happened to me. Also never connect or disconnect the charger cables to the battery posts, unless the power is off, so you don't get a spark.
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Old 12-03-2018, 02:36 PM   #25
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Mitch on another Ford forum talked about 'de-sulfacating' batteries. It made perfect sense. I bought a 12V-- .75 amp--slow charge battery tender he recommended and I use it on the 12V cars that don't get much use and it works. Works good.

They didn't have a 6V at the time I bought it, otherwise I'd get a couple of them too. The first phase of the charging cycle is to de-sulphate the battery and then it starts replenishing the charge after that.

It's out in the far garage now, don't recall the name of the unit, I bought it on Amazon and wasn't really all that expensive.

Always use distilled water nothing else in a battery and your radiator.

30 CCPU... I also get my 6V batteries from Farm King and Farm and Fleet and they last me a LONG time with battery maintainers. You can get them on sale for 39 bucks they run sales on them twice a year. Good batteries.
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Old 12-03-2018, 04:31 PM   #26
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Originally Posted by Jeff/Illinois View Post
Mitch on another Ford forum talked about 'de-sulfacating' batteries. It made perfect sense. I bought a 12V-- .75 amp--slow charge battery tender he recommended and I use it on the 12V cars that don't get much use and it works. Works good.

They didn't have a 6V at the time I bought it, otherwise I'd get a couple of them too. The first phase of the charging cycle is to de-sulphate the battery and then it starts replenishing the charge after that.

It's out in the far garage now, don't recall the name of the unit, I bought it on Amazon and wasn't really all that expensive.

Always use distilled water nothing else in a battery and your radiator.

30 CCPU... I also get my 6V batteries from Farm King and Farm and Fleet and they last me a LONG time with battery maintainers. You can get them on sale for 39 bucks they run sales on them twice a year. Good batteries.

Another thing I've done is adjusted my generator to 2 amps output. I never drive at night, the truck always starts on 1st rev,and very few short hops of 5-10 minutes. Helps keeping the battery levels up. Not as much overcharging on my typical 15 minute or longer drives.
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Old 12-03-2018, 05:36 PM   #27
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Originally Posted by 30 Closed Cab PU View Post
Another thing I've done is adjusted my generator to 2 amps output. I never drive at night, the truck always starts on 1st rev,and very few short hops of 5-10 minutes. Helps keeping the battery levels up. Not as much overcharging on my typical 15 minute or longer drives.
Pretty much the same here via the wonders of Tom Wesenberg's EVR!! Running a stock long Autolite generator, and a Doc Kalinka original ammeter, she charges at about 2 amps, even when running with the headlites on. Tom's EVR is a battery's best friend!
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Old 12-03-2018, 06:33 PM   #28
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Same thing happened to me just this week. Parked my roadster in the garage, flipped the ground disconnect switch off and next morning car wouldn't crank or take a charge. Put charger on it a few days later and it took the charge showing 85% and 6 volts. Hit the starter and just got a click out of it. At that point I tested the voltage and it only showed 0.2 volts and would not take a charge. Felt it had a shorted out cell so I removed it from the car and was surprised the casing was quite hot and the top of the battery had a big bulge near one of the terminals so I got a new battery. The old one was 8 yrs old. After reading about exploding batteries recently on the Forum, I now wear a full face shield when working on batteries.........seems like they can be a lot more dangerous than I ever thought.

BTW, I had my 2004 Yukon in the shop for some work last year.....not there for a battery problem. The dealer said the battery was original and 13 yrs old. I told them to replace it even though it had no symptoms of any problem but winter was coming and I didn't want to chance it. The Yukon is parked outside year round even in the 5 to 10 degree F cold we have seen in the past few winters. Nothing ever done to maintain the battery all those years. Just goes to show battery life seems to be a crap shoot. The 6V battery in my '31 Chrysler lasted only three years.

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Old 12-03-2018, 07:03 PM   #29
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Batteries CAN BE DANGEROUS. Many years ago I came down an exit ramp from an Interstate just as a man shorted the battery on his car. It exploded in his face. I stopped, he was screaming, the lady with him was screaming. I grabbed his arm, pulled him over to a puddle of water and started splashing his face. He took over as someone stopped and went to call an ambulance. (Before cell phones)


He evidently was able to get most of it off as he showed no signs of burns when he took his shirt off. He could see well, but there was evidence of some damage to his nose and eyelids.


Never fool with batteries unless you have water nearby. Wash for ten minutes according to WEDMD.
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Old 12-05-2018, 05:23 PM   #30
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Default Re: Battery

Here's an update to my original post #1. Thank you for all the excellent replies and advice! I neglected to state the type of electrical system on my car. It is 6 volt, positive ground, original generator, original cut out with the diode upgrade. I have the generator set at 2 amps at cruising speed. I checked the water in the battery and it was ok.


I had stated that the battery was completely dead at 0 volts. The only charger I have at this time is a Schumacher SC - 1200 A – CA and when I hooked it up to the battery it would not charge. It turns out that this is a safety feature for the charger. After logging on to Amazon (where I bought it) and looking through some of the reviews I discovered some interesting details on this charger. This is an inverter based microprocessor controlled charger.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ustomerReviews


First, the safety feature can be overridden by pressing the two buttons before plugging it in, but don't let it charge for over 5 minutes. Also, the charger has an automatic desufating mode during charging. Please read the reviews if you have this charger or thinking about getting one. Some of them are very informative.


Anyway, the battery is now fully charged. And – I discovered what caused it to go dead. The ignition switch was left on. The car has the original pop-out ignition switch, and I would have had to push it in to kill the engine when we got home. Maybe it popped back out on its own. I was afraid this may have burned the points (haven't looked at them yet), but the engine starts right up and runs fine.
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Old 12-05-2018, 05:58 PM   #31
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Default Re: Battery

My advice is don't buy nothing until you have a thorough check of your charging/electrical system , a battery that dies in hours has a drain of some sorts, corroded connections or a charging problem . buying a new battery may not solve your problem....check it out

Last edited by canadian; 12-05-2018 at 06:00 PM. Reason: posted before I read your post on the solution to dead battery
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Old 12-05-2018, 06:47 PM   #32
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Default Re: Battery

Quote:
Originally Posted by BN View Post
Here's an update to my original post #1. Thank you for all the excellent replies and advice! I neglected to state the type of electrical system on my car. It is 6 volt, positive ground, original generator, original cut out with the diode upgrade. I have the generator set at 2 amps at cruising speed. I checked the water in the battery and it was ok.


I had stated that the battery was completely dead at 0 volts. The only charger I have at this time is a Schumacher SC - 1200 A – CA and when I hooked it up to the battery it would not charge. It turns out that this is a safety feature for the charger. After logging on to Amazon (where I bought it) and looking through some of the reviews I discovered some interesting details on this charger. This is an inverter based microprocessor controlled charger.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ustomerReviews


First, the safety feature can be overridden by pressing the two buttons before plugging it in, but don't let it charge for over 5 minutes. Also, the charger has an automatic desufating mode during charging. Please read the reviews if you have this charger or thinking about getting one. Some of them are very informative.


Anyway, the battery is now fully charged. And – I discovered what caused it to go dead. The ignition switch was left on. The car has the original pop-out ignition switch, and I would have had to push it in to kill the engine when we got home. Maybe it popped back out on its own. I was afraid this may have burned the points (haven't looked at them yet), but the engine starts right up and runs fine.

Thanks for letting us know. Explains things if the points were closed. If points were open you still have a drain somewhere other than the key on with the points closed/coil . If points closed then your coil may have gotten stressed/heated. Hopefully all is OK but may want to carry spare coil and points, and keep an eye on the ammeter when key is tuned off.


Does your Schumacher charger also have the repair/desulfating feature when on 6v?


I ask because I was considering buying a NoCo 6/12 v 3.5 amp charger, but discovered by reading the manuals/specs the feature is not included for 6v.
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Old 12-05-2018, 08:44 PM   #33
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You got lucky. I saw a coil cooked dead in 30 minutes when a key was left on.
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Old 12-06-2018, 09:57 AM   #34
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"Does your Schumacher charger also have the repair/desulfating feature when on 6v?"

I think it does, but not sure. While I was charging my battery I noticed that the battery voltage was up to 6.3 V (with charger leads disconnected), but the charger said it was only 60% done. It took another 10 hours for it to show 100% (pulsating green light). So it must have been desulfating during this time.



Also, read Stephen Throop's review on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ustomerReviews


He has done some testing of this charging using oscilloscopes, etc.
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Old 12-06-2018, 10:16 AM   #35
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Default Re: Battery

The best batteries out there today are AGM batteries. They are expensive, but have the best life expectancy, and the best design characteristics. However, good luck finding a 6volt one.

If I had the symptoms originally described, I would want to meter the batteries terminals themselves, and not the cables or beyond. I've experienced several times when the cables, while tight and would not move, had corrosion and no electrical connection to the battery.

Lastly, I hate these newer chargers that won't charge a totally dead battery without the override trick. They just piss me off. That is why I tend to pick up nice looking older chargers at garage sales when I see them. The newer chargers are fine for topping off, but fool you if the battery is too far down on charge.
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Old 12-07-2018, 11:52 PM   #36
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I also don't like the newer chargers with the circuit that won't let it charge a dead battery. I buy the old good style at swap meets for cheap.
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