Battery and Charging System

[bsekf]

Thanks for the replies. With the multimeter it does not appear to have a short, but the battery was down to <10 v. I ran it for a couple of hours and the battery tested 12.5 v., so it appears the alternator/regulator is working. I disconnected the - terminal and will let it sit for a week. If it loses voltage, I'll get a new battery. Hope I can find a series 31.

Thanks again,

Bill

 

[the old grind]

I'd check it in two days and if it was down to 12.25v spend the other five days getting it load tested and replaced accordingly. After running for hours and sitting for a week I'd hope the battery still read 12.5v. Even the best desulphator will never recover a battery to full performance. Time spent at < full charge is cumulative and how a wet battery ages. Some have been sitting too long and can't hide the result for long.

btw, look for a coin-sized colored sticker on a new battery. See month and year it was made. Six mos on a store shelf is not good for it but may not be obvious until it's no longer up to full capacity. Expect a battery to be sized to still work (start) ok when it's half dead. Hand-held testers for AAs etc evaluate under a load, which a VOM doesn't. A proper load test tells no lies. When in doubt I suggest sooner is better than later and this is one of those times.

 

[CausticUrbanCoast]

Thanks for the replies. With the multimeter it does not appear to have a short, but the battery was down to regulator is working. I disconnected the - terminal and will let it sit for a week. If it loses voltage, I'll get a new battery. Hope I can find a series 31.

Thanks again,

Bill

You mean a Group 31?
Lots of options and chemistries in that group, it is pretty common: Group 31 Batteries - Dimensions, Features and Recommendations

Most likely the battery needs to be serviced (if it is not sealed) or exercised. Even putting it on a basic battery charger will give you an indication if the battery has an issue by getting warm.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

I hard mount a battery maintainer trickle charger to everything. there is one of me, and five vehicles. So, they might sit for quite a while before I drive them. The chargers only cost about $30, and have mounting tabs so you can screw them onto something close to the battery and keep it topped off.

I just bought my tractor, and am rounding up the bits and pieces to add a shore power plug to it. The shore power will have one constant hot for the battery maintainer, and a thermostatic circuit the pwoers up below freezing to power a battery heating mat, and a lower hose heater, on the engine.

I did the shore power setup on the Japanese Minit-Truck i use to plow with, and it made a huge difference on how easy it is to start when the temp is -20F.

According to the guy I bought the tractor from, it doesn’t like starting cold. He kept it in the garage during the winter, and being semi-retired, he’d go out and fire off the wood stove when it snowed, then go back in to have breakfast, and coffee. Then watch the news, before he went out to plow. I don’t have the garage option, and keep the tractor in the carport. So, I’m adding the shore powered solution For teh winter.

As to finding parasitic drains: The easiest way is to use a good voltage meter, and look for voltage drop across the fuses. You check voltage to ground from the input side of the fuse, and then check the output side voltage. If there is no flow through the fuse, you will get the same voltage. If there is current flow, the voltage will drop through the fuse.

Most vehicle with modern electronics have some parasitic draw. The computer systems for the engine mamagement and body management draw a bit of current all the time, as do the radio, and any other thing that may have been added. So, if they sit for any length of time the battery will drain down.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

If any of you are an idiot like me, then you qualify to use an idiot light. In hook the + cable. Connect the idiot light between the pos terminal and the pos cable. If there is a draw, the light will shine. Most times it will light briefly when you connect it but will go off if no draw. If it continues to burn just pull different fuses until it goes out. Then you have the circuit it is on. Or, you may have to disconnect larger cables to find it if it isn't on a fused circuit. But if you connect it and it stays off, you don't have a short, it may instantly light up and go off. But not stay on.