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Occasionally, my battery doesn't seem to have good cranking power, and other times it does. The other day, after being driven and only shut down for a couple minutes, the cranking power was poor. The battery cables and terminals have been cleaned, but I haven't checked the condition of the connections of the other ends of the cables yet. I went to a place today that had me start the car and put some type of gage directly to the battery. The indicator showed about 12.6 or so, which he told me indicated the battery wasn't being charged, and the problem was somewhere in the charging system. Was this an accurate test of whether the battery condition is satisfactory?
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Re: '66 BATTERY CONDITION
The proper tool to use to test a battery is a battery load tester, that will pull power from the battery under a fixed load and see how well the battery maintains voltage. That said, if the car has been driven long enough to charge the battery, steady state voltage at no load should be approximately 13.5 volts when fully charged, and the alternator output should be around 14.5 volts. I think you should go to a shop that deals with auto electrical systems, and have the charging system and battery looked at under a load and the shop should be able to ID your problem relatively quickly.Bill Clupper #618 -
Re: '66 BATTERY CONDITION
Rob,
If it idles with a slight discharge on the ammeter, you ought to get your alternator tested. I noticed quite a difference when I replaced my alternator.
I had the old one tested at a Napa store (most parts stores will test them) and found that the year old alternator, I had had on was not putting out.
Jerry Fuccillo
#42179Jerry Fuccillo
1967 327/300 Convertible since 1968Comment
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Re: '66 BATTERY CONDITION
rebuilt alternators from NAPA-type auto stores, are usually junk.mikeComment
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Yep! *NM*
Jerry Fuccillo
1967 327/300 Convertible since 1968Comment
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