Dead Battery again?

[Jared]

Hi all, a few weeks ago I had my mechanic fix the brake system on my
1965 caliente.

So the other day was beautiful weather and I decided I would stop by
the storage unit where I keep it and take it to work since it's on
the way to work and I want to get some gas in it before the bad
weather hits.

...Anyways, I get in, push the button on my remote for the Battery
brain III and it tries to crank at half strength once, then it won't
crank at all. It tries to, but the battery isn't giving it enough
power to engage the starter.

At this point I assume that there is a short in the system and my
battery is getting drained to the point where it won't start. However
this confuses me because the Battery Brain III is supposed to
disconnect the battery from the car so that there won't be any
problems. I have checked to verify that the battery brain does indeed
work correctly in that when it is engaged I can not get power to
anything, be it radio, lights, starter, etc.

When my mechanic had the car he said that he had to charge the
battery, which I figured was typical, because the car had sat for
over two months prior to that because it didn't have any
brakes....but now didn't think there would be any problems with that
part of my car, especially with the disconnect system installed.

I meant to get over there after work today and check to see that all
of the main cables are still good and tight, will possibly do so
tomorrow, but in the meantime can anyone suggest any other ideas as
to what to do with this?

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Jared

P.S. My mechanic said that the battery tested out ok.....

[eno]

The battery might check out alright in the short term, but it isn't holding a charge. I would suggest connecting  a brand new battery, if it drains that one then there is definitely a fault somewhere else.

[Jared]

[quote]The battery might check out alright in the short term, but it isn't holding a charge. I would suggest connecting

[Mushroom_Farmer]

Besides load testing, have you any way to check the specific gravity? That will tell more about the health of the battery. If the car sat for a long time without regular charging there may be calcification of the plates. Corroded or loose cables can also cause problems. A good, properly maintained battery should last 5-8 years.

[Jared]

Thanks mate

This is a sealed top battery that I picked up last fall right before I drove it 130 Miles to get it home. I'll give all of the cables a check, possibly tomorrow if the weather is nice

If not can someone recommend the proper procedure for charging a battery outside of a vehicle?

I have a battery charger, but no electric at the storage unit I have the car in....also don't bother with the jump-starting it, I've toasted a computer in a previous car doing so

[Mushroom_Farmer]

A slow charge is best. Fast charging can boil the water and causes the battery to release more gases. A fully charged 12V automotive battery will read 12.7V. Load testing with one of those rinky-dink hand-held 100 Amp testers really doesn't tell much, except the battery has a charge. A good load tester will test at the rated CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) for 10-15 seconds. A good battery will recover to at least 12.5V within 10 seconds after testing.
It may be a good idea to test the generator/alternator for short circuits as these are generally linked directly to the battery at the starter.

[eno]

If Jump starting hasn't managed to get the car started ........ then a new battery is required.

[Mushroom_Farmer]

If Jump starting hasn't managed to get the car started ........ then a new battery is required.

Could also be a failing starter motor and/or solenoid. There are contacts in the solenoid that wear out over time. In some solenoids only one side of the contact plate makes actual contact with the 12V post and it is possible to turn it 180

[Jared]

If Jump starting hasn't managed to get the car started ........ then a new battery is required.

sorry..I wasn't quite clear, I have never tried jumping this car/battery... I was just stating that it has nackered some things before when I was nice and helped someone else with their dead car....

Thanks for the information Mushroom_farmer, I'm thinking at this point that I will take the blessed thing out and run it by the local napa and have old don there run a test on it to see how bad it is if it all....

[Mushroom_Farmer]

Sounds like an idea. If possible, have Ol' Don run a starter amp draw test and generator amp output test.

[ozzy72]

There is an odd thing you could check. Get the battery fully charged and remove the bulb from the boot (trunk?) as those can short and drain a battery overnight. I've had this on 2 cars

[Mushroom_Farmer]

There is an odd thing you could check. Get the battery fully charged and remove the bulb from the boot (trunk?) as those can short and drain a battery overnight. I've had this on 2 cars

But Ozzy, we were never punished with Lucas wiring. Good tip actually......

[Jared]

lol, one of the wonders of have an OLD car...not as much wiring to knacker the works up

Didn't get the chance to run it to Napa yesterday so I took it a little farther and had them check up on it for me, the first testing showed that it didn't have enough charge to test...so I left it there with them to charge and this afternoon...

went back a little bit ago, they pulled it off of the charger, and it tested good.

So this time I took it over, installed it, and she fired right up..imagine that!

I removed the battery disconnect I had installed before and disconnected the battery when I left... Probably go back in a few days if not next weekend to see if it still works or not...

if it continues to become a problem with the battery completely disconnected, I'll check my wiring in more detail, as well as the charging system...but for now she's back on the road....well sorta, didn't go too far as the gas tank is as empty as my wallet! :-o

[beaky]

Glad to hear that... nine times out of ten, if it ain't a bad ground or a short, it's the battery.

[ozzy72]

Ironically my car battery died yesterday. A new one brought and installed in the p*ssing rain and freezing wind this morning