| nelsonford | -- 05-23-2010 @ 6:40 AM |
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I had a horn wire short in the exit of the steering box (the horn was blowing when I moved the steering wheel). I repaired the wire and drove the car about 10 miles and parked. 2 hours later the car would not start. Upon checking under the hood I found the (new) Battery terminal Hot and removed it as it fell apart. The (new) Solenoid switch is not stuck - no continuity accross terminals. I opened the horn relay. It has a loose contact and some carbon left from arcing. I will replace it. Is that my problem?
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| 37RAGTOPMAN | -- 05-23-2010 @ 7:08 AM |
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You NEED to TEST for a Drain on the Battery, do this, use a good charged up battery, take a light bulb circuit tester 12 volt will work, put on end to the battery ground wire and the other to the battery ground post, this is in between the 2, if the light is on,,, you have a drain on the battery dissconnect one wire "circuit" at a time till the light goes off, this will lead you were the drain is, I had a bad starter switch on a MODEL A do this, so dissconnect the starter wire first thing. it could be the starter,or the swith , it must have been something with a heavy draw to do this, also disconnect the BAT wire on the regulator,and see what happens, HOW OLD IS YOUR WIRING ? I think you had a close call on loosing your 48, also when done fixing install A GOOD, battery disconnect switch, not one from China, LETS HEAR HOW YOU MADE OUT,,,,,!!!!!!!!!! KEEP ON TRUCKIN 37 RAGTOPMAN
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| nelsonford | -- 05-23-2010 @ 7:15 AM |
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Thanks 37RAGTOPMAN, Yours sounds like really good advice. I am waiting for a battery cable and horn relay from Mac's now and will find my test light. I will let you know how I make out. Jeff
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| nelsonford | -- 05-23-2010 @ 7:23 AM |
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37RAGTOPMAN, The wiring is original to answer your other question. I know. If I had stopped it in the garage I could have lost more than the 48. I had one of those china disconnect switches on the car but took it off because I heard of problems with them. I will have to look for a good one. Thanks again. Jeff
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| 37RAGTOPMAN | -- 05-23-2010 @ 8:22 AM |
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call up RHODE ISLAND wiring, 401 789 1955 and they will send you a catalog, cost only $2.00 if you want the best WIRING, as far as I am concerened,correct colors and guage and made in USA,for sure, not TAIWAN,or CHINA BUY AMERICAN,is my MOTTO Also their WIRING come with a instruction diagram. old wiring is asking for trouble, NOTHIN BUT TROUBLE DOWN THE ROAD, I hope the MACS parts are good, you can also try the V8 SHOP in NY, and JOBLOT SEND FOR A FREE CATLOG, been in business 50 years,have some NOS FORD, www.joblotauto.com order on there web site, there in 4 to 5 days, keep on truckin, 37RAGTOPMAN REMEMBER the more knowledge were to buy GOOD PARTS, the better you will be,and the eaiser it will be,to repair, ALSO LITTLE DEARBORN is another FORD Store to explore, This message was edited by 37RAGTOPMAN on 5-23-10 @ 8:24 AM
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| supereal | -- 05-23-2010 @ 10:34 AM |
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If a battery terminal melts, it is most likely that it wasn't securely tightened when the new battery was installed. The lead-to-lead contact must be clean and tight, or the high resistance will cook the terminal. The generator output is 20-30 amps, or more, if the battery is low or the terminal is loose. It is doubtful a "parasitic" drain would be sufficient. When we chase parasitic problems, we put a 1.0 ohm, ten watt resistor in series between the battery cable and the terminal and put a digital voltmeter across the resistor. The measured voltage drop is directly proportional to the current draw, so a reading of .02 volt indicates a .02 amp (20mA) drain. It is much more accurate that a test light, and most meters will not handle current loads.
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| nelsonford | -- 05-23-2010 @ 11:15 AM |
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Thanks again 37RAGTOPMAN I will check into those part vendors. I haven't had any problems with Mac's parts but some have been from China like a coil and the solenoid I just installed. I will look into Rhode Island wiring too. Thanks again.
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| nelsonford | -- 05-23-2010 @ 11:25 AM |
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SUPEREAL I am pretty sure I did tighten the terminal on the battery and there was some other electrical problems going on. I will give the test light a shot but also try your method. Thanks for your advice.
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| supereal | -- 05-23-2010 @ 11:44 AM |
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You are welcome. Melting a battery terminal takes more amperage than any other wiring can carry. Usually, there will be smoke and burned wiring. A terminal may seem tight, but if it was not reamed, and the battery post polished before installation, it will be damaged. We have seen it too often when a car is towed to our shop.
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| nelsonford | -- 05-23-2010 @ 2:34 PM |
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That is interesting and it does make sense. I never liked the way terminals fit onto batteries but I never thought about reaming the terminals. I would imagine you could buy a reamer for that purpose. Thanks again.
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| 42ford | -- 05-23-2010 @ 3:15 PM |
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You dont need to spend much $$. What you need is a small red cross looking tool. It has 2 spring steel cutters for the bat post and a tapered reamer for the wires. It should be about $10.00 The one I have has a Mac Tool number BR-6
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| 37RAGTOPMAN | -- 05-23-2010 @ 4:14 PM |
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hi a test light will tell you from a distance to what is going on the more the drain the brighter the light, this is a inexpensive way of the testing,for a drain, I was wondering how come it took 2 hours for the battery to go dead, if it does not have a drain,??? a meter is great if you own one, but if you don't the test light will do the job, if the terminal was loose or dirty the starter should have turned over slow, a heavy starter draw will also heat up the terminals.a 12 volt starter cables. are also not the way to go, make sure you have heavy gauge 6 volt cables, and also be sure to check you have good CLEAN grounds, from the body to the frame and to the engine, this is a must, KEEP ON TRUCKIN 37RAGTOPMAN
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| supereal | -- 05-24-2010 @ 8:38 AM |
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Using a test light on modern cars isn' always helpful, as the current drain can be small. A few days ago, we had a Cadillac Escalade brought in by a dealer when the battery kept dying. It turned out to be the dimming unit on the far back dome light, which wouldn't light the bulb, but didn't shut down completely. It was on a common fuse with other lights, so we needed to detect a very small current which wouldn't illuminate a test light, either. On the subject of melting cables, it should also be noted that many times the problem is that the cable has developed a high resistance where it is cast into the terminal. It can be poor construction, or the action of acid on the battery top seeping into the joint. Either way, it develops high resistance and heat.
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| 37RAGTOPMAN | -- 05-24-2010 @ 5:36 PM |
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hi superreal we were talking about a 48 FORD not a 2005 CADILLAC or something,,with a very COMPLEX ELECTRIC SYSTEM, I would also use a meter on a modern car, I have had drains on VOLVOS.and other cars. Not everybody want to buy a bunch of test eguipment,for just one job, I was just trying to get the man back on the road,and a test light will FIND THE PROBLEM in the old FORD. it might be one wire at a time, but it will find the problem,and you can see if the light goes out from a distance,and he will learn for the next time someone has a similar problem. and not EVERYBODY can use a electric VOLT OHM meter, if you hook it up wrong what will happen ? what would you do on the road with out a meter,? I just explained it the old school way, to get the job done, NELSONFORD. let hear how you made out, KEEP ON TRUCKIN 37RAGTOPMAN This message was edited by 37RAGTOPMAN on 5-25-10 @ 4:49 AM
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| supereal | -- 05-25-2010 @ 8:39 AM |
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Yes, I do understand. I offer these "inside" tips to help those who either have the equipment, or plan to obtain same. Volt-Ohm meters are readily available and cheap, with some analog types now less than $10. I carry one of those in my "road kit". I have no quarrel with using a test light. Sometime ago, here on the Forum, it was posted that a meter fuse was blown trying to measure current. My suggestion was to show how to do it safely. Using a meter to diagnose problems is often necessary, even on our old cars, and the time to learn how is before you have trouble on the road. Modern vehicles require a whole lot more than a VOM. "Old school" is OK, but there are those who want more info.
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| tbirdhandyman | -- 05-25-2010 @ 10:20 AM |
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I drove my '41 about 50 miles on a club tour. About 3 hours later when I tried to start the car, the battery was dead. While checking under the hood, I touched the voltage regulator, and it was too hot to hold onto. It did not melt the battery post, but might be something you would want to check for the current draw. A new regulator solved that problem. Tbirdhandyman
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| supereal | -- 05-25-2010 @ 10:27 AM |
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This almost always due to a stuck cutout relay in the regulator. When that happens, the battery remains connected to the generator when the engine is off, and quickly runs the battery down trying to "motor" the generator. You were lucky only the regulator was damaged, as this problem can destroy the generator by melting the solder joints on the armature. The regulator points handle a lot of current, and can fuse together when the surface gets pitted on the contacts and forms a high resistance. Finding that kind of problem is why I recommended the bypass trick with a voltmeter to measure current.
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