| silverchief | -- 04-01-2021 @ 12:30 PM |
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An old Gremlin has returned. Bought a NAPA Commercial fleet battery for my. stock 46 coupe. Takes and holds a charge fine. Will show a little over 6 volts after sitting for 3 days. New complete wiring harness, generator and starter rebuilt with the past year. Did a load test on the battery. With engine off, turned the headlights on for 30 seconds.. Shut them off. Battery shows a little over 6 volts and cranks fast. Charging test. With engine at idle. turn headlights on. Amp needle drops noticeably below middle. Slight increase in engine rpms bring it back and past mid setting. The shop that rebuilt my starter said it was fine except back plate was slightly worn so they replaced it. Have used test light several times to check for drain. Nothing. Here is the scenario. Taking the coupe to run errands. Check the battery, shows little over 6 volts. Spins fast and starts right up. After first stop, notice it is not spinning as strong. After second stop notice it is noticeably weaker. Third stop, turns over slow but starts. Forth stop, barely cranks over enough to get me home. Distance about two miles. During the trip the engine temp comes up and stops at normal. Once home, I put voltmeter on battery. SHOWS A LITTLE OVER SIX VOLTS. I then test crank the engine four times ignition off, about 5 seconds each time, gets weaker until it will no longer turn the engine. Volt meter then shows about 5 volts, so it's back in the charger. Some suggest my trips are too short to recharge battery between stops. I'm not buying that. If it was true a lot of people would have been towing brand new 46 Fords. Have Tom O's thread of June 2019 detailing tests to be run for checking battery, cranking power, and grounding circuit. Nothing has jumped out as an obvious problem but I need an extra pair of hands to run all of them. The engine itself is in great shape. Starts right up, idles very smooth, accelerates smooth and very fast when called for. Reluctant to take it out of the garage for fear of not getting home. Welcome your thoughts. This message was edited by silverchief on 4-1-21 @ 12:38 PM
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| kubes40 | -- 04-01-2021 @ 12:51 PM |
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A good shop can test the regulator WITH the generator. Not sure if you have any place like that in your area. Years ago, it was common for a guy to have both tested when he would purchase one or the other. NAPA and other "better" parts stores all had the machine to do so. Mike "Kube" Kubarth
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| 51woodie | -- 04-01-2021 @ 1:14 PM |
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I took the generator from my "46 Coupe, into an auto electric shop last week to have it rebuilt. The owner asked if I had the regulator, and I told him it was still on the car. He said, "I can rebuild the generator without your regulator, and test it with the shop unit, but no guarantee." "Bring you regulator in to use for testing, and I'll give you a six month guarantee." I brought my regulator in the next day. Haven't got the parts back yet, as it's only been a week, but I'm sure I will end up with a reliable charging system. The owner also asked me if I knew about polarizing, which I did.
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| 37RAGTOPMAN | -- 04-01-2021 @ 3:30 PM |
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HI silverchief I would take the battery out and charge it, then take a reading, should read 7.2 volts if it is fairly new, 2.5 volts per cell let NAPA test it ,,,if they say it is weak, [ which I suspect } I have had problems with their battery's Get one from another source, I believe this is your problem. or maybe your starter has a higher draw then normal Have you checked starter draw, and make sure all your cables are heavy duty 6 volt, clean and tight hope this helps 37Ragtopman ,MAINE
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| trjford8 | -- 04-02-2021 @ 6:29 AM |
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In addition check all your grounds to make sure they are clean , tight, and you have the correct size cables. If you have the older braided ground cable I would toss it and get a new one or use a regular type insulated cable.
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| 37RAGTOPMAN | -- 04-02-2021 @ 7:25 AM |
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SILVER CHIEF, when you say it spins over, how long does that take , 3'4'5' spins ? or longer,? that engine should maybe spin 1 turn at the most, if engine is hot , not using the choke or depressing the gas pedal turn the key and just hit the button do not use the gas pedal and see what happens, it should start very easy, not draining the battery also how much is it charging ? what is the starter draw ? hope this helps 37Ragtopman
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| 1931 Flamingo | -- 04-02-2021 @ 7:26 AM |
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Check the NEGATIVE (if still pos grnd) at the solenoid for corrosion. I just went thru this on my 40. Started upOK, two days later nothing. Everything clean and tight, 6.3 V at batt and sol. Had batt checked, low. Replaced it under warranty, still nothing. Neg cable had elec tape on it (probably from decades ago), removed the tape and found blue/green corrosion. Cut cable back and soldered new end on it. It hasn't turned over this fast in the 2+ years I've had it. Paul in CT
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| juergen | -- 04-02-2021 @ 7:44 AM |
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From your tests, the battery is not getting charged. A lead acid battery voltage is about 2.12 volts per cell so a fully charged 6 volt battery should be around 6.3 volts fully charged. And it takes about 7 volts to replenish the charge after you drain the battery. Since you only measure 6 volts it is not getting enough charging voltage. Your light test just shows that the generator is powering the lights above idle but not enough to charge the battery if you only register 6 volts. Check to see if the voltage at the generator is above 7 volts after a start and on fast idle. If it isn't, I'd suspect the generator or the regulator. If it is above 7 volts, then check each wire break point from the generator to the battery to see where the drop occurs. This message was edited by juergen on 4-3-21 @ 6:37 AM
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| TomO | -- 04-02-2021 @ 8:38 AM |
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Bill, The voltage across the battery should read 6.3 volts when fully charged after the surface charge has been removed by no activity for 12 hours or more or 6.6 volts when checked right after charging. If you have the 6.3 volts, then leave your meter connected and crank the engine with the ignition switch off. The meter should read 5 volts or more. Typical is 5.5 volts. If the reading is less than 5 volts, the battery is either not fully charged or sulfated. Recharge the battery and use a load tester to determine if the battery needs to be replaced. Your usage is considered very severe usage and a battery cannot survive very long under those conditions. You should be connecting a battery maintainer like Battery Tender after every drive to get maximum life out of your battery. Tom
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| silverchief | -- 04-02-2021 @ 10:32 AM |
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Thank you guys. All good suggestions. I'm working on it, and will advise of any progress.
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| srg | -- 04-03-2021 @ 12:47 PM |
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This is out of my Harley book; Caution: It is advisable to "flash" field coils whenever wires have been removed from generator or regulator; or after generator or battery has been removed and is reinstalled. This is done to make sure generator has correct polarity. If polarity of generator is reversed, relay points will vibrate and burn. "Flash" field coils by momentarily touching a jumper wire between "BAT" terminal and "GEN" terminal on regulator, after all wires have been properly connected and before starting engine. The momentary surge of current from battery to generator will correctly polarize the generator. (I also have a 37' Ford). This message was edited by srg on 4-3-21 @ 12:49 PM
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| blarge | -- 04-06-2021 @ 9:13 AM |
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The polarizing instructions from a Harley are not correct for a Ford V8. The Ford uses a "B" system and requires that the Field terminal wire be removed from the voltage regulator and momentarily touched to the Bat terminal of the regulator. The Harley used the " A" system, which is also on GM cars. Bill Large This message was edited by blarge on 4-6-21 @ 9:14 AM
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| cliftford | -- 04-06-2021 @ 8:22 PM |
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blarge is alsolutely correct. It is easy to fry these units if not done properly.
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