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Posted By Discussion Topic: Battery drain -- page: 1 2     supereal 05-18-2019 @ 1:38 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 One often overlooked cause of battery drain is the voltage regulator cutout relay that disconnects the battery when the system is turned of. Usually we find that the points have become rough from years of use, and simply stick together. Adjusting voltage regulators properly is difficult without specialized equipment. They operate by pulsing the point sets, and any attempt to set them is not a job for the inexperienced. C&G sells the new regulators for 6 volts for 39-55. Earlier vehicles, 32-39, use a cutout. C&G has an electronic cutout for 6 and 12 volt application that you may consider. 800'266-0470. TomO 05-18-2019 @ 8:29 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7278 Joined: Oct 2009 It sounds like he may have more than one problem. I traveled over 175 miles without my generator charging a couple of years ago. The battery should be checked to see if it cam hold a full charge. Even with a bad battery, the generator should keep the engine running, so the charging system should be checked out. The ignition system should also be checked out, because if the battery can turn over the engine slowly, it should have enough juice to power the ignition, so the engine should not die. Tom kenburke 05-17-2019 @ 10:45 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 141 Joined: Oct 2009 I does sound like a generator issue. Make sure the fan belt is not slipping. 37RAGTOPMAN 05-17-2019 @ 8:39 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1971 Joined: Oct 2009 hi the more information you tell us the easier the Repair or Diagnosis does your AMP gauge read CHARGE when you are driving,? you never said, if it is charging or not, you said it had a new voltage regulator, did you polarize it ? easy to test it is disconnect the battery., if it dies, it is not charging, did you check the gen brushes, and the commutator ? check for arcing,burnt.scored ? what was wrong with the Regulator ? my 2 cents 37RAGTOPMAN this might seem stupid but I have seen sticking brake light switch drain the battery, by the brake lights on,,!!!! another thing to check, This message was edited by 37RAGTOPMAN on 5-22-19 @ 10:16 AM Randy1944 05-16-2019 @ 2:54 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 4 Joined: Nov 2015 When the motor dies, the battery just barely makes an effort to turn motor over, then nothing. It will not start the engine. Tow truck home and put on charger and then the next day, same thing all over. My tow truck guy is loving it! Thanks for all of the suggestions, I intend to get the new battery and then start doing the things suggested. I have a volt meter, but I am not well versed in using one. Time to learn! Thanks again for the help. pauls39coupe 05-16-2019 @ 2:44 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 206 Joined: Jul 2014 Once again I must ask is your battery actually going dead or is the engine just shutting down? When the truck stops can you turn the engine over with the starter? If the battery was dead the generator should produce enough power to keep the engine running. If you have a break in the wiring or an internal short in the battery that mite shut things down. If the truck shuts down but the battery will still crank the starter, then you have an ignition problem. I suggested replacing the NOS condenser because they are often defective from setting on a shelf for the last 50 years. However that would have nothing to do with a dead battery. You may have a bad ignition switch, defective resistor, bad coil or a broken wire in the ignition circuit . Please let us know does the battery actually die or is the engine just shutting off. This will help us pin point your troubles. ford38v8 05-16-2019 @ 12:45 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2799 Joined: Oct 2009 Randy, Your problem may be the integrity of wiring and connections. A battery cable, for instance, will have the ability to discharge to the cars needs, but must have a good solid clean connection to the battery in order to recharge from the generator. This in fact did happen to me once, as my car stopped dead while driving. I discovered that the braided ground cable had corroded inside to the point that it no longer could recharge the battery. Alan Randy1944 05-16-2019 @ 12:32 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 4 Joined: Nov 2015 Thanks for the help everyone. This is a pickup(commercial) truck. No Underwood light, no interior light, no glove compartment light. My battery is about five years old, so I ordered a new 6 volt Optima battery. I will start there and try to find the drain. Thanks and let me know if other ideas come to mind. 37RAGTOPMAN 05-16-2019 @ 9:57 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1971 Joined: Oct 2009 HI Randy44 I am wondering if the coil gets real hot, maybe no resister before the coil, or defective resister, feeding the coil a full 6 volts, ? using a volt meter the coil should be only getting about 3-4 volts, when running, also TRY this for making the battery going dead,if that is the problem, disconnect the ground strap and use a test light between the battery terminal post and ground, if it lights up with everything off there is a drain to find the drain start disconnecting one thing at a time, if the light goes out that what you disconnected is the drain, I suspect the GENERATOR, see if it is warm, also could be starter switch,letting a small amount of electric to the starter not enough to make the starter to turn but enough to make a drain on the battery,. does the car have a under hood light, glove compartment light, or trunk light ? my 2 cents 37RAGTOPMAN This message was edited by 37RAGTOPMAN on 5-16-19 @ 9:58 AM 40cpe 05-15-2019 @ 6:26 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 477 Joined: Jan 2010 I don't think a condenser will run your battery down. You should determine if your generator is charging by placing a volt meter across the terminals of your fully charged battery and running the engine at about 1200 rpm. If you don't see 7+ volts you have a charging problem and maybe a battery problem

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