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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Generator vs alternator

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Generator vs alternator -- page: 1 2 3     therunwaybehind 06-09-2020 @ 8:43 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 180 Joined: May 2019 The point about the clock is not about when the car is being driven but when it is parked for a long time. 37RAGTOPMAN 06-09-2020 @ 8:27 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1963 Joined: Oct 2009 HI SLIVER CHIEF did you ever disconnect the battery, for a few days and see if it holds a charge,? if you leave your battery connected and it has a DRAIN !!!, you might be set up for a car fire, ? sooner or later, it is most important to find the DRAIN do some tests, my 2 cents, 1937Ragtopman juergen 06-09-2020 @ 5:50 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 258 Joined: Jan 2010 40 cpe, Sorry if I didn't get the math down to you. Your battery drain at start up is the number of amps multiplied by the crank time. So if it takes 230 amps and lasts for 10 seconds, you have used up 2300 amp seconds or 2300/3600 = .64 amp hours of your 100 amp hour battery. Now with the engine running at speed, look at your ammeter. After start up it will usually be above the 10 amp mark, but lets use 10 amps as an average. So to replenish 2300 amp seconds at 10 amps charging, will take 230 seconds, or about 4 minutes. If you have a dead battery (rated somewhere near 100 amp hours) and use a battery charger at a nominal rate of 5 amps, then the recharge time is 100/5 or 20 hours. Trickle chargers would take twice as long. This message was edited by juergen on 6-9-20 @ 6:05 AM sarahcecelia 06-09-2020 @ 5:06 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1193 Joined: Mar 2013 All Ford clocks rewound that way, about every 2+ minutes.It used electricity for about ONE NANO second; hardly enough to drain the battery! The clock acually ran the rest of the time, by a spring!I know, I have taken apart quite a few that didn't work. I cleaned the points, cleaned the works, and oiled them; and THEY WORKED AGAIN!! Regards, Steve Lee sarahcecelia 06-09-2020 @ 4:58 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1193 Joined: Mar 2013 My thoughts: It takes hours to charge a dead battery with a battery charger, and people think that you can drive 2 miles and fully recharge it after the starter took 230-235 amps to crank it?? Do that every time you take it out- and you'll end up with a dead battery, or low battery! Regards, Steve Lee 40cpe 06-08-2020 @ 6:24 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 476 Joined: Jan 2010 I'm a little mathematically AND electrically challenged. In the morning it might take 10 seconds of cranking and later on it might start on the first turn. How can we calculate how long it will take to recharge if we know starter and ignition amps? Can you give the formula? juergen 06-08-2020 @ 4:16 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 258 Joined: Jan 2010 Well math does not lie and myths are all around.. And working in a garage in the 50s we saw a lot of 400 draw at start up. An economo 6 volt tractor battery has a cranking amp capability of over 500 amps with a CCA above 400 for a reason. My 37 will put out over 10 amps after a start up above 1000 rpm so using your 230 amps will recharge his starting drain in less than 2 miles. sarahcecelia 06-08-2020 @ 7:41 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1193 Joined: Mar 2013 The starter takes about 230 amps!!when it cranks your motor; and 2 miles will ABSOLUTELY not recharge a battery back to it's capacity!! (6 volts +, and 12 volts +) You need to drive about 10 miles to bring that battery back to full charge!! Regards, Steve Lee juergen 06-08-2020 @ 6:27 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 258 Joined: Jan 2010 I would also check your voltage regulator and generator as it should keep up. Here is an easy analysis. Your starter could drain up to 600 amps at start up (worst case). Mine starts in 10 seconds so you have drained 600 x 10 or 6000 amp seconds (100 amp minutes). Lets say you drive 2.5 miles averaging 15 miles per hour in traffic. It takes you 10 minutes. So if the ammeter says you are averaging 10 amps (My usual start deflection) then you have replenished the 100 amp minutes you needed for starting. Remember that the ammeter just registers the flow to and from the battery (except to the starter). For a 300 amp start up drain, the time would be half. Driving faster allows the generator to increase the output above 10 amps. 37RAGTOPMAN 06-08-2020 @ 6:03 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1963 Joined: Oct 2009 hi silverechief battery always dead,,,, here a simple way to check for battery draw, nothing fancy, but will do the job, you can easily build a simple tester with a 6 volt bulb, 2 wires 16 gauge and 2 alligator clips, and a soldering gun,, the brighter the bulb lights the heavier the draw, you keep disconnecting things , like starter, generator,stop light switch, regulator dome light etc, Till the LIGHT GOES out, when it goes out you found your problem, hope this may solve your problem 1937Ragtopman Lets hear how you made out,

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