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6 v battery not holdin charge

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by mike1951, Jul 29, 2010.

  1. mike1951
    Joined: Jul 15, 2007
    Posts: 706

    mike1951
    Member
    from Colorado

    My 6-7 month old 6 v battery is not holdin a charge...
    When the car is off... I show 5.95 across terminals with my multi meter...
    at idle I got 7.75 across the terminals... so it's in a state of charge when the car is running...

    I notice that the water is a bit low in there...I cannot see the plates yet but it's lower...

    You guys use anything other than distilled water?
    And... do you think I'm missing anything like a parasitic drain?
    I just cleaned the top off with baking soda and water a few days ago..but it's still not holding a charge.
     
  2. JohnEvans
    Joined: Apr 13, 2008
    Posts: 4,883

    JohnEvans
    Member
    from Phoenix AZ

    Don't see the 7.75 at a normal idle if you are running a generator. Disconnect one treminal on the bat and hook a test light across it ,it lights you have a draw. Normal volts on a fully charged 6V bat is around 6.2 or a bit higher. You having starting or other probs??
     
  3. F&J
    Joined: Apr 5, 2007
    Posts: 13,222

    F&J
    Member

    What he said...and..

    If the top was messy with acid as well as that higher reading when charging, the regulator could be set too high. It would cause a lot of bubbling and make a mess, as well as maybe damaging the batt.
     
  4. mike1951
    Joined: Jul 15, 2007
    Posts: 706

    mike1951
    Member
    from Colorado

    Running a generator and at idle 7.75. I do have intermittent starting problems... like if it sits for a bit...few hours... then it will turn over but not quite make it. I throw the trickle charger on it for like 2 minutes and it will fire. I can go run errands and be fine. Kinda annoying since school starts back up in 2 weeks. I need to get it up and working properly.
    I just put distilled water in the battery and I have it on a slow charge. I'll have to make a test light...What is normal volts on a 6 v battery at idle with a generator? I know on the Buick when I start it up the charge gauge is very high and then gradually gets closer to neutral as I drive...
    I assume it has a voltage regulator that provides the amount of charge needed to get the battery back to proper voltage?
     

  5. mike1951
    Joined: Jul 15, 2007
    Posts: 706

    mike1951
    Member
    from Colorado

    It was a mess....fluid across the whole top.... I cleaned it off for fear of that creating a drain on the battery. How does one adjust a regulator?


     
  6. mike1951
    Joined: Jul 15, 2007
    Posts: 706

    mike1951
    Member
    from Colorado

    Ok I just thought about this...if it starts out charging high to replenish what the battery was missing...and then gradually tapers off I should measure the idle charge after it's been running a bit.
     
  7. F&J
    Joined: Apr 5, 2007
    Posts: 13,222

    F&J
    Member

    Everything you said in several posts points to overcharging.

    I'll check my old Motors manuals to see if they show the adjuster inside the voltage regulator.

    Just a thought?? I honestly wonder if this car once had an 8 volt battery installed in it's distant past. A lot of old big cars had 8 volt batteries put in for an aging car that was still used in winter. That could explain the regulator being set too high.

    The batt could be damaged at this point. Lots of luck finding a battery hydrometer at a auto parts place to test the specific gravity in each cell. The S.G. will not read correctly unless the new distilled water is allowed to stabilize in several days of normal use. Then you'd be looking for a dead or weak cell or two.
     
  8. JohnEvans
    Joined: Apr 13, 2008
    Posts: 4,883

    JohnEvans
    Member
    from Phoenix AZ

    If your idling under 700 or so with normal sized pulleys you should NOT be showing a charge at idle. In most all stock systems with stock pulleys a generator does not start charging until about 750-800 rpm. Tell us what your idle speed is and are you running a stock size pulley on the generator. You really need some volt meters etc. and a idea of the procedures to reset a volt reg. The voltage normaly goes up the higher the charge of the battery but as a battery comes up a amp meter will drop back showing a lower charge rate. Even if the battery is near new have it load checked at Autozone Checkers etc. It very well may have a internal problem causing it to gas and push out water, seen it many times. As I have said many times get you a "Motor's" manual for the aprox. age of your car. It will have the test procedures and specs so you can sucessfully work on your car. Be the best money you ever spend in the long run, I have about 10 of them covering 30s to 80s.
     
  9. mike1951
    Joined: Jul 15, 2007
    Posts: 706

    mike1951
    Member
    from Colorado

    I have a shop manual for Buicks from 1952.... but it always seems like it leaves a great deal of info out.

    The Buick was idling kinda fast as the car had just been started and it had not stepped down to normal idle. And it has a MASSIVE battery in it. 6v I ordered from NAPA.... Way bigger than any other 6v battery I have ever had. The battery had some issues when I got it too...sat on the shelf for a long time... I had to trickle charge it for 2 days to get it where it needed to be. The guy I bought it from had it stored for like 6 years... HE was more inept as a mechanic than I am.


    It does decrease in the charge it has after I run it a bit. I will be back at it in the AM when the rain stops. I do have a multi meter... unfortunately my awesome neighbor who was a professional mechanic got into a divorce and lost his house with the heated 4 car garage. So not only did I lose my drinkin buddy and good neighbor, but I lost access to all of his sweet tools. He drove a 61 Ford witha Y block... some mornigns he'd be under the hood of my car before me... tryin out some theory he had about whatever problem I had goin on... Static Amp Gauge.... welders, compressors...EVERYTHING



    I appreciate all of the advice. I am here to learn and contribute in any small ways I can.
     
  10. F&J
    Joined: Apr 5, 2007
    Posts: 13,222

    F&J
    Member

    Most if not all acid batteries come from the factory with acid...might be something to do with epa??

    But, in the past, some special order batts came dry for longer term dead storage. If your battery did always have acid...it's not good anymore.

    I'm shocked the Buick shop manual does not cover regulator adjustments because that was a very common procedure back then. I'll check my books soon.
     
  11. JohnEvans
    Joined: Apr 13, 2008
    Posts: 4,883

    JohnEvans
    Member
    from Phoenix AZ

    Well with what you are saying about the battery it may well indeed be the problem. Dry charged batteries have a pretty long shelf life, wet batteries like what the parts places sell nowdays not so long. I always check the date code sticker on the battery and if more than 6 months or so old tell them get me a different one.
     
  12. mike1951
    Joined: Jul 15, 2007
    Posts: 706

    mike1951
    Member
    from Colorado

    ok I found stock specs....

    8 v @ 2250 RPM on Generator is the MAX

    6.8 v @ 850 RPM
     
  13. wrenchrocket
    Joined: Mar 16, 2005
    Posts: 197

    wrenchrocket
    Member

    With all you described a new battery is definitley necessary.
     
  14. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Before you do anything else have the battery tested by a shop with the proper equipment. I'm with the others in thinking that the battery may be bad from the get go.

    If it was dry and they had to put acid in it when they sold it to you it may be ok but if it sat on the shelf for five years with acid in it it is a five year old battery and most likely not in good shape.

    That big heavy and long six volt is the correct battery for that Buick though.
     
  15. F&J
    Joined: Apr 5, 2007
    Posts: 13,222

    F&J
    Member

    Ok, my books go up to 49 and back to 53....so here is the 49, it should be the same.

    2 styles of Delco regs.

    Both adjust voltage by bending a tab that holds a spring.

    These are HUGE pics; click on the pics to expand 3 times in total.

    I'd go for 7.2 volts on medium rpm, with a charged batt. 7.4 is pushing it. Bending the tabs to get it accurate takes a little patience, but you can do it.

    Generators and mechanical regulators are just fine. My daily car for 3 years is a 1970 with factory gen and mech reg....as well as factory EFI..go figure :)
     

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  16. mike1951
    Joined: Jul 15, 2007
    Posts: 706

    mike1951
    Member
    from Colorado

    Thanks man, I will be under the hood tomorrow. I agree with you on generators and what not.
    We're poor over here. Any project car I want, I have to drive to get to work. They all become daily drivers. I had a 51 chevy truck, inline 235, 6v and a generator for 4 years as a driver. all weather from sunny to blizzard. The buick is now in the same situation. Daily driver. EFI and gen huh....even though it is OT...what was it?
     
  17. xlr8
    Joined: Jun 26, 2006
    Posts: 700

    xlr8
    Member
    from Idaho

    I've run alot of 6V tractors and equipment over the years and I can tell you that it is really hard to buy a good 6V battery these days. They don't sell many of 'em so the chances are good that you got one that was already a couple years old when you bought it. If you can get 3 years out of a 6V you are doing good. Try to find a place that moves alot of them like a tractor supply store and you'll have better luck.
     
  18. mike1951
    Joined: Jul 15, 2007
    Posts: 706

    mike1951
    Member
    from Colorado

    sound advice. I really don't want to convert to 12v if I can avoid it.
    I like the 6v system. IT works well and honestly if it ain't broke don't replace it. granted it is a pain in the ass to find a good battery... but still
     
  19. 53sled
    Joined: Jul 5, 2005
    Posts: 5,817

    53sled
    Member
    from KCMO

    oreilly sells them, not too pricey.
    group 1 66.99
     
  20. mike1951
    Joined: Jul 15, 2007
    Posts: 706

    mike1951
    Member
    from Colorado

    are those the big ass buick ones?
     
  21. low-n-slo54
    Joined: Jul 25, 2009
    Posts: 1,920

    low-n-slo54
    Member

    Yep. I got a huge battery in my car from there at that price.
     
  22. JohnEvans
    Joined: Apr 13, 2008
    Posts: 4,883

    JohnEvans
    Member
    from Phoenix AZ

    53 sled : A group 1 is not what that Buick uses little bitty thing suitable for a Jeep. Buick uses a LONG !!! skiny one group 2 or 3 E as I recall, a bit hard to find these days.
     
  23. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

  24. d2_willys
    Joined: Sep 8, 2007
    Posts: 4,285

    d2_willys
    Member
    from Kansas

    First thing I would do, is to put a decent multimeter in series with the positive (between positive post and it's cable and set meter on 10 amps. You can then check for some sort of load that is loading the battery. In that car I would think you should have no load (with no dome lights on from door jams. An easy way of checking the battery is to disconnect from car and trickle charge for 24 hours. Then remove charger and check voltage on the battery. If still lower than 6.2 volts, then battery sounds bad. You can also put a load tester across the battery and see if the voltage stays in specs. The 7 volts when charging is a bit high and will cause overcharging if too high, but it may be this high to overcome battery issues.
     
  25. mike1951
    Joined: Jul 15, 2007
    Posts: 706

    mike1951
    Member
    from Colorado

    I went for a drive to the store and back.
    turned off the car and the battery was reading this....

    While running at idle it was 7.68
     

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