6 volt Battery Charging

[JoeKeys2010]

I have a 6 volt battery in my 49 Kaiser.  I took it to Autozone and they said the battey tests good.  It does not seem to hold a charge for long. If the car does not start right up it dies pretty quick.  When it dies I can put a charger on it and in about 15 mins it will spin hard enough to start the car.  I have charged for as much as an hour but still don't get good results.

I have the kind of charger that has a timer.  It does have a 6v setting and that is what I charge it on.  How long do I charge it for and how do I know when it is fully charged?

[joefrazer]

6 volt batteries should take no more than 2 hours at 6 amps to full charge from a dead state. AZ's testers are geared for 12V systems so load testing your 6V battery on their equipment won't yield a good result.

Make sure your car's electrical system is outputting between 6.7  and 7.3 volts at high idle. If it is, then it's doing its job to both charge the battery and supply adequate voltage to the accessories. If it's not, then that may be the reason for the battery's poor performance.

If the electrical system checks out and the battery won't hold a charge, replace the battery. 6V batteries typically last about 3 years.

[JoeKeys2010]

How do I test the system?  I had the generator checked at a shop but have not tested the voltage regulator or the generator once installed.

[Fid]

Charging system test proceedures are listed in the shop manual.  just a foot note on getting the battery tested - I had O'Reilly test a battery for me a couple years ago (a 12 volt) and their tester said it was good. So I bought a starter and installed it - no fix. I had the car towed in and was told it needed a new battery. That fixed it so I really don't trust those battery analyzers. If it says a battery is bad, it likely is but if it says a battery is good I don't trust it.

[Terry T]

The best place for generator/charging system testing is a generator shop.  There are several around my home and all rebuild 6 volt systems. 

As for battery testing, same reasoning...goto a battery shop, e.g., Battery Giant, Interstate Batteries.  They test with the proper load applied.

When I needed to replace my 6 volt battery (TSC brand), I got a DEKA from Battery Giant.  It is significantly heavier than the TSC one.

I use BATTERY TENDERS on all of my batteries that sit for longer than 2 weeks.

The one in my HJ lasted 6 years.

[JoeKeys2010]

The generator has already been to a shop and tested good. The battery too. What has not been tested is the voltage regulator and how everything works in the car. The starter was also taken to a shop for testing. I'll check the shop manual and see if it has a test procedure. 

[joefrazer]

You can buy a simple volt meter at places like radio shack. With it, you can test generator and regulator output at the battery connections. When the car is first started, voltage output will be low, but with the idle raised, you should see the voltage level increase to around 7 volts. If it does, your system is working.

[dpledger]

A simple test is to put a voltmeter across the terminals. With the car not running a good battery reads over 6 volts. When running this will go up due to the generator charging to a desired 7.3 volts. As this is the final step in the charging process, this will in fact tell you how the total system is working.

To see if the generator is outputting enough current then measure the voltage with some accessories on. If the voltage can't be maintained  under load there is a problem in the charging system.

A failing battery at rest will generally have little  diffe4rence in voltage between individual cells. In a good battery they should all be around 2 volts. If one is low, the battery is failing.

Another potential problem is a short in the system draining the battery when the engine is off. An ohmmeter or ammeter between a battery terminal and the corresponding cable will show if such is occurring.

Trying to electrically troubleshoot  a car without a VOM is at best difficult

[boatingbill]

What is the amp rating of your charger? It may be a low 3 amp like mine. The clock can
drain the battery over time, so many members put a switch on the battery post to open the
circuit when the car is not to be driven for a while.

[JoeKeys2010]

I have a volt meter and will try it after we get back from church this morning.  So the battery terminals are were to place the volt meter.  Thanks for the tip. 

[Fid]

A volt meter is not an adequate test for the battery. About all it can do is tell you if there is a surface charge on the battery. You can put a meter on it, read 6.3 volts but as soon as you hit the starter it will go to zero. A good battery tester is required but as I mentioned, I don't trust those either. The rule I go by is "is the battery 5 years old or older?" If so, replace it.

[retired wrench]

ngs.
  There is no batt test that is 100% conclusive. Remember this as you go about checking out things.

[JoeKeys2010]

I've go it charging now.  I found a charger in the garage that would charge 6v and shut off when the battery was fully charged.  I charged it over night but before going to church this morning I cranked it and mistakenly left the key in the on position (after turning the car off) and effectively drained the battery again.  It is on a charge now so this time when I get it charged I'll check with a volt meter and see where I'm at.

To make matters more complicated I discovered the clutch wanted to stick to the flywheel.   I've had it out of service for about two months now while I cleaned it out underneath.  I sat the car back down a couple of days ago and when I went to crank the car with the clutch depressed it acted like it was in gear.  I tried bumping the starter to break it free but that did not work and the starter/battery was not strong enough to crank the car while in gear.  I pulled it a short distance with the car in gear and the clutch pressed to the floor and managed to break it lose.  All of that is working fine now.  Just waiting to get a full charge on it so that I can start driving it again.

[BigDave LM6174]

I have been very happy with the 6 volt battery tender on both my cars.  I run a plug to the front splash pan, behind the grills.  I simply plug the tender in when car is in the garage.  With tenders, I replace regular 6 volt every 5 years and the 6 volt optima every 7 years.

[JoeKeys2010]

Thanks for the tip.  The charger I have that will shut itself off is not a tender (atleast I don't think it is) so looks like I need to pick one up.