A battery question

[TR6oldtimer]

Dale, a voltmeter will not tell you the true condition of the battery, so I recommend you get one of these, they cost around $10. The hydrometer will check the specific gravity of the liquid in the battery.

<span style="color: #990000"><span style="font-size: 17pt">BLARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</span> </span>

<span style="color: #990000">Western Auto had one of them gizzmos. Must be for
a city bus 'cause it sucked all the acid out of the firts cell and
came nowhere near the test level line. Got freakin' battery acid
all over me, my new shorts and the engine compartment.

Yes, Paul, we have a Sears. But it is a port of last resort
due to it's location. I'll keep on charging since it's
at 13.4 V after 5 additional hours.</span>

d

Dale, It is not a baister, you are not suppose to remove the hydrometer from the battery full of acid. A dead or very low battery will not float the internal bulb, which appears to me to what you saw.

 

[Don Elliott]

Dale - If you don't have enough battery acid in the first cell of the battery, I believe that you are low on the acid level and you need to add some water. I use de-ionized water that I buy for a dollar a quart off the shelf at the drug-store. You won't even need a doctor's appointment or a prescription.

If you add this water to each cell, note if you have to add more to one specific cell, of if you have to add the same amount to each cell.

Be careful not to add too much. You don't want the acid level too high. Also by adding water (S.G. = 1,00), you will be diluting down the concentration of the battery acid and the S.G. in each cell will drop. In other words, it will be like the battery has become partially discharged and you will need to put the charger back on to raise the S.G. and the voltage again. If one cell takes more water and/or if the S.G. in one cell always seems lower in the acid/water level compared to the other 5 cells, then I would suspect that cell might be dead and you should take the battery back for a refund, as someone mentioned above.

 

[myspitfire]

Get yourself a "Vectra"brand cigarette lighter plug-in volt meter.That will constantly tell you the static voltage.And you can watch it charge(or not)while your driving.I got one from'Autobarn'The other day on sale for $12.95,nice digital readout with traffic lights(green,yellow,red)very handy.
Ken&Whitelightning
I have no affiliation with vectra.

 

[TR3driver]

12.8 V after starting the car, warm up and
driving 0.8 miles at under 2000 rpm.

Is that with the engine running or stopped? If the engine was running, what was the ammeter doing?
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Are condensers ever bad right out of the box?[/QUOTE]Sadly, yes. So are coils, rotors, etc., sometimes.

I'm sure this has been covered before, but I lose track ... are you sure you have the right coil for the amount of voltage that is reaching it? Early TR6 should have full battery voltage to the coil, and a coil designed to take it; but the later cars had a ballast resistor built into the wiring harness and so took a different coil.

 

[emmett1010]

Dale;
No one that hasn't lived in the Caribbean truly realizes the handicaps of trying to keep any car going, much less a classic.
You MUST have a good battery. Return it to the store and have it replaced, or at least recharged, if perchance it tests out OK.
Then check your battery voltage running, off idle.
If its over 12.6, say 13.2-14.5 volts, then your system is fine and you either need to drive the car more often, or recharge the battery periodically.
If its 12.6 or less then you either have generator, or voltage regulator problems, and the battery will run down again.

The battery was shipped in from the states, and could have had an extended shelf life, making it much older than 18 months.
Good luck, Emmett

 

[Brosky]

Agreed Emmett. Well said.

Dale, that battery should have some warranty left.

Well, it should have it all left if it were based on mileage, but I'm sure that it's based on time and you should still be fine.

 

[myspitfire]

Dale!...The cars need to be driven...Or they will drive you(crazy)
Cheers mate!

 

[hondo402000]

Dale
I has a simular problem, purchased one of those spiral cell batteries at about 180 dollars, and several months later when I would start the TR6 the starter would spin slowly but it would finally start. I kept charging the battery thinking I was not driving the car enought but would have the same problem. I switched out starters thinking that was the problem. I finally took the battery back to the store they checked it and it was bad, I did get another one free and the starter spins like a jet engine now. you do have another daily driver right? Switch out the battery from your daily driver and drive the 6 and see if its better. also when the car is running check the battery with a volt meter you should get 14.5 volts at 1500 rpm, which will tell you if your alternator is putting out a good current. I assume you do have an alternator?

good luck
Hondo

 

[mailbox]

Dale, after reading everything that has been posted here I believe you have a dead cell in your battery and NO amount of charging will fix that. A REAL battery tester can check the voltage coming from each cell. 6 cells @ 2 volts per cell = 12 volts. Take it back and stop worrying about this thing. You have soooooooooooo much more to worry over.

 

[myspitfire]

To Whomever;Best way to keep track of problematic starting troubles
is install a real time voltage monitor system,AND an ammeter.Monitoring, whether running or not is an enabling idea.The first thing is & starts with a decent battery,while $180.00 batteries is overkill,Interstate,Exide,(NEWLY manufactured batteries are the best way.Recycled,remanufactured,reconditioned batteries are REALLY junk.In reality if theirs an electrical system mystery surrounding a Brit car,THE WHOLE STARTING SYSTEM is suspect;OLD EVERYTHING.
Good Luck.Use-it-or-loose-it!
Ken&Whitelightning

 

[Tinster]

Battery Test data:

Battery holds charge at 13.2 V
Headlight on for 10 sec; batt at 12.8 V

Car started instantly on 1st crank at 12.8V

Alternator putting out 14.7 V @ 1300 rpm

Two minute engine run, turn off.

Battery read 13.4V after turn off

I hope a new condenser will fix the 2000 rpm
engine falls apart syndrome.

Thanks all !!

d

 

[Adrio]

I tend to agree with Mailbox. If that 10 volt reading was for real (and say after a few days of sitting) then it could be a dead (more specifically a shorted cell). Though this would only affect your starting and not the running of the car. After all when I first got my TR3 I was a poor starving student and had to pick between gas or battery and of course battery lost, so I drove with a poor battery (thank you hand crank) for more time then I will ever admit. The fun part of my story is that when I finally accumulated enough money for a battery the local shop had a battery with a life time guarantee (for as long as you own the car). That was 30 years ago and I have not had to pay a cent for any of the replacements over those years, and I still have the car.