My 8N (12v) which I don't use much, had been starting hard last summer. Turns out after a long time of me not dealing with it much (busy) and overlooking the alternator (no idea why), I got a new battery, and it still was causing me issues. That battery was almost 5 yrs old. Finally realized it had to be alternator. Put a new one on and even in 20 degrees, it fires immediately. How nice! All that hassling around, and it was the alternator. And I should have known, and do, but for some reason I just overlooked it. Glad the girl is up and healthy again. Did some plowing in the dark, lights are great.
- Thread starter Eriklane
- Start date
You should've had a volt meter to check your charging voltage across the battery terminals with the engine at 1/2 throttle or better. Should see around 14.0 volts. It's good idea to have a hydrometer to check the specific gravity
of the battery acid. Readings should be around 1.280. If one cell has a low reading your battery needs replacing. Hal
of the battery acid. Readings should be around 1.280. If one cell has a low reading your battery needs replacing. Hal
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
The hydrometer is archaic. It will tell if a battery is bad but not if it is good. The dynamic load test is much more definitive.
Was havin the same issue with my Ford diesel pickup. Had to use the battery charger and jumper cables both to start it Monday morning. Left it running while I hooked the trailer on and loaded cattle. Shut it off at the stockyard. It barely started. Got home and shut it off and that was all she wrote. Wiped the dust off the top of the batteries and they were five years old. Put new ones in and it seems to be OK. It's got an amp guage instead of an idiot light,but I never have been able to tell if it's moving much. Time will tell.
So to add insult to injury, my ammeter was hooked up wrong. Somewhere in the last month, I'd redone the wiring, and hooked it up backward. I have it now working and it shows an obviouis charge. Had I hooked it up right all along, I'd have likely seen that the alternator was failing last summer and saved some aggrivation, and, maybe staved off replacing the battery. And I work on cars, etc, all the time. It just slipped by me last summer-I was so busy...anyway.
Russ from MN
Well-known Member
- Location
- Bemidji MN
With what they cost now days everyone should have a meter, that is if you have any idea how to use one. A lot of money is wasted on replacement parts because people don't know how to troubleshoot.
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