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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

Truck shorts out battery (long post)

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Steve Moyer

08-20-2007 08:51:43




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First I am sorry this will be such a long post but it is a real problem and I need help. I have a 1996 Chevy 1/2 ton 4x4 with air, power and auto trans. Two months ago I found it with the battery totally dead. Replaced the battery and 3 days later dead again. Tried to charge it found a bad cell. Replaced under warrenty. Three days later dead again same problem. Once again I replaced the battery and began looking for some type of short, none found.I was told to use a standard DC bulb with wires attached put it between the neg. post and the neg ground wire if it lights I have a short, no light. Took truck to the shop they found no short. Then found a post on this site that said same problem replaced the altenator and problem was fixed. Purchased one from Car Quest worked three weeks and the new battery once again has bad cells.Any ideas will be greatly appreciated I am sure someone on this site will know what the problem is.

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David, Surrey UK

08-21-2007 09:57:46




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 Re: Truck shorts out battery (long post) in reply to Steve Moyer, 08-20-2007 08:51:43  
Very difficult to diagnose this without actually being there!

My first test would be to see whether the battery is in fact being charged properly by the alternator. It should float at about 14.4V when on charge. An ammeter in series will show the charge rate. With everything switched on (lights, heaters etc) the voltage should hold up while the engine's running at sensible revs. The voltage should never rise above about 15V under normal conditions and never fall below 10V except when cranking. Outside these limits, the battery can be damaged.

Assuming it's getting charged, the next question is whether it's getting discharged by something. Modern vehicles draw a lot of current even sitting in the garage doing nothing. If for some reason I don't drive my Discovery 4x4 for two weeks, the battery goes flat because of the standby current drawn by the various electronic gizmos, and the battery's own self-discharge (modern batteries being worse in this respect). In winter it's even worse, as the battery may not get a decent charge on short runs due to lights and heaters taking most of the alternator's output. Also the starter draws more in cold conditions. My feeling is that batteries and alternators are often a bit undersized these days, probably to save money. On normal discharge the voltage should be around 12V, depending on the state of charge.

You should also consider the possibility of intermittent connections somewhere in the charging system. In particular check the battery connections and ground wire.

David

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RayP(MI)

08-20-2007 18:14:00




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 Re: Truck shorts out battery (long post) in reply to Steve Moyer, 08-20-2007 08:51:43  
Years ago, I worked on electronics for the county. I got called out on a rescue squad truck that kept running down the battery. Took me a while with a multimeter on the amp setting but I narrowed it down to:::: some clown put the handheld spotlite in the glovebox, in the on position! they had a clamp on the dash for it, why it was in the glovebox I don't know. Somebody got chewed fer sure!



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Walt Davies

08-20-2007 10:25:17




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 Re: Truck shorts out battery (long post) in reply to Steve Moyer, 08-20-2007 08:51:43  
I would look into getting another brand of battery then see if it works OK.
Walt



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Bus Driver

08-20-2007 09:58:16




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 Re: Truck shorts out battery (long post) in reply to Steve Moyer, 08-20-2007 08:51:43  
The better test is to use a DC voltmeter with maximum range up to about 18-20 volts. Remove one battery cable and connect the voltmeter between that cable and and the battery post from which the cable was just removed. Polarity must be observed when hooking up the voltmeter. Any reading at all shows a drain on the battery. This test is much more sensitive than a bulb as even a fraction of a volt will cause needle movement. When the drain is removed, the meter will drop to zero.

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old art

08-20-2007 09:42:02




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 Re: Truck shorts out battery (long post) in reply to Steve Moyer, 08-20-2007 08:51:43  
get your money back and go some place else.
or get on the battery man's case to quit giving you p--- poor batterys .



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