I went out the other morning and my truck would not start. It is a 5 Liter in a 64. The battery is two months old and the starter is within the past year.

I stuck the charger on it and set it on start. the truck hesitated a bit but finally turned over enough to start.

I checked the alternator and it was putting out 14.5 volts which I think is normal. I did the unhook the negative and check for a short with a light. the light did not light but when I put the voltmeter to it, it showed a 9 volt drain. I unhooked the memory from the radio and it dropped to .3 which I have always thought with a digital meter was normal as they are always jumping around and never truly read zero anyway.

There is also a bunch of white scale on top of the battery which makes me think that it was over charging or maybe a cell went bad.

So, should the memory from a radio draw 9 volts or has it gone haywire. This seemed to be kinda of a over the night thing.

Is there a way to check for a dragging starter? It is close to my header pipe and maybe it got to hot.

Is it possible to check for a dead cell with out a hydrometer?

I did put the battery charger on it for a couple of hours and it was still dragging when I tried to start it though I did not have to put the charging on the start mode.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

jack

 

Assuming your battery tests OK and your starter is not drawing too many amps (both can be tested at advance auto parts), I would do a voltage drop test from the battery/solinoid(not sure how your truck is set up) to the starter and also check your grounds. A draw should be measured by amps. With a digital multimeter you need to take your red lead and plug it into the (unfused) outlet and then test, I wouldn't worry about this though because if you put a test light on it and it did not light, you do not have enough of a draw to hurt anything. Hopefully this helps

 

Thanks for the info. I will probably start with the grounds and then the battery.

Jack

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jenkinsj

I checked the alternator and it was putting out 14.5 volts which I think is normal.

YES, it’s normal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jenkinsj

So, should the memory from a radio draw 9 volts or has it gone haywire.

It sounds like you are using the voltmeter in series. Now if you knew what the resistance was from this point to ground (battery disconnected) you could use ohms law to find out the current flow. You could also use an ammeter to find this out. The radio manual should tell you what it is supposed to draw in the keep alive mode.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jenkinsj

The battery is two months old and the starter is within the past year.
Is there a way to check for a dragging starter? It is close to my header pipe and maybe it got to hot.

Most auto parts stores sell a little layon meter to measure the current flow to the starter. What is meant by a starter dragging is that the bushings at each end of the starter are worn to a point that they let the armature rub (drag) against the field poles. I do not think within a year you have used it enough to wear out the bushings.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jenkinsj

Is it possible to check for a dead cell with out a hydrometer?

It depends on the Battery, not many any more.

I think I would check the timing.

 

The voltmeter is series will always show voltage, even with a very small load. It's just too sensitive for the way you put it in the circuit. The testlight presents a bigger load, and is not as sensitive. That's why it works so good in that application for tracing unknown battery draws.

If you take your meter, and put it across the battery with the truck off, and read 10 volts, you have a dead cell. Around 12 volts, and you have a good battery, though not necessarily charged up. You need one of those meters with the load resistors to properly check the battery for charge.

 

A lot of good info here. I did check the battery and it did say 12 volts. I do have access to one of those load testers and a hydrometer ( I am a shop teacher but have limited auto tools and have never been trained to be an auto teacher, just teach a simple car care class, lots of females in it) so I will and bring those tools home. As for the timing it really bewilders me that it would happen "like over night". The radio is an old hand me down so I do not have any literature. I will try the things mentioned above.
Thanks and when I find the problem I will let you know.

Jack

 

I took the battery to autozone and they checked it. A cell was bad.

Jack

 

Sometimes dead cells are intermittent. Good thing they caught it.

 

What do you mean interrmittent?


Jack

 

It can be a mechanical problem in the battery. So sometimes your battery can be ok, and other times you can go over a bump or something else can trigger the battery to short out internally, and it will be bad, even though it checked good 5 minutes ago.

It can do it whenever it decides, and it's very hard to catch it.

 

Once a cell goes bad it stays bad? I am hoping that there is nothing in my system that will make this keep happening.

Thanks.

Jack

 

I have a 2000 F-150 4.2L V6. It has original Motorcraft battery. I had it checked at O'reilly's Auto Parts a couple of weeks ago before it got cold. Battery was still in truck, counter guy brought out a hand tester. He tested the battery and it read something like 12.6 Volts. Alternator checked out. But he said the Starter was pulling too many amps and I probably would have to replace it before I replace my battery. He said you want to see a low number I think he said around 100, but my starter was pulling 300. Well, it has gotten stinkin' cold 16 degrees the last three days when I left for work. I turn the key on, and wait for the dummy lights to go off. (Grandpa told me along time ago it's good to let the battery warm for a few seconds on cold mornings.) Voltage on dash looks good. And it starts, but it is a slow crank. So is it battery or starter?

 

The best way to test starter draw - if you do not have an ampmeter - is to go to Autozone and ask them to check it

 

I hate to say it, but sometimes you have to guess on some of this stuff, especially if you do not have all the special equipment, and also if you know the history of the vehicle.

Your battery is 5 years old. How many times has it been run down by leaving the lights on, or something else like that? If that has happened a few times, I would get a battery. I would check the cables to make sure they are tight, but the battery would be a good guess. I do not think it would be money wasted if it wasn't the culprit.