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1980 - 1986 Bullnose F100, F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks Discuss the Early Eighties Bullnose Ford Truck

Dead Cell/ Charging Problem

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Old May 9, 2008 | 02:21 PM
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Dead Cell/ Charging Problem

Hey everyone my trucks been sitting for a while now cause 2 wheels get a lot better mpg, any way i drove the truck to work yesterday she cranked up and ran fine and as allways i stopped at the gas station and when i started back up it cranked real slow. after working a 12 i went to go home and i was dead! my lights would turn on maybe a minute after i pulled the switch and burn bright. the id push the switch in and try again and theyd come on dim. i boosted her off and she fired right up the would die as soon as i turned the lights on. i tried this twice and caught a ride home. this morning i brought another battery in and no problems, fired right up lights and all. i disconnected the battery and she stayed running? any body have an idea is this possibly bigger than a shot battery? thanks!
 
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Old May 9, 2008 | 02:47 PM
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How old was the battery, having sold them for years, the best you normally get is 3-4 years. Even on the gel cells.
 
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Old May 9, 2008 | 03:24 PM
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ive only had the truck a few months so i dont know, looked like it had it years though. im wondering since i know my alternator is working maybe the regulator is bad? the last couple times i drove the truck was a couple 120 mile round trips running 75-85 and ive noticed sounds from the battery after shutting it down since i purchased it maybe it s been getting over charged ? would that kill a battery causing these symptoms? it has always started up untill last night
 
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Old May 9, 2008 | 07:39 PM
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Is there a rotten egg smell, were the sides of the old battery swollen, if so, it's cooked, whether over charged or dead cell. Easy test is check voltage at both idle and 2000 rpm. it should have 12.5 to 13 at idle and no more than 14.5 at 2000 rpm.
 
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Old May 9, 2008 | 09:16 PM
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Sounds like you fixed the problem. Check the voltage at the battery like the other poster said to make sure.

By the way, you got away with it this time, but I would not recommend the "pull the bat cable off while running" trick, especially with a newer vehicle. There is too much risk of damage to the electronics. All you have is the radio and the ignition module, but fuel injected vehicles could get expensive to repair if a surge went through as you took the battery cable off.
 
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Old May 10, 2008 | 11:04 PM
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I missed that the first time, otherwise I would have mentioned something. We had a customer do that one time on a Volvo to check his alternator... It ended up costing him 7000 dollars in computers, all 4 got fried..
 
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Old May 12, 2008 | 02:18 PM
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been off for a few days, the truck has acted fine since sticking the replacement battery in i still havnt got to a parts store to have voltage tested it kinda hard with where i live. thanks for the help!
 
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