wont start!!!
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,205
Likes: 0
From: Ontario
Alternators are not for charging batteries, period.
Charge your battery with someone else's vehicle. 
(carry it to their vehicle and sit in on the ground)
The trick is to never let their alternator be freed from the load a battery
provides! That can be bad. 
So with good jumper cables start their vehicle, jumper to your battery,
everything nice and solid so the clamps won't slip off.
Have the meter on "their side of it" to see the voltage lower when your
battery is added to their charging circuit. That way you know the jumpers
are working right.
...then carefully lift one of their clamps.
Watch the meter as you lift their clamp!
If you see the needle move up any more than a volt or so then shove the
clamp back down on their battery quick.
If the voltage goes way up then the jumpers aren't doing what they are
supposed to be doing or your battery is "open". That's an extra test.
The voltage going down when your battery was added to their charging
system should have covered this but never hurts to be careful with other
peoples stuff.
Give it at least a half hour and the engine needs to be revved up a little,
you can see its effect on the meter. It won't be perfect but maybe the
sorry sucker will start your pickup with the help of a jump at that point?
-----------------------------
I've never read the voltage of unloaded alternator to see what it puts out
but seems to me it's well over 30 volts and heard of guys running electric
drills from it, the particular drills ran on AC or DC just needs to be up around
100 volts DC, or something like that?
------------------------
"clean around ground connection"
Uhhhh... take 'em off and clean under 'em instead?
Make shiny exposed metal (like preparation for soldering) then clamp 'em
back down, then oil the connection so it stays protected from oxygen.
Motor oil works great for that, it has chemical buffers in it and it's thin so it
coats everything real good. We had special grease for that job and motor
oil worked better IME, no kidding.
Alvin in AZ
ps- keep plugging away at this thing and you'll be the ex-spurt!
pps- you can do it.
(carry it to their vehicle and sit in on the ground)
The trick is to never let their alternator be freed from the load a battery
provides!
That can be bad. So with good jumper cables start their vehicle, jumper to your battery,
everything nice and solid so the clamps won't slip off.
Have the meter on "their side of it" to see the voltage lower when your
battery is added to their charging circuit. That way you know the jumpers
are working right.
...then carefully lift one of their clamps.
Watch the meter as you lift their clamp!
If you see the needle move up any more than a volt or so then shove the
clamp back down on their battery quick.
If the voltage goes way up then the jumpers aren't doing what they are
supposed to be doing or your battery is "open". That's an extra test.
The voltage going down when your battery was added to their charging
system should have covered this but never hurts to be careful with other
peoples stuff.
Give it at least a half hour and the engine needs to be revved up a little,
you can see its effect on the meter. It won't be perfect but maybe the
sorry sucker will start your pickup with the help of a jump at that point?
-----------------------------
I've never read the voltage of unloaded alternator to see what it puts out
but seems to me it's well over 30 volts and heard of guys running electric
drills from it, the particular drills ran on AC or DC just needs to be up around
100 volts DC, or something like that?
------------------------
"clean around ground connection"
Uhhhh... take 'em off and clean under 'em instead?
Make shiny exposed metal (like preparation for soldering) then clamp 'em
back down, then oil the connection so it stays protected from oxygen.
Motor oil works great for that, it has chemical buffers in it and it's thin so it
coats everything real good. We had special grease for that job and motor
oil worked better IME, no kidding.
Alvin in AZ
ps- keep plugging away at this thing and you'll be the ex-spurt!
pps- you can do it.
When you charge a dead battery with an alternator you are taking it out of it's duty cycle and causing the alternator electrical components to draw higher than normal amps(current) for longer than normal durations there by casing heat and potential dame to the alternator.
This is the best way to destroy an alternator, if you want to charge a battery use a battery charger.
Rick.
Postmaster
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 2,760
Likes: 8
From: Gadsden Purchase
Agreed! :)
But if you have no other choice, then what? ;)
I've used various alternators about 20 times to semi-charge-up dead
batteries and never have had any trouble with -any- alternators other
than with their 6203 front-end bearings.
Don't know for sure but this sounded good to me at the time...
"you can't burn up an alternator using it's own power since it's the one
making the power and the hotter it gets the less power it makes" -old guy
"if it 'burns up' then something was wrong with it to start with, not from
just using it" -same old guy
Remember the "automotive electrical" shops?
He had one of them.
My original alternator is in my 34 year old Ford pickup. :)
I used it for hours to charge my ex-GF's Freightliner batteries
(not very charged BTW!:) but just enough for the sucker to start.
She'd come home and leave stuff on. :(
"are you sure everything is off this time?"
"yes! :/ (and don't rag-at-me about it!)"
A couple days later, guess what? ;)
Used various company truck alternators to charge RR signal batteries too.
Most of them were not lead-acid batteries, mostly nickel/cadmium and
nickel/iron and were usually 11.2 volts instead of 12 volts, but some of
them were 8.4 volts and charged-up "good enough" even faster. ;)
So I don't buy the "ruining the alternator part" but yeah, use a battery
charger if you got one. :)
Funny how fast that Freightliner would charge them dead batteries after
I got it running tho! :) Lead-acid batteries recharge -fast- compared to
nickel/iron and nickel/cadmium batteries. We had some power hungry
hydraulic gate mechanisms (GS gates) that would kill nickel/cadmium
batteries if used repeatedly over a short period of time. That's when we
installed a couple 6v truck batteries and their quick re-charge solved the
trouble but caused another, they ate up stuff inside of the case with the
high concentration of acidic fumes. :/
Alvin in AZ
ps- story time? ;)
I'd sit on my door step and watch the "North Line Local" switch cars in the
Bowie AZ yard back and forth over the crossing and if they did enough going
back and forth would leave the gates down. I'd see 'em not recovering and
go over and lift them up by hand. If they were done switching I was done.
If not, I'd have to clear the gates for the traffic until they were done switching.
Minimum charge for something like that was a half days pay. ;)
I was 21 years old and was fixin to buy a new Ford F150 cash.
Then along came the truck batteries. LOL :)
But if you have no other choice, then what? ;)
I've used various alternators about 20 times to semi-charge-up dead
batteries and never have had any trouble with -any- alternators other
than with their 6203 front-end bearings.
I respectfully disagree with you Alvin, alternators are for keeping
a fully charged battery up and for running accessories that's it.
When you charge a dead battery with an alternator you are taking
it out of it's duty cycle and causing the alternator electrical components
to draw higher than normal amps(current) for longer than normal
durations there by casing heat and potential dame to the alternator.
This is the best way to destroy an alternator,...
a fully charged battery up and for running accessories that's it.
When you charge a dead battery with an alternator you are taking
it out of it's duty cycle and causing the alternator electrical components
to draw higher than normal amps(current) for longer than normal
durations there by casing heat and potential dame to the alternator.
This is the best way to destroy an alternator,...
"you can't burn up an alternator using it's own power since it's the one
making the power and the hotter it gets the less power it makes" -old guy
"if it 'burns up' then something was wrong with it to start with, not from
just using it" -same old guy
Remember the "automotive electrical" shops?
He had one of them.
My original alternator is in my 34 year old Ford pickup. :)
I used it for hours to charge my ex-GF's Freightliner batteries
(not very charged BTW!:) but just enough for the sucker to start.
She'd come home and leave stuff on. :(
"are you sure everything is off this time?"
"yes! :/ (and don't rag-at-me about it!)"
A couple days later, guess what? ;)
Used various company truck alternators to charge RR signal batteries too.
Most of them were not lead-acid batteries, mostly nickel/cadmium and
nickel/iron and were usually 11.2 volts instead of 12 volts, but some of
them were 8.4 volts and charged-up "good enough" even faster. ;)
So I don't buy the "ruining the alternator part" but yeah, use a battery
charger if you got one. :)
Funny how fast that Freightliner would charge them dead batteries after
I got it running tho! :) Lead-acid batteries recharge -fast- compared to
nickel/iron and nickel/cadmium batteries. We had some power hungry
hydraulic gate mechanisms (GS gates) that would kill nickel/cadmium
batteries if used repeatedly over a short period of time. That's when we
installed a couple 6v truck batteries and their quick re-charge solved the
trouble but caused another, they ate up stuff inside of the case with the
high concentration of acidic fumes. :/
Alvin in AZ
ps- story time? ;)
I'd sit on my door step and watch the "North Line Local" switch cars in the
Bowie AZ yard back and forth over the crossing and if they did enough going
back and forth would leave the gates down. I'd see 'em not recovering and
go over and lift them up by hand. If they were done switching I was done.
If not, I'd have to clear the gates for the traffic until they were done switching.
Minimum charge for something like that was a half days pay. ;)
I was 21 years old and was fixin to buy a new Ford F150 cash.
Then along came the truck batteries. LOL :)
Thread Starter
|
Junior User
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 90
Likes: 0
From: billings, mt
Well finnally some good news I borrowed my uncles battery charger and charged the battery, threw it in the truck, turned the key and saw sparks. this showed me where I had forgot to tighten the cable to the starter. I tightend her up and it started right up. thanks for your guy's help. it saved me from dumping money i dont have into something thats not broke.
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,205
Likes: 0
From: Ontario
It is amazing...........
Well finnally some good news I borrowed my uncles battery charger and charged the battery, threw it in the truck, turned the key and saw sparks. this showed me where I had forgot to tighten the cable to the starter. I tightend her up and it started right up. thanks for your guy's help. it saved me from dumping money i dont have into something thats not broke.
Good for you, and my guess is whatever problem pops up on your truck next time you will fix it with a lot less stress and money spent.
Rick.
