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Batteries charge unevenly 939a2

TexAndy

Active member
1,427
15
38
Location
Bee County, Texas
So I got my system charging, finally! Had to redneck engineer a Monster Mash Alternator with a (slightly modified to fit) Prestolite voltage regulator on a Sielman (Greece) alternator.


Seems like the front battery in each series charges at a lower voltage than the rear, tho. And I've noticed this problem on M35a2s before, too.


The series closest to the passenger door, the front batt measured 12.8V under charge and the rear 14.1.
The series closest to the center of the cab, the front batt measured 13.1V under charge and the rear 13.8

What's the deal?

Is there a way to wire it up with a device that can make them all charge evenly?

I don't really want to bump the voltage any higher as that first series already has the rear batt charging at 14.1V. But those front batts will never get truly fully charged at 13V or less.
 

74M35A2

Well-known member
4,145
330
83
Location
Livonia, MI
You may have one or several bad batteries. Load test them, and check specific gravity of each cell. A fully charged battery will register 12.8V after the surface charge is removed. This equates to a cell specific gravity of 1.26.

On a load test, the battery is put under a short yet heavy load, and the voltage drop is monitored.

Any system voltage over 12.8V will be charging the batteries, so it does not seem as if it is an alternator issue. Obviously check connections and such.
 
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