Deuce battery question

[GIRobert]

Hi guys - new deuce owner and new to this great site. With the cold weather the truck won't start and batteries don't seem to charge properly. It appears the way they are wired, it is a 24V system. Is this true or is is still a 12V system?

Thanks for your feedback!

GIRobert

 

[glcaines]

Deuces are all 28 volt systems. You have two 12 volt batteries hooked up in series. How are you trying to charge the batteries? Do you have a 24 volt charger? If so, you charge the batteries at the same time in series. If you have a 12 volt charger you will need to charge each battery separately. Once the engine starts make sure the alternator is charging. Have you checked the electrolyte level in the batteries, (assuming of course that the batteries aren't maintenance free)?

 

[Warthog]

Welcome GIRobert.

The majority of the Military vehicles are 24v. That is a NATO requirement. The batteries in the trucks are usually neglected and sometimes require replacement every few years.

There are literally hundreds of threads that talk about what batteries to use.

Have you downloaded the free Technical Manuals for your truck? The Operators Manual is a great starting place as it covers the basics of operation. What all the switches do. How to turn stuff on. How to safely operate the vehicle, etc.

Also you do need to add your State of Residence to your user profile. It is a site requirement. The US is not a state.

 

[GIRobert]

Great - thank you very much. Will check levels and charge separately and see what happens -

 

[GIRobert]

Thanks Warthog - I separated the batteries and charging them separately. Seems to be working - up to 11.7V now. Electrolyte is good. There's no punches for date on the batteries so they may be old and needing replacement. Will change my profile. Thanks!

 

[glcaines]

Thanks Warthog - I separated the batteries and charging them separately. Seems to be working - up to 11.7V now. Electrolyte is good. There's no punches for date on the batteries so they may be old and needing replacement. Will change my profile. Thanks!

You actually didn't need to separate the batteries to charge them separately.

 

[Another Ahab]

Welcome GIRobert.

The majority of the Military vehicles are 24v. That is a NATO requirement. The batteries in the trucks are usually neglected and sometimes require replacement every few years.

There are literally hundreds of threads that talk about what batteries to use.

Have you downloaded the free Technical Manuals for your truck? The Operators Manual is a great starting place as it covers the basics of operation. What all the switches do. How to turn stuff on. How to safely operate the vehicle, etc.

Also you do need to add your State of Residence to your user profile. It is a site requirement. The US is not a state.

Hey GIRobert, and welcome to you from up here in the Old Dominion State of Virginia.

Everything that Warthog told you: and you'll likely get a lot of good advice here also, but don't forget to give all that a try too (there's a lot there).

 

[Cruceno]

Ideally, your battery should read and hold about 12.7 volts when fully charged, and at 100% capacity. If it's anything less than that, your battery capacity will suffer. This chart should help you..

State of Charge	Specific Gravity	Voltage
		12V	6V
100%	1.265	12.7	6.3
75%	1.225	12.4	6.2
50%	1.190	12.2	6.1
25%	1.155	12.0	6.0
Discharged	1.120	11.9	6.0

 

[wilfreeman]

You don't have to seperate the batteries to charge them with a 12v charger? Man, I'm still learning new stuff on here daily! Do you have to unhook the positive and ground wires from the truck?

 

[Cruceno]

As long as the truck is OFF you don't need to. Each charger connected to each battery is creating its own circuit, and no juice is flowing to other components. But if it'll make you more comfortable, just disconnect the negative terminal.

And a word of caution: Watch where you're wrenching around 24v! It makes quite a spectacular light show if you touch anything positive to the negatively grounded frame. Don't ask me how I know, or why I have sockets with weld marks in them!

 

[wilfreeman]

yeah, and a wrench touching a ring and then touching a starter +
post makes a nice spark and burn too!

So, let me get this straight before I try it. I can leave the batteries fully connected, as long as the switch is off. I connect the charger to the + and - of the first battery and charge it. Then disconnect and hook up the second battery the same way and charge it?, no need to disconnect the short connecting cable at all? It just seems like it would screw something up. Can you hook up a seperate charger to each battery and charge them at the same time while they are connected to the truck?

 

[Cruceno]

Correct. I've put both batteries on chargers at the same time before while completely hooked up to the truck. That shouldn't be an issue. Again, if you're uncomfortable with the setup, you can always disconnect the short cable between the two batteries and/or the negative cable. Either way, you will be able to charge your batteries without hosing anything up.

 

[wilfreeman]

Cool! Thats far easier. Thanks for the tip!

 

[VPed]

Disinfect???

 

[wilfreeman]

Ha, ha, ha - **** phone auto complete! I fixed it. I don't know though, I might need to disinfect it - it looks kinda crummy!

 

[Hainebd]

Words of caution. Always were PPE around batteries. Always connect 12 volt charger to one battery plus+ to plus+ and negative- to negative- be sure to find the + - on each battery before connecting. Keep charger off/unplugged from house electric during connection and disconnection to battery terminals. Be prepared for an explosion with 2 person to call 911 and water to wash acid from your body. Battery is nothing to mess with. Many have exploded. The never dead ones are the worst since they put out so much hydrogen gas when discharging and charging so no sparks. Also. Rarely but has happened. Death from electrocution.

 

[DeucesWild11]

I was using my 2 BatteryMinders (12V) connecting each battery separately and disconnecting the short cable between the two just to be safe, but reading on here it appears that you can keep it connected.. If that's the case I was planning on connecting some quick disconnect pigtails to each battery and that way I can just easily connect/disconnect each charger. If I don't have to disconnect the short cable between the two batteries that would make it a bit easier..

For anyone who hasn't used BatteryMinders they are great as they send a pulse through the line to Desulfate the battery allowing it to last longer and also Renew old batteries.. And they are fairly cheap, picked up 3 on Northern Tool for about $24 each.. but that deal's over now..

Thanks!

 

[Hainebd]

You should contact BatteryMinder. There maybe a common connection to either groung or nutral and negative battery connection

 

[steelandcanvas]

I have had great success with "Battery Minder" products. Northern Tool runs them as sale items every few months.

 

[DeucesWild11]

I just got off the phone with Tech Support, he said no problem keeping them hooked up together, however they would get more individual attention if hooked up separately. For example if you had batteries of two different ages. Either way it's OK. Mine are the same age/make so I think I'll keep them hooked up together and just have the quick disconnect pigtails set up for easy access.