Draining one battery more than another...

[Flea]

My deuce seems to like the rear battery more than the front...

I replaced the 6TL's with some off-the-shelf Everstarts. Not going to be fording, so I'm not too worried about their performance. They crank the truck just fine.

However, my Generator is out (I think), and the truck REALLY draws down one battery more than the other. I'm thinking it may have something to do with the bridge cable that ties the batteries together. It does get warm to the touch after cranking, and it's not very bendable any more.

After driving and hooking up to charge, one battery usually reads about 10.5 volts, while the other is still reading 12.8. In this state, the truck won't crank on the first push of the starter, but after pushing two or three times, it usually fires up.

Any thoughts?

 

[cranetruck]

Check the individual cells of the "bad" battery.
Recharge both batteries individually with a 12-volt charger.
When used in series (like on the deuce), it's important that both batteries are as identical as possible in performance and condition.
If any connection gets hot, you need to clean the terminals or else risk a melted one. With one bad battery and a bad connection, the result could produce a serious voltage spike (load dump) and ruin your regulator.

 

[acetomatoco]

Get a good voltmeter on there... check the battery to frame ground, too... one of your Everstarts may be a never start right out of the box... with it running check the voltage, should be about 28 with low batteries and each batt should be equal....at 14 or so...

 

[jimk]

diconnect and charge. 10.5 means a bad cell

 

[Jake0147]

The way they're wired, you can't blame any difference in the batteries on the truck, UNLESS you have twelve volt loads attached to just one battery. The "jumper" between the two batteries should not be hot to the touch. That's straight forward to find. Look for good CLEAN corrosion free fresh metal connections (emery cloth works nice usually), and if that's good, suspect resistance between the wire it's self and the terminal ends or degraded wire under the insulation. In a nutshell, resistance (of which you should have none) causes heat. If there is no resistance to electrical flow, there will be no more heat. That's a side issue to your original complaint however, the fact that just one battery is down is a different issue. While not completely necessary, for simplicity's sake, disconnect both batteries and charge them individually. While they're charged, test them if you have that ability, or carry them to a shop that can test them. I'd bet that you have a defect in one of the batteries. Ten and a half volts fully charged is about five sixths of what a a full charge should be, jimk has more than likely nailed the issue already.

 

[Flea]

Ok...

I've isolated the batteries for charging each time I have to charge them. Each time, the single battery continues to drain more than the other.

The jumper wire needs replaced, regardless. Jake, as you pointed out, there should be no resistance to current flow, so there is a problem there.

I will continue to check the wires on the truck for heat/degradation, and clean up the terminals and connectors, replacing as necessary. If I can pinpoint the generator as definitively dead, then I can go about to test other wires/grounds with that in mind.

I think it's long past time to invest in a multimeter.

Thanks, guys

 

[Rattlehead]

It almost sounds like one battery is shorted internally and is draining the other battery? Maybe that is why the cable is getting hot, a heavy drain in amperage on the other battery.

 

[Flea]

Got the dying battery problem solved.

When I would pull the tray to charge the batteries, the bad one would always be covered in water. I had figured it was just water dripping from somewhere in the truck; out of curiosity, I wiped the water off and tried to start the truck. The battery started springing water.

Looks like I'm going to get a free replacement.

I filled the old 6TLs with tap water to see if they can get me through the weekend. Should do the trick, considering I'm replacing them anyways.

 

[amanco]

The battery started springing water.

Uh.. Er.. How about Hydrochloric Acid. You may want to neutralize with baking soda or some thing before you have a new trap door down to the ground.

 

[Flea]

Definitely a bad battery. Got a new one from Wal-Mart and all issues solved. Cleaned up the cables and re-soldered the connections, made all the difference in the world. I don't think I've heard the in-tank pump as high-pitched as it is now!

 

[acetomatoco]

so, as predicted the EverStart was a NeverStart.....

 

[DaveP]

so, as predicted the EverStart was a NeverStart.....

ace, i have the opportunity to view the back room at several wally worlds. i would say your prediction of never start happens quite often.