Re: Battery change

Posted by Ken Sadler On 2017/3/20 2:33:02

I don't have the luxury of a test meter that could measure the cranking current.

The problem manifested itself in the solenoid "chattering" which indicated that, when starting, the voltage dropped so much that the solenoid switched off, then on again around 10 times a second.

Because the solenoid is an addition (the original wiring was straight through the foot-operated switch) I changed the solenoid for a spare one.

Then I changed the main cable to the starter as the previous owner had lashed up two smaller cables in parallel.

I was fooled because the charger indicated good charging current and 6.4v full charge. After a while I noticed that the pump and lights wouldn't work either. I suspected my own wiring work but only realised that the battery had died in front of my eyes when I took the starter out to bench test it (resistance measures as per the spec). Shorting the battery terminals produced absolutely nothing.

I'd not suspected the battery but, time flies as we know, and I realised that its 5 years old.

The charging is ok because I'd previously converted the dynamo to 2 brush and installed a hidden electronic regulator. This was mainly because when I first bought the car, the charging relay was missing.