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Hello, I just recently acquired a 50 Packard coupe. Its fun to drive but the battery doesn't seem to hold a charge. I'm thinking its the battery (6V) because after testing the generator is putting out plenty of charge. However if she sits a few days without a trickle charger on it the battery won't be powerful enough to turn the engine over.

Last week I took the car last week for a drive. It sat and idled as I showed it to a friend for a good 20 minutes. The sun went down as we were talking so I flipped the lights on and it stalled out as I drove off and required a boost to start. On the way home she drove just fine.

I am new to the generator aspect and 6 volt battery but I would think a fully functioning 6V shouldn't go that weak that quickly should it?

A battery in good condition should have survived that situation but probably not with a lot of margin, its a condition that puts a lot of stress on the battery. Had you looked at your ammeter while idling with the lights on you would have seen that the battery was under constant heavy discharge - generators put out little or no current at idle.

That said, it would seem your battery was already on life support if it needed constant charging every few days.

SuperDeluxe8, welcome to PackardInfo.com.

Quote:

There are two potential sources for your trouble:

1) a current leak (a so-called creeping current) or
2) a faulty battery

It is easy to exclude a defective or decrepit battery (#2). Remove her, then charge and check again after a few days.

G'day SuperDeluxe8,
Like to add my too, to PackardInfo.

And like to invite you to include your '50 Packard in the Packard Owner's Registry.

Easy enough to check-when you shut it down disconnect the battery-next time you drive it-if starts ok you probably have a short somewhere that is draining the battery. Also when running check the battery voltage at the battery should read 6.5 or more if generator/voltage relay is working.

Another easy test using the instrumentation already in the car. With the engine idling, turn on the headlights, heater, or radio and observe the ammeter -it should show negative or discharge. Now step on the gas to at least a very fast idle engine speed - if the ammeter now turns to positive your charging system is functioning.