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battery charge 55 400
#1
Just popping in
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mcmichael
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i recently purchased a 55 400,it has a dead battery. my question is do i charge it positive to ground,or do i take it out and charge it positive to positive ? thanks im not very bright.............mcmichael

Posted on: 2011/12/6 12:41
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Re: battery charge 55 400
#2
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BigKev
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You charge it like you would and other battery negative to negative, positive to positive. Just in this case positive is the chassis (ground) and negative is the negative terminal on the battery.

Posted on: 2011/12/6 12:59
-BigKev


1954 Packard Clipper Deluxe Touring Sedan -> Registry | Project Blog

1937 Packard 115-C Convertible Coupe -> Registry | Project Blog
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Re: battery charge 55 400
#3
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BigKev
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Exactly. A battery is a battery. You can charge it in the car if you wish, just hook the positive lead of the charger to ground, and the negative lead to the negative on the battery.

Posted on: 2011/12/6 13:38
-BigKev


1954 Packard Clipper Deluxe Touring Sedan -> Registry | Project Blog

1937 Packard 115-C Convertible Coupe -> Registry | Project Blog
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Re: battery charge 55 400
#4
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Ozstatman
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G'day mcmichael,
Congratulations on your recent purchase, and for including your '55 Four Hundred Hardtop Coupe in the Packard Owner's Registry.

Posted on: 2011/12/6 14:13
Mal
/o[]o\
====

Bowral, Southern Highlands of NSW, Australia
"Out of chaos comes order" - Nietzsche.

1938 Eight Touring Sedan - SOLD

1941 One-Twenty Club Coupe - SOLD

1948 Super Eight Limo, chassis RHD - SOLD

1950 Eight Touring Sedan - SOLD

What's this?
Put your Packard in the Packard Vehicle Registry!
Here's how!
Any questions - PM or email me at ozstatman@gmail.com
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Re: battery charge 55 400
#5
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Jim L. in OR
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Quote:

mcmichael wrote:
i recently purchased a 55 400,it has a dead battery. my question is do i charge it positive to ground,or do i take it out and charge it positive to positive ? thanks im not very bright.............mcmichael


Don't feel that way. When I first got my Packards (a 1951 200 Deluxe and a '55 Patrician) I went through the same mind warp that you are experiencing. You aren't the first to get hung up on Positive Ground and you certainly won't be the last.

I discovered that both mine had been switched to Negative Ground. That can be tricky to discover with the idiot lights on the '51. But I found that when I hooked my '55 up Positive Ground, the Amps Gauge worked in reverse. I believe it was O_D or Howard who informed me that showed my car had been "converted" to Negative Ground.

Congrats on your choice of automobile.

Posted on: 2011/12/6 14:22
1951 200 Deluxe Touring Sedan
1951 200 Deluxe Touring Sedan (parts ?)
1951 Patrician Touring Sedan
1955 Patrician Touring Sedan
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Re: battery charge 55 400
#6
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Tim Wile
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Add my congrats to your recent acquisition. I may be prejudiced, but I think the 55-56 Packards were the best looking ones of the breed and clearly the best looking cars of the 1950s.

As I understand things, the positive ground is not such an issue unless you plan on installing modern or solid state electronics in your Packard. For the time being, I'm keeping my '55 Patrician as a positive ground vehicle.

Enjoy your '55!

Posted on: 2011/12/6 17:20
PA Patrician (Tim Wile)

[size=x-small][color=000099][font=Georgia][url=https://packardinfo.c
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Re: battery charge 55 400
#7
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Jim L. in OR
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You aren't prejudiced - You just have incredibly good taste!

Posted on: 2011/12/6 17:30
1951 200 Deluxe Touring Sedan
1951 200 Deluxe Touring Sedan (parts ?)
1951 Patrician Touring Sedan
1955 Patrician Touring Sedan
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