Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

I have one of those "smart" battery chargers that is rated for 6v. Since the Packard is positive ground, I hooked the positive cable from the charger to the ground post and the negative cable from the charger to the positive post. Nothing happens. I reversed the cables, and nothing happens. Am I missing something?

Your charger should be positive lead to positive battery terminal and negative to negative on the battery posts irregardless of which one is grounded. If you do use a chassis ground connection on the car and IF the battery is still positive ground then the positive charger lead would go to the chassis and negative charger lead to the battery post with the cable going to the starter motor solenoid. Also, if you are connecting to the chassis make sure there is not a battery disconnect switch somewhere in the ground side.

If it is an ordinary charger with sufficient output then there should be nothing else needed assuming the charger is working and an output fuse has not blown or some current limiting circuitry has not shut it down. If you are using one of the combo charger/tender types having only a one or two amp output then the internal resistance in a regular 6v battery may be so high the charger cannot do much.

In addition to what Howard said, always disconnect the battery when charging. Also, solid state chargers cannot charge a completely dead battery.

Yes if it's the same kind of charger as mine, it is trying to determine the voltage and polarity, because it has an error function to keep bad things from happening if you connect it backwards or to a direct short. So if the battery is completely dead it won't be able to do anything.

Check the voltage on the battery , if its way way below 5.5 volts or even below 5 bolts. its probably a toast battery and it wont take a charge from a normal battery charger. it will need a special high voltage reconditioning charger hooked to it and probably need a water change.

General rule of thumb is a battery lasts about 3 years before its in the "red zone" after 3 years its a crap shoot how long the battery will last. it depends on how well its charged and how hot it gets cooked on a daily basis.

usually if a battery sits dead or nearly dead for a month or a few weeks. its gonna be damaged and not take a proper charge anymore. Even if it does charge it will not have much capacity in it.