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5.7 just sitting is too low. It should be at least 6 since the battery is a nominal 6.3v. With the starter load it will fall well below 5 and be very hard to start if it will at all.

My first thought after going thru something similar is possibly the battery --even though just charged-- has had a cell start to go and just can't produce with any kind of load applied. Also very possible one of the cable terminals has corroded and developed a resistance. Possibly the points were closed when you measured. Even possible something in dist has shorted. Did you ever manage to get any kind of spark?

If you haven't cleaned the battery terminals that would be a good thing to do. After doing that, would take a few more measurements in the same place. It would be good to see how much the starter pulls voltage down but not absolutely necessary at this time.

First measurement I'd do is with the charger connected. It should be close to 7v. If good, remove charger and measure again to see how much it drops. If back to the 5.7 or so with either measurement, remove the wire from coil going to distributor to eliminate any chance of closed points or a problem pulling the voltage down and measure again. If now good then time to look at the distributor and see if the points were closed or there is a short. If low with no points in the picture then battery or a resistance somewhere in the circuit feeding the coil

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Something similar happened to me. Pulled the car out of the garage then jumped out to close the garage door. Burned out the starter trying to get going to a function....

In my case, the carburetor float had apparently caught a rogue wave, because it sank.

After the rebuild (of both starter and carb) it's a running bear, like new.......

Thank you Howard & Pat both. Howard, your observations on the battery remind me that it never has had much "staying power". If it doesn't start with the first couple of tries, it had better start on the third or your out of the game. The battery is one that came with the car when I bought it in the Autumn of 2010 - and it didn't look especially new then. And Pat, both the carb and the starter are no more than two years old: Both having been rebuilt by good reputable people. However; given Murphy's Law, I will check them out.

As for the battery charger. It shuts it's self off when the battery voltage reachs 6.8v. I disconnected it around midnight this morning and by noon today, using my volt meter, it registered 6.24v. I tried the starter solenoid post and the negative post on the battery (at some point the car was switched over to Negative Ground and I've been giving serious thought to switching it back) and got 6.24v so I think the cable and connections are OK but I will clean them all tomorrow. The rest of the electrical measurements you suggest, Howard, I'll do tomorrow as it is cold out tonight - and the lows during the day are probably not helping much either.

Thank you both Howard and Pat for your help in this.

OK, it's Sunday 1:10pm PST and here's the rundown so far. I didn't get to the car yesterday, too many other things came up like a dead battery in the '55. This morning at about 9:30 I put the charger on the 51's battery. No cables just posts - caps off. The reading on the charger was 6.24v. Decided to use the 2 amp setting rather than the automatic and let it cook. 11:45 am, battery charger says done with result being 6.8v. Got called away to help a neighbor at noon and got back at 12:30 hooked the charger back up to get a reading and it was 6.5v. All these readings are without any of the cables attached to the battery. Went back at 12:45 after finding my volt meter and got a reading of 6.35v. Went back in house to see what's new on the site then went back at at 12:50 and got a reading of 6.34v. Went back out at 1:10 and got a reading of 6.33v. I think I may have found my problem.

I tried to see when the battery was bought but no one punched out any numbers so I haven't a clue. Originally, the battery had 660cca so not the strongest in the world to begin with. By the time I got the car it needed to start on the first or second try as there was no third - and this was in the summer. Now its about 40 out and I guess I shouldn't be surprised at what's happened.

By the way, I checked the battery cables with an ohm meter and they are fine with 0 oms.

I looked for batterys last night on NAPA's web site and only found the 7212 but I'd like to get one with a little more cca. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Once again I'd like to that Howard and Pat for helping me out as I wouldn't have gotten this far without them.

If you have Tractor Supply stores out there-check them out-a large selection of 6v batteries including the 2E-long/thin used in 21/22/23 series Packards. If no TSC then check for places that sell farm equipment

950 CCA for the 7212 is the largest I see for Napa's offerings -- if it will fit in the tray or hold down. They have several others but are less capacity. A search for battery, sub select Napa batteries, and then 6 volt in the search within results box brings up an even dozen. I know others have had good luck at various tractor supply stores so definitely worth a look if you have any in town.

6.3 volts is what it should read after sitting and calming down after the charge. What will be interesting is what it reads tomorrow. Hook it up and measure, crank the engine and take another reading at the battery while it's cranking and then another after cranking. If it has fallen by tomorrow or can't hold around 5 1/2 volts while cranking and then come back close to the starting voltage it would be suspect.

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Thank you very much an excellent idea. I can't think of any off hand but I'll do a web search for this area this evening.

How did this hobby function before PCs?

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Thank you yet again, Howard.

I find that getting what one needs from the NAPA site is like trying to enter a bank vault: One won't get anywhere without the right combination. For the longest time their site kept telling me there weren't any 6 volt batteries. I came back here and did a forum search on batteries and came up with the 7212. Back to the NAPA site and entered 7212 and presto, up it came. So much for no 6 volt batteries!
I'll try your combination this evening and check them out.

I'm grateful to know that the battery is supposed to go to a lower number after charging. I was ready to throw it out today. Now, Doctor, I'll wait and check on the patient in the morning and see what reading I get. Then I'll break out my new Remote Starter Switch and test as per your posting.

A side issue: I'm pretty sure why the battery in the '55 went dead - I looked it up and I found that I bought it for my 1960 Imperial back in the spring of 2007! Five years and change isn't too bad for a group 27 that never saw normal service. Also I suspect my voltage regulator needs adjusting for winter. But that, as they say, is for another time and another place.

Thanks again to you, Howard, and Pat and Packard1949 for your help.

Jim, even though your battery cables check out with an Ohm meter, this does not say anything about their carrying capacity. You probably already have 'O' or 'OO' cables. If not a smaller gauge will not carry the amperage and cause starting problems.

Sounds like you have a battery that will not hold a charge. I had the same problem this weekend with the battery for the 47 Custom. At the suggestion of a poster here I found one at a nearby Tractor Supply store. The battery that went bad was a NAPA. It had only been in service 2 1/2 years. The Clipper sits for long periods, with the battery cable disconnected and sulfates. The TSC battery has more capacity and was $90. A replacement from NAPA was going to be about $135. I'll see how the Exide from TSC works.

I also bought a pair of ramps at TSC to place under the tires when a car is jacked up. I figure these are safer than jack stands. Will not necessarily drive up on them, but probably jack up the car and place them under the wheels. They are made of some non-metal material and look to be most substantial with a load rating of 3,000 each. They were about $45 for the pair. I will feel more safe working under a car with these in place rather than jack stands.

(o{}o)

A big YES to both your finds, JW. $90 beats $135 in my book any day.

Would you happen to know the dimensions of you new Exide or the Battery Number?

As for the cables. They're pretty thick, but I'm not 100% positive that they are big enough - especially the ground cable. I'll look at some new ones with a mind to the numbers you mention.