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

Jim, your '51 and my '47 use a different battery. Mine is narrow and long and yours is more square shaped. Go to the Tractor Supply Co. website and do a search on 6-volt batteries. The search will show all their 6-volt batteries and give information on dimensions and capacities. If you find one that will work, call a store near you as not all stores stock all batteries.

(o{}o)

If you do wind up needing a battery, one thing I have become a firm believer in is a battery tender. I've had one for a long time but didn't reliably use it while the car sat for months. Probably why my last battery died prematurely earlier this year. Now I am trying to remember to keep the car plugged in. Seems to work as I went out this morning and after two months without starting, turned on the electric fuel pump for a few seconds, mashed the pedal a couple of times and the car fired right up. Good starter action and no sign of a low or distressed battery.

The one I have is by Schumacher, has a trickle output and turns itself on and off as needed to keep the battery topped off. I mounted mine permanently to the tray but like all my other "mods" is easily removed with a couple of screws.

Several brands are available for 6 or 12 volt batteries. Many come with the typical clips for the post for temp use or the terminals for permanent mount.

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Howard, the storage spaces where I keep the Packards do not have electrical outlets. I should just remove the batteries and bring it home so they can be charged from time to time.

I have a Sears 6-12 volt battery charger that has an automatic shut off feature and will charge 2 or 12 amps with a 75 amp setting for starting.

The 115C sits for long periods too, but its battery will hold a charge for months at a time. I turn the engine over, with the key turned off, for several short times until I see oil pressure on the gauge; then, turn on the key, pump the gas pedal a couple of times, and it starts right up.

I think the Clipper's battery has been going for some time. I will investigate more when I get it home.

Happy New Year. It is drizzly and foggy in Austin today.

(o{}o)

Happy New Year to you, JW, Jim L. and all!

It's sliding below zero here tonight, so starting the car is a moot point. Thanks for the tip on the coil setup for positive/negative ground. My '54 was changed to negative ground at some point, and I'm going to double-check the polarity of the coil connection, although like Jim's car, mine has been a good starter.

Hope you find the source of your noise, Jim. Don't rule out something simple like a loose generator bracket, a death rattling water pump, or some other external thing that might change its tune during warmup. Hope it's something simple to start your New Year right.

Talk to y'all next year.

Jim,
A volt meter for checking an auto battery is only part of the needed tools. The hydrometer and a load tester are the rest of the tools used to tell the complete story. A battery can have 7.6 volts but be unable to put out the needed amperage for starting the car. A volt meter might read ok across the battery but a cell could be too weak to add anything to the needed amperage. I'm across the river from you and have a load tester if you need to use it.

Steve.........

Happy New Year to you, 55PackardGuy, Howard, JW, Pat, ALM, PackardGuy53, Packard1949 and all.

Now for our next electrifying (or not) chapter;

It's 39 degrees and 48 hours since I took the charger off the battery. At 11pm last night it read 6.24v and did so at 3:20pm today after a 26 degree night. Hooked up my remote starter switch, attached the multimeter to the appro posts and pushed the button. Voltage immediately dropped to waver between 4.34-4.5v. Released the starter button and the battery took 1 minute 14 seconds to return to 6.14v. Waited 15 minutes, saw the meter now read 6,09v and hit the button. Voltage dropped to waver between 3.93 and 4.07.

Does anyone here besides me think I've got a battery that's too tired to play anymore?

JW, I looked up TSC and found a 6 volt that will definitely fit in the battery tray with room to spare. It is their Exide COM-1-HC with 750 CCA. The next one up is the Exide T-4 which with a length of 13" it too long for the tray but makes up for it 975 CCA. The COM-1 is $70 and the T-4 is $90.

NAPA has a BCI-1 which has almost the identical dimensions of the OEM battery. It has 640 CCA at 0 degrees - 800 at 32 degrees and is $103.29. It a little smaller than the OEM. One that is very close to OEM dimensions is their BCI-2 which is quite close dimension wise but at 610 & 765 respectively, is a little lower in the CCA department.

Howard that battery tender is an excellent idea. I've thought about it and was going to post a question about that in the near future but now I don't have to. Since I know you research products before you risk your Packards the brand you chose is way ahead of what would be in second place with me. Where did you find it? Also the picture of where you mounted yours is another question you've answered.

Thanks Steve for the offer. I'll certainly give you a shout should the need arise.

I do think your battery has decided to give it up. That low a voltage when cranking and the resulting even lower drop at the coil will never do.

Amazon has 6v units of different brands. The tender plus would be closest in spec to my Schumacher but the junior should do just as well to keep a good battery at the ready. The junior also looks like it would be easier to permanently mount. Also have a couple of combination 6/12 units & all seem to have pretty good ratings.

I bought my 12v Schumacher tender at one of the local stores several years ago. Amazon has the newer model at a better price -- similar specs but slightly different mount. I don't think Schumacher makes 6v units -- or at least I didn't find one readily.

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Thank you again Howard for the info on the battery tenders. I will definitely get one for each car. I wanted the "permanent" mount as raising these hoods, especially the 55, can be tricky for me.

55PackardGuy raises a point that is almost a definition of me: I always assume that the cause is the absolute worst that can happen. When I was working that kind of attitude paid me very well as it was called "Risk Management". When you are on your own, it's called paranoia - and usually winds up paying suppliers very well - at my expense. This group has saved me plenty.

As for a replacement battery, I'm tempted to go for the 975 CCA even though it's a little too big for the tray but we'll see.

My thanks again to everyone for guiding me through this and keeping me "grounded".

PS. I tried the '55 today and she started right up. Very gratifying!

It looks like it's going to be NAPA for the battery as Tractor Supply Co. doesn't have a store in the Pacific Northwest. The nearest one is in Redding, CA. There are a couple of other places around town that I'll check out.

just a note on battery tenders-make sure you check the water level frequently. The battery tenders have a tendency to cook the batterys