Hi all, My '50 3100 has a '53 engine in it. I bought a brand new 6v battery for it, but it never holds a charge. Is that due to the battery being bad, or a bad generator? I am stuck here. Thanks.
Re: Take the battery to your local auto parts store and have it tested. They will most likely do it for free. If its ok, then you have a generator or voltage regulator issue.
Basic Battery Testing Disconnect the GROUND cable & charge the battery at the charger's lowest setting . I assume you've looked under the battery caps to be sure it's properly filled with distilled water ? . the plates must be covered . After it's been charged for 12 hours ,remove the charger and leave it sit , ground cable still disconnected ~ then see if it'll start the engine ~ if it does the battery is O.K. ~ if not , it is incapable of holding a charge . Few Partshaus' these days know how to properly test , you can do a better job . Report back and we'll go from there .
If the battery holds a charge when a cable is disconnected then put a volt meter between the battery post and battery cable when the cable is off. If the meter shows any reading at all something is on or you have a drain. There are very few fuses if the truck is still factory stock but 90% of the time the drain will be in the charging system so disconnect the generator and regulator and see if the meter drops to zero. If not, proceed to each of the other systems till the reading drops and then trace the problem down. If the problem is in the charging system you might consider going to a 6v alternator mainly because parts for the gen/reg system are getting pricey and the alt has a higher charge rate at lower engine speed. I have a brand new 6v GM alt but it's for positive ground--take note GMC guys cause it's priced cheap, providing I can find it.
6 Volt Alternator Evan ; You stored it right beside the N.O.S. Truckstell Torque Tube over drive unit , remember ? .
What Evan says..... Draws can be any where and they can drive you crazy. Not many people know how to check for a draw, good advise Even..... Big Tim
