Draining Battery

[pete240]

I put a new battery in my 1210 to replace the old one that quit putting out enough juice to crank the engine enough to get it started. The new battery worked great for about a week, now i need to throw the charger on it for a little bit to help it get started. My multimeter always shows a voltage above 12 volts but it doesn't seem to have enough umph. The battery is something like a 230 amp. Am i hurting anything but throwing the charger on it before i start it for a bit?

[R Bedell]

The 1210 has a Solid State Charging System to it. From what you said, 12.0VDC is NOT enough to charge the battery. Click in this link to check the Charging System.... Charge.
Bear in mind, that the V/R has to be grounded. The case of the V/R has to have zero ohms resistance to the battery negative ( - ) terminal for proper operation

[ol'George]

To add to that,
A fully charged battery should read 12.62 volts, after sitting 24 hours of non use.
@ 12.0 Volts, you are not fully charged.
When charging small batteries like Garden tractors/motorcycles/ Atv.s etc.it is best to use no larger than a 1 amp battery charger.
More batteries are ruined by overcharging than not.

[_DX3_]

I use trickle chargers on all my batteries. Leave them plugged up till your ready for use then plug back up when done.

[william1041200]

I just learned a ton from this post! I had never heard anything like the information in this post. Thank you all for these battery tips.

[ol'George]

Go here and read,read ,read!!
It is geared to RV folks, but so much applies to batteries and just general knowlege, and knowlege is power!
http://www.phrannie.org/battery.html

[Oak]

I do the same with trickle chargers. Sometimes Sears will put theirs on sale for $23.00. I always have my two plugged in and charging something. They come with 3 different ways to hook them up. A plug that goes in the cigarette lighter, a permanent type plug that you can hide and battery charger type clamps. They work great and do 6 and 12 volt batteries.


http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...=1295397030542

[william1041200]

half way through that rv power article. Love being able to say I knew so much less than I ever expected. I always thought Lead-acid batteries were just basic tough. not the case. And whats with charging a 6 volt battery at 16.5v? Wonder whats in store when autos switch to 24(+) volts?

[pete240]

I checked the charging system using the "operational test" that Roland linked to, and it was showing a max of 13.8v at WOT. I let the battery sit for a couple days and it reads 12.6v, so I'm think I should go through and clean all the contacts? Could the cold weather really just be the culprit? The high temps are pretty much below freezing most days. If i switch to 10w30, will i really notice a difference in ease of starting?

[Matt G.]

You should be using 10W-30 this time of year anyway. You are not doing the engine any favors by using 30W oil below 30 degrees F. It will help with the starting and is better for the engine, too.