Charging questions???

[kaptnkaos]

Hey Guys...

I took the '68 CS and camper out this weekend and it worked perfect... not a kink anywhere.
I was coming home late so I had to use the headlights.
I was going to drive it this am and it would not start... All I got was the tommy gun click.
I checked the voltage with a meter it 11.7v.
Here's where it get's wierd I was going to jump it with the aux battery... which I have done a few times in the past... click click click nothin'
I messed with the connections and all that but still couldn't get it start.
I checked the voltage in the aux bat... it was also 11.7.
Everything in the charging system is new... alt, reg, cables, cable ends, bat isolater, batteries and all the wiring going to the camper.
(which worked great all weekend.. I was able to watch movies on my lap top just fine).
SInce the voltages in the batteries were the same, I'm thinkin' either regulator or alternator... what do ya'all think???
Where should I start lookin'?

Edit: This has happened 3x time now, which is why everything is new...
It always seems to happen the morning after I have come home late and had to use my head lights.
I have one of the Paul's (390nut) headlight harness'.
Could it be that the head lights are drawing more power than the alt is putting out?

Thanks again,
KaptnKA S

[Thunderfoot]

PM replied/sent.
Been lots of BAD new electrical parts so I would use your volt meter and check the output of the alternator. A good battery (with full charge) will last quite a while on these old trucks with the alternator not charging unless you run the fan or headlights then it will drain it down a little quicker, but just running the motor and normal radio it will go a long time.

[fordman]

did you lightly tap the solinoid? or tap on the starter.

[kaptnkaos]

Hey Fordman..

No, I didn't... but maybe I should.

After fully charging the main battery this evening, I have 12.3v.
That is what I had on both batteries before I left .
It was getting late, so I didn't get to output test the alt this evening.
Hopefully, I'll be able to get to it tomorrow or the next day.

KaptnKA S

[fordwannabe]

Hey, I have an idea I might get flamed for but here goes, in my off-road mainly truck I built a heavy cable from one battery to the other with a continous duty solenoid wired in between with an illuminated switch on the dash. One battery is for the winch and off road lights the other battery is for the engine and normal truck functions. If one battery(both were isolated from each other) was down on voltage a flip of the swich tied them together just long enought to start the engine, pull with the winch, whatever the task. It works very well for me but I don't know the long term effects on the starter and such. I think its your starter solenoid though. Tom
PS it has saved my butt more than once.

[QC]

Kapt'n
A 12v battery at 12.3v is only about 50% charged. A fully charged 12v battery should be 12.6v or more.Your battery charger should take them up to almost 14v before it shuts off.(if it's automatic) You might not think .3v is a big difference, but it is. If you have any corrosion on your cables a 12.3v battery probably won't start your truck. If you start out at 12.3 your alternator will be trying to catch up the whole trip. Also, fully charge BOTH batteries, don't use your alternator as a battery charger. Alternators are designed to maintain batteries, charging dead batteries will significantly shorten their life.
Don't let your batteries sit discharged. When lead acid batteries get down to 12.4 volts the plates begin to sulfate, which is irreversable damage.

[kaptnkaos]

Hey QC...

I'm not trying to charge the batteries with the alternator.
The truck is set up with a battery isolator, so it should switch between batteries to keep them fully charged.
It should not be charging two batteries at any time.
The aux battery runs everything in the camper, when I'm driving to or from a camping trip the 3 way fridge is on 12v until I get to the camping area, and is the first thing fired up on propane when I reach camp. It is also the last thing to be switched over to 12v when leaving for home... as soon as I get home, it is switched to 110v and plugged in.
I never have any problem driving to the camp ground during the day.
It only seems to happen when driving home at night with the headlights on... that is the only variable that I can think of.
I don't use the headlights on the way there and do on the way home.
When charging with the 110v charger, I get nearly 15v when it is on, so I know it's working right.
I'm going to check the alternator /regulator output this weekend and see if I can figure out what's it's doing.

Thank you for your input..

KaptnKA S

[Merlin68F100]

Hey Kaptnkaos,

My 68 died this morning. I have been getting some weak signals\volts the last two days and finally this morning she told me to take the Cougar to work. I pulled the alt tonight and my history tells me to change the voltage regulator when you change the alternator.....well I don't see the familiar little black box on the fender well next to the starter solenoid, just some little silver box with a factory looking 3 wire pigtail.
Does your 68 have the black box with 4 stake-on connectors?

[kaptnkaos]

Hey Merlin68F100

The little silver box with the three wires is the horn relay...
The regulator should be mounted on the in side of the radiator support on the passenger side.
I just replaced mine in Nov when I replaced the alternator...
The base is black and the box part is Ford blue... pretty cool, that's the way it came.
If someone has replaced the alternator with a one wire kind, it has an internal regulator so the won't be an external one.

KaptnKA S

[kaptnkaos]

Hey Guys

The last couple of days, I've been putting a full charge on the primary and auxillary battery (deep cycle) on the the '68 CS.
I talked to the service guy at Shucks, where I bought the alternator and regulator last Nov.
Even though it was installed last Nov,.. it's seen less than 400 miles on it.... I think probably around 300 is more like it.
The service guy said to charge up the batteries and bring it in... they'll run a complete diagnostic on both battery circuits with and without a load. Then, I'll know exactly what's goin' on with it.

KaptnKA S