2wheelin

Hi all, been a while,
My 1979 sat a couple of weeks during the East Coast heat on the trickle charger. Tried to restart this past Friday (beautiful weather!). I cranked for about 7-8 seconds, then did it again. During the second crank I could tell the battery was going low. It is three years old, time for a new one.

Bring home the new battery, checks its voltage (13.7) volts, put it in the car.

Exact same scenario: crank for 7-8 seconds, did not fire. Crank again for 7-8 seconds, and the battery power is DROPPING!

Any educated guesses out there? Bad starter? It is cranking, but not starting, and the battery power is noticeably lower during the second crank.

In the past there have been times when I needed 4 or 5 cranks of 7-8 seconds, with NO battery lose.

Thanks for any help you guys can offer!

TOM

lvmyvt76

check all connections for corrision, then check starter. Sounds like the starter from what you said

my 76 ray

Check the connections at the battery, the starter and the grounds (including the ground from the engine block to the motor mount on the frame first because it's free. If that doesn't help then pull the starter and take it to a parts store where they can test it. Also don't rule out the possibility that the new battery could be defective. Yeah, I learned that from experience. I bought a battery, it didn't help ... bought a starter and it didn't help either so I replaced the cables still didn't help so I took the battery back to be tested and it was bad.

Good luck

68L79

What is the CCA rating....with my 11:15 to 1 comp, I need at least 750 just to turn it over fast enough to start.

Clean the battery connections with a wire brush battery cleaner...and on the starter also as stated above I believe.

I never slow trickle the battery....if it has sit that long, I put a slow charge on the battery the day before I will be using it, usually once a year....and I disconnect the battery all the time after driving it. I have been using a shelf battery for over 3 years without charging it working on my 49 fleetline and checking various systems...once the car starts, it re-charges the battery if needed. In my opinion, trickle chargers are for a CEO to get rich on....not needed....if your battery is that bad and has to have a trickle charger all the time, you bought the wrong battery.

If the car does not start easy, that is a problem, not the battery's complete fault....you might check your fuel pump and the electrical system and see if the plugs are getting fire.

Take the air cleaner off, hold open the primary butterfly, and work the accelerator rod and see if gas is being fed to the engine, or pour a little gas into the carb and try starting it....if you get a short run, the electrical is okay, start checking the gas side.

My pump in the carb was so swollen from the dam ethanol, that it would not pump....yep....that makes it hard to start.