OHSIXX

I have the blade type cut-off switch.

If I raise the blade and cut-off the battery it still goes dead in a couple of days. I have sort of solved this problem by using a battery tender.

What I do not understand is why it goes dead so quick when the blade is raised; turning off the battery?

BTW, gotta love my new grills!

bobs77vet

sounds like you have a dead cell....can you take specfic gravity measurements from the cells with a battery tester? my guess is you need to replace your battery....and check the charging voltage if you are gonna tell me its a new battery....perhaps you cooked the battery by overcharging it.

greyghost79

i have the blade type cutoff and it works great for me. sounds like your battery may be toast....... OR you've got an overcharging problem when engine running.

68/70Vette

If it's a good battery it shouldn't go bad in a couple of days. However, if you do discover the battery as being "dead" or "flat," you probably need to start thinking about replacing it. An automobile lead acid battery, as I understand it, will loose about 30% of it's capacity the first time it' s every allowed to become dead (flat). If your battery has cycled to the dead stage a few times, it's a goner. I've read about the chemistry that describes why this is so; i.e. something about insoluable cryrtals salts developing on the plates. I just forget the proper description of the chemistry involved. I would imagine that trying ask.com with the question about lead acid batteries will provide the correct technical answer.

Get a new battery, and yes do try to get one of those battery keep- alive trickle chargers. On open circuited battery will have some internal loss and you need a small about of trickle charge to keep it fully charged.

As a comparison, nickel-cadmium batteries thrive on a good complete discharge. When you recharge them, it really improves their capacity. Unfortunately not so with lead acid. I have a lot of experience discharging and recharging 55 amp-hour 32 volt nicad batteries just for the purpose of re-establishing their capacity. (55 amp-hour 32 volt nicads are really big batteries) I also have some experience that tells me that once a lead acid battery has been allowed to become completely dead, it's not the same (read this to mean a C3 storage compartment light that wouldn't turn off!!!-argg).

And finally, the lead acid batteries sold for boats auxiliary power (not for starting the engine) also have different characteristics than car batteries. But I think they also will severly degrade with a complete discharge.

soggybottomboy

I bought a cut-off for just this reason. I charged the battery very good, never started the car or connected the battery. 2 days later, dead. The battery was months old but I took it back and tester said it was no-good. Installed the free replacement and I have since removed the cut-off because I don't need it.

DMONSVETTE

Pretty sure you have a dead cell or two.

MN-Brent

Good time to buy an Optima red top

Brent...

Larry B.

You have the CLASSIC symtoms of a bad battery...20 years ago thatis what most batteries did when the went bad, just wouldn't hold a charge.Today's batteries rarlely do that... they just die suddenly. I just went through this with an A/Z battery that was only a couple of months old. I had a tough time convincing the guys at A/Z that the battery was bad because when I took it in it was righ after I drove the van home so it was charged and their tester said it was good. If they would have tested it in the AM, it would have read bad. They finally replaced it and no more problems.

mrvette

OH6, call me, I can help you over the phone, assuming you have a DVM.....and yes, start with a NEW battery....after that, call me.....375-0151

GENE

mooneyd

Running a car battery down is a no-no, but the batteries made for RV's & boat, (not starting) are deep cycle batteries and are meant to be run down and then recharged on a regular basis, but won't handle the high amp loads needed for starting a car.

LFZ

OHSIXX

Will the Optima fit in the battery box on my 72? Does something come with it to cover the extra posts?


BTW, lots of good input to this thread. Gene: Thanks for your offer of assistance.

SmokedTires

Are you using the side mount battery with the blade type switch?

OHSIXX

I currently have an Interstate Batttery with the posts on top.

isosceles

optima red top has top and side connections. The top posts come with off peel-off caps. I don't know if the hold down for your year is the same as for 79, but if so, the optima will fit.

SmokedTires

That's what I figured thanks Someone had changed the ends for a side mount battery in my car before I bought it