Hey all-

I have been starting my '78 a couple time a month (until I can afford tranny repair) to keep condensation out of my new exhaust and circulate some oil. Well, this last time I had to charge the battery, which was not so unusual. I put the charger on and let it go for a while. I went out and tried to start it forgetting the charger was still on, and something funky happened. Everything died. Now, when I attempt to hook up the battery charger, it will make a click and peg out at max and then go back to 0, over and over. It seems like there is some kind of short somewhere.

Is there a fusible link to look for on this year, or could it be something else?

FYI, the battery is less than a year old and of good quality, and it is an L-48. Thanks to all for your help. Also, tried another charger with the exact same result.

-corky

 

Hopefully more knowledgeable people chime in, but if it were me, I would first check the fuse block to see if anything there is blown, it's quick and easy to do. If nothing is blown, then take the battery to an automotive shop who will test it for free... Checker, Autozone, O'Reiley's and Walmart are ones I can think of off the top of my head. Sorry if I'm wrong or wasting your time, but that's what I would do first.

 

not sure about your specific problem but I would not be starting the car and not driving it.
you say you are starting it to keep condensation out of the exhaust but unless you start the car and let it run all the way up to full operating temp and drive it you are most likely not only defeating the purpose but actually contributing to to the exact problem you are trying to solve.
Starting the car will actually add condensationn into the exhaust system and it won't blow out/dry out unless the car is at least up to full operating temps for a at least a short amount of time and typically that going to include actually driving it to help get temps up and to help blow out any condensation out of there.
What you are doing is being more hurtful than helpful by actually adding condensation into the system and having it stay there rather than eliminating any that may have developed there on it's own.
Same on your battery charge - most alternators will not charge with the car simply at idle so all that's happening is that you are taking some charge away from the battery from the load placed on it by using the starter to start the motor but by letting the car sit there at idle the alternator is not replacing the charge in the battery.

I don't know how long your car has been sitting but mine typically sits all winter in the garage for winter storage, usually from the beginning of Nov until April or so (6 months). Two years ago it even sat a full 10 months unused while it was in the paintshop. during storage times the best thing you can do is NOT TOUCH IT. Simply put a Battery Tender on the battery to keep the charge up and let it sit.
Nothing bad will happen to the car during relatively short storage periods like 6 months or a year by having it sit.
If it sits for significantly longer than that and you are concerned about seals/gaskets drying out so you want to circulate the oil a bit than either turn the crank over manually with a big socket wrench on the crank bolt or remove the distributor and with something like a power drill you can turn the oil pump to circulate some oil - same way a lot of people will circulate oil manually to lubricate things before starting a brand new rebuilt more or one that has sat for a few years.

For a car sitting basically approx a year or less just let it be and touch don't it - you are doing more harm than good.

 

You fried your battery charger. Most small chargers are good for about ten amps. The starter can pull 50. And it doesn't care where it comes from. I did the same thing many years ago and had the same result.

 

 

Thanks to all for the input. As I said in the first post, I tried another battery charger with the same result. Both chargers are good, as they work on other cars...so I didn't toast them. And...for the record...I am not in the habit of turning it over while a charger is hooked up - that was an accident.

I will bring the battery to get tested and see what happens - that seems like a good first step. I didn't realize that it could possibly go bad inside of a year, but who knows.

Also, thanks for the storage tips. Some 'old wives tales' die hard I guess. I'll have to smack my dad for giving me that advice

-corky

 

Yep... gotta get it hot enough to burn the moisture out.
Better off to let it sit

 

It sounds like a combination of problems I've had.

My charger will spike and "click" off if there is a short....it went about 12 hours once, while I was doing 12 oz curls, but the thing still works.

The lack of power to anything plus the clicking of the charger sounds like a wire shorted. I would inspect the battery cable to the starter and leads from the starter back into the engine compartment, possibly those to and from the alternator and the distributer first. The exhaust heat and top side work tend to disrupt these wires a little more than others. And yes, I would test the battery, but just 'cause it was involved, and the alternator output for the same reason.

I was left stranded on a highway, at night, when a wire attached to the solinode disinegrated (all the insulation was still in place), no engine, no light no nothing. It was fun finding it at night, on the side of a busy 4 lane highway. My poor radio sacrified its wiring to get me going.