DC VOLTAGE experts...

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Well that's poorly worded alright. Chas, are you going to try and perform the parasitic drain test?

Here's an update: On Monday I put a 3 hour charge at 10A into the batt and starting was 12.1-finished at 12.7. Next morning it tested 12.7 still-all temps mid 40F. Drove 1/2 hour put away. Retested today at same temps and got 12.3--bummer. Then drove short while.
I have NOT gotten the battery dash icon on startup however at any time.

So I'm testing everyday and watching. Honestly, I can't figure how to do the drain testing as the damn car is so complex. The alternator is in a hellish place so I can't take it out or test for bad diode as source of drain. And I do not have any code-scanning tools for it and if I did, I doubt I can figure 'em out. This is not my forte.

[Ronbo]

Battery voltage changes very little between a charged and discharged state. DMM and electronic gauges have very high input impeadances (around 10M ohms) at this resistance your multimeter is putting a load of 1.2uA (1.2 millionths of an amp). After a battery is charged it takes a little time for the electrolyte to "settle down" to a "at rest" voltage of around 12.5V, a discharged battery with, say, 10% capacity (A/hrs) will still read around 12V or more.

This is why 40yrs ago when the cost of a few feet of wire was not a factor on actually seeing what the charging system was doing, cars had ampmeters. The dash lights (or headlights) will tell you what the volts are.

Think back, you'll remember...

[Ronbo]

Originally Posted by patrickt

That would seem to make sense, and ol' Blas is usally right, but this quote: "Full-charge voltage on a 12-volt battery is 0.9 volts higher at 32°F than at 70°F" seems to be prevalent on several battery related sites. Is it completely wrong, or is there some subtle point we're missing? BTW, I pulled it originally from here: https://azsolarutility.com/Battery_Information.html

Quoted from that site "Full-charge voltage on a 12-volt battery is 0.9 volts higher at 32°F than at 70°F. While discharging, a highertemperature will increase battery voltage. There is little temperature effect while a battery is standing."

Their wording is rather bad, or we've discovered a mis-information conspiracy.

I've got 30yrs as an electronic technician, an even more as a sometimes unwilling mechanic. Never saw a battery (any kind) increase voltage with decreased temps.

Lithium batteries were the only ones I've heard of that can maintain voltage at sub-zero temps. Because of their finiky charging and resultant fires they were deemed to unsafe for public use (in the '40s or '50s). Even the lithium ion batteries can light off. (google sony laptop fire)

[patrickt]

All that makes perfect sense. And I prefer an amp gauge as well, but there have been a hundred threads on this forum saying that volt gauges are better. Rick L. is a big champion of volt gauges, but I like my amp gauge.

[Ronbo]

I think it's out of fear of having that much current inside the passenger compartment more than anything.

Which is why they invented fuses BTW...

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Ronbo

I think it's out of fear of having that much current inside the passenger compartment more than anything.

I agree with that. But the real current is only flowing for a couple of minutes after you have started the car, then the needle drifts back to just an amp or two above zero -- whether you've got the old Ford POS 55amp alternator like mine or one of the new fangled killer 100+ amp alternators.

[ERA Chas]

In the ERA, I have both, a digital volt and the SW amp gauge. I'm very comfortable using them both together for years.

Thanks for your interest and insights guys. Adjunct to the story: I just put a batt in street car #2 last week. It's a Bosch made by Exide. Get this-it sits outside all the time (teens to 30F) and holds 12.5-12.6V all the time...that's why I'm wary of the way this Megatron is acting.

[Barnsnake]

The tables showing higher voltages at lower temperatures are for CHARGING. Due to the decreasing efficiency of the battery at lower temperatures the charging voltage must be increased.

When discharging (as in being used), the voltages will be lower at low temperatures.

[Ronbo]

I found the specs on those megatron batteries here: http://www.interstatebatteries.com/c...egatron2_f.asp

Although it's labeled funny, I think the RC3 column is the Amp/Hr rating. (you'll see it's a pretty wide range)

For some reason marine batteries are the only ones I usually see A/hr ratings on. (usually right on the battery)

Need one of these to test capacity: http://www.harborfreight.com/100-amp...&hft_adv=10013

[ERA Chas]

Yes thanks, I have that Interstate chart. $19.95 for the load tester???
I thought they were all $329!!

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by ERA Chas

$19.95 for the load tester??? I thought they were all $329!!

Yep, even a cheap ol' bastard like you can spring for $19.

... and Merry Christmas, of course.

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Yep, even a cheap ol' bastard like you can spring for $19.

... and Merry Christmas, of course.

Uh-thank you, and THE SAME TO YOU.

[Ronbo]

The carbon pile testers are more, ($150 and up) they typically do a 500A load. The "toaster" one like I posted does a 100A load test, which is actually better since you can use it on smaller batteries. (like lawn mowers and such) Just takes a little longer to run down the big batteries.

I've got an old Schumaker one that I bought about 30yrs ago (paid about $40 back then for it).