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Battery Question

Nat3dog

Nat3dog

New Member
I just got my bucket from a guy last week. It was sitting in his garage a couple of years and started every month just to keep it running. I had to buy a new battery for it but I do not think it is strong enough. After driving it around for a bit if I turn it off and then back on it has trouble some times. I know it is not the alternator because I used my battery out of my durango and it starts right up. Then I unhook that battery and it runs fine on the alternator. The battery advanced auto had me try has cold cranking amps 500 cranking amps 625 reserve 80. It is running on a chevy 305 small block if that helps at all.
Can anyone tell me what size battery I should be using?
 
I have a 600 cold cranking amp battery and does a good job. Might have just got a dud. Have it load tested to see what it can handle.
 
The starter is not that big on it. I did not try and hit the starter. I know that worked on one of my older cars. I really think it is the battery because when I put the other one in it fires right up.
 
I just got back from Advanced Auto. The guy I know there also said the battery was not right for my car. Since the other employee was the one that gave me bad info he took the battery back and got a bigger one for $3.00
 
Any performance v8 will need a good battery, I don't care if its a stock 265 V8 or 950 full tilt mountain motor. The size of the starters have nothing to do with it, the amperage draw is what your concerned with. I've had to put the Mini Starters on the 427's before, because of clearence issues....
A good basic battery is the 600 to 700 CCA range. Put what you want in it, but on cruise night, you sit there talking to your buddys, with the lights on, maybe a stereo, and when you go to light off the motor, don't be suprised if the motor does not start, if you've got 325 CCA's.
They are down sizing everything, even batteries. Just because your car came with a 325 CCA battery in your Berlinetta, which your motor might have come out of, does not mean that the same battery needs to be put in your Bucket.
If you have cooling fans, a strong motor, a electric fuel pump, you will need a bigger battery.
Also, smaller batteries are responsible for a larger portion of the masses having to go out and buy a new starter, because they don't have the amperage to start the motor fast and cleanly. You want to just touch that key and have your motor running, even if its a Hi Perf. 600 Horse 454. All batteries are not the same!
 
Screaming Metal said:
Any performance v8 will need a good battery, I don't care if its a stock 265 V8 or 950 full tilt mountain motor. The size of the starters have nothing to do with it, the amperage draw is what your concerned with. I've had to put the Mini Starters on the 427's before, because of clearence issues....
A good basic battery is the 600 to 700 CCA range. Put what you want in it, but on cruise night, you sit there talking to your buddys, with the lights on, maybe a stereo, and when you go to light off the motor, don't be suprised if the motor does not start, if you've got 325 CCA's.
They are down sizing everything, even batteries. Just because your car came with a 325 CCA battery in your Berlinetta, which your motor might have come out of, does not mean that the same battery needs to be put in your Bucket.
If you have cooling fans, a strong motor, a electric fuel pump, you will need a bigger battery.
Also, smaller batteries are responsible for a larger portion of the masses having to go out and buy a new starter, because they don't have the amperage to start the motor fast and cleanly. You want to just touch that key and have your motor running, even if its a Hi Perf. 600 Horse 454. All batteries are not the same!
Click to expand...

What he said!!! The vast amount of battery woes are caused by too small a battery. Even if that little battery cranks the motor it may not fire up good because there isn't enough power for the ignition to fire a good spark. Its called coil robbing, and the old timers working on the 6 volt systems knew all about it. That's why the engine catches when you release the key, suddenly there's power for the coil. The mini starters are great, but often require more power than the stock starter, making the problem worse. IMHO, 600 CCA is a minimum, and if the rod sits garaged for periods of time, get one of those little 1 or 2A regulated trickle chargers to keep the battery topped up - left alone a battery slowly discharges itself and sulfates its plates.
 
Good stuff. Also make sure your cables and connections are solid. I run heavy cables straight from the battery to the starter; the negative cable goes to a starter bolt. I use a relay to ensure the starter gets full voltage when I turn the key. And a mini starter made a big difference for me. Don't need to spend big bucks; got mine on eBay for $60.
 
What Ron said! A Battery Tender, or something similiar, is also a good thing to have....its a little more than a small trickle charger, but will save your battery while the T is in storage during the Winter.
My Big Blue Oval Motor in this one I'm building, I'm mounting the charger into the charging system, that way, all I have to do is just put her in place and plug her up. I'll start her every month and let her get hot, but if I'm on the road, the battery is protected....
I have a disconnect on the Negative side of the system, I just flip a big switch, and the battery is isolated, then the actual battery tender in along side, inside the radiator shell, with a weatherproof cover on the side. Gotta look closely to see it, but its protected. I hate doing things twice or 3 times.....
 
Also, if your battery is located in the back, under a turtle deck or small bed, run at least some 1/0 welding cable up to your starter and solenoid, to eliminate the voltage drop while starting....
Keep all your connections clean and tight, loose connectors will heat up, loosing voltage and amperage. Use terminal spray to protect from corrosion.
 
Screaming Metal said:
Also, if your battery is located in the back, under a turtle deck or small bed, run at least some 1/0 welding cable up to your starter and solenoid, to eliminate the voltage drop while starting....
Keep all your connections clean and tight, loose connectors will heat up, loosing voltage and amperage. Use terminal spray to protect from corrosion.
Click to expand...
More good stuff. A very easy check as to whether your battery to starter cable circuit is good is to measure the voltage drop. Get your voltmeter, set her on DC volts and put the positive lead on the battery and the negative lead on the starter terminal. Should read zilch because there is no difference, voltage wise, between each end. Then, crank the engine. (might have to pull the coil wire so she cranks for long enough to get a reading). The voltage reading is the Volt Drop in that part of the circuit. A volt drop here of more than 5% (0.7V) is not good. Could be dirty terminals, too small cable, or both. You can check the ground circuit this way too, one lead on the battery -ve terminal, the other on the starter body. Here I would expect 5% or even less.
As Screamin' says, if the circuit is too "lossy" battery capacity won't save you - you only have 12 volts to start with, losing any in the circuit is bad news
 
Mango is Right! If, with a battery, your cranking, and you continuously dip and fall below 12 volts and loose amps, the slower the starter turns and the more heat is generated....dramatically shortening your starters life! Usually a starter will crank to about 10.5 Volts, and thats where a big amount of heat is built up. At that point, your Amps are dropping quickly.
Here's another thing.....you know that expensive Electronic Ignition system? They are extremely voltage sensitive. If you go to start your car, your cranking, and if you short the starter of voltage, then the starter will slow down, You pump the gas pedal, you create a richness that'll cause the motor to rev.
Now, this will do 2 things. The first is that the motor revs, the alternator will start charging sooner, sometimes to the point of having a 12 volt amp. spike. This will shorten the life of your regulator, but won't hurt it as much as it could that sensitive ignition system.
If you notice things electrical failing as you start, or just after you start, it might something you might want to check.
The charging system USUALLY don't come on too strong, but if your running a hi-output alternator, this could be a problem for someone.
 
Good advice. Don't mean to hijack your post but I'm wondering if anyone's tried those new tiny batteries? They are 1/2 the size of a regular battery but can put out up to 1100 cranking amps - amazing. My car's not quite done yet and I have very little space for a battery. Hoping one of these might work for me. My motor is a 406" SBC with Dart heads and about 10:1 compresssion
 
Mike Lowden said:
Good advice. Don't mean to hijack your post but I'm wondering if anyone's tried those new tiny batteries? They are 1/2 the size of a regular battery but can put out up to 1100 cranking amps - amazing. My car's not quite done yet and I have very little space for a battery. Hoping one of these might work for me. My motor is a 406" SBC with Dart heads and about 10:1 compresssion
Click to expand...

I use one of the little odyssey pc680 batteries here are the specs:

Full web page: http://www.odysseybatteries.com/battery/pc680.htm

  • 680 cranking amps for 5 seconds
  • 595 cranking amps for 10 seconds
  • 525 cranking amps for 20 seconds
  • 17 amp hours
  • Short circuit current over 1800A
  • 25 minute reserve capacity with 25amp load
  • Female brass terminal w/M6 SS bolt
  • Length 7 1/16"
  • Width 3"
  • Height 6 9/16"
  • Weighs less than 15 lbs

 
Pic:

5%20Jun%202011%20004.JPG_595.jpg
 
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