Car Trouble

[BruceM]

I keep a few old batteries laying around to cast bullets if bad suddenly turns worse.

Very bad idea.

I've had car batteries die both ways-either suddenly or the slow and painful style.

Bruce

 

[Mainsail]

I had a Ford Ranger and the battery was doing that. I think one of the plates broke loose and it was shorting internally. The kick in the pants was that it was completely random. Today it might not start at all without a jump, but drive it to the auto parts store and it tests great, because by then the plate had moved back to its proper position.

I would suspect internal plate shorting for yours.

 

[misswired]

Very bad idea.



Bruce

OK spill the beans, I'm curious.
I have a small cleaner' stash of lead but thought batteries might work also.

Probably doesn't really matter in a survival of the fittest scenario, I'd be one of the first to wind up on someone's grill.

 

[Squarebutt]

There's an Interstate Battery distributor in a nearby town that aways has 50 or 60 used batteries for sale, and most of them are fairly new ones that were returned because someone's car wouldn't start. Turns out the problem wasn't the battery, but by then there's a new one in the vehicle and the one it replaced goes back to the shop. They charge them, load test them and sell the good one for $25 to $50. I've bought them for years and only had one quit early. They replaced it for free. Right now my Silverado is wearing my favorite battery of all time. It has the hated GM side terminals for running the truck, plus a pair of top posts which are perfect for jump starting other vehicles.

 

[LostintheOzone]

My original Delco is 6 years old. Guess I better replace it.

GM batteries seem to last a long time. My Duramax runs two in series and one lasted about 9 years and the other one 10. I wish I could say the same for some of the more expensive parts like turbo sensors.

 

[snubbyfan]

Turns out it was just the battery.
Y'all got me thinkin' that maybe I should keep a jump box handy.

My wife wanted to go to the Post Office while her Yaris was in the shop (she considers the little Yaris as her car and the Dodge Ram 1500's my vehicle) we don't have mail delivery so we havta go to the Post Office to get our Mail.
Anyway, I was having my morning "constitutional" and told her to just take the truck. She's really comfortable with the Yaris but finds the truck intimidating to drive. She managed, didn't hit the neighbors garage and managed to park it in our driveway when she got home.
That is once she figured out how to shift it into "drive".

 

[Muley Gil]

My Father In Law had a Buick with a straight 8 in it, only one I ever saw. He was my future FIL then, probably early 1964.

Once upon a time, straight engines could be found in most of the higher priced cars. They about disappeared in the 1950s.

 

[Bozz10mm]

D

My '95 Isuzu pick-up has a 5 speed manual tranny and an alternator. I've roll started it a number of times.

You can do that if your battery is not 100% dead. The alternator needs a tiny bit of voltage to energize itself.

 

[BruceM]

OK spill the beans, I'm curious.

Read any of the better bullet casting manuals. Plates salvaged from lead/ACID automotive batteries are a universal no-no because of the possibility of pockets of acid being trapped in the lead cores which will then cause a possible combination of noxious fumes and explosive eruptions of molten lead+acid when the plates liquefy. This is actually pretty much common knowledge to most experienced casters and I was a little surprised to see it posted.

Bruce

 

[loknload]

Speaking of batteries!
I was charging the battery on my Corvette with my old 70's vintage Craftsman 6-12 volt battery and engine start. Had this thing forever! a
Well went to use it in engine start mode, tried to start the Vette, saw a slight flash from within the charger and it was....Kaput!
Stopped at the local car parts house and picked up one of these?

To me it's not a name brand, never heard of them before?
It is only 12 volt , no 6 volt option? Very low profile and light
But I was in a pinch and this is what they had, got the job done!

 

[misswired]

Read any of the better bullet casting manuals. Plates salvaged from lead/ACID automotive batteries are a universal no-no because of the possibility of pockets of acid being trapped in the lead cores which will then cause a possible combination of noxious fumes and explosive eruptions of molten lead+acid when the plates liquefy. This is actually pretty much common knowledge to most experienced casters and I was a little surprised to see it posted.

Bruce

Thanks for the info, batteries will go to the scrap yard next trip.
You've foiled another of my great ideas.
I use a lead pot to pour spinnerbaits and jigs but thankfully never needed the battery lead.

 

[Rockets]

My Tundra had the original battery for seven or eight years. One day... dead. I bought the exact same battery from Toyota. It lasted 2 years.

Interstate batteries or sears diehards

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

The Interstate battery in my trusty 1986 Olds just went suddenly-had to get it towed, even a jump didn't help.
As a member of SNM-Sons of Neanderthal Man-dodn't care for these newer cars, too many electronical components in them, those who have them say that's always the first thing to go bad, diagnosing and replacingd a real PITB.

 

[johngalt]

This thread hot me thinking about my old Tahoe. It has been semi-retired to summer duty at my folks place in northern Wisconsin. It sits on a battery tender in the garage the rest of the year. The last battery was replaced a number of years ago, I don't really remember when. Do the batteries still fail due to age even when just sitting on a tender? I need to get it load tested.

I just took it on a road trip, from N Wisconsin to Rochester MN to Madison to Milwaukee and finally back north. Over 700 miles in 3 days, and it ran like a champ. I miss the old truck.

 

[Trooperdan]

Read any of the better bullet casting manuals. Plates salvaged from lead/ACID automotive batteries are a universal no-no because of the possibility of pockets of acid being trapped in the lead cores which will then cause a possible combination of noxious fumes and explosive eruptions of molten lead+acid when the plates liquefy. This is actually pretty much common knowledge to most experienced casters and I was a little surprised to see it posted.

Bruce

All the above plus the fact that a lot of the new maintenance-free batteries have calcium alloy in the plates and that stuff ruins lead alloys for casting! Just a little bit will ruin an entire pot of lead. And then there is also arsenic and those plates can release a poisonous gas when they are smelter. Battery plates are a big no-no for boolit casting.

 

[snubbyfan]

The Interstate battery in my trusty 1986 Olds just went suddenly-had to get it towed, even a jump didn't help.
As a member of SNM-Sons of Neanderthal Man-dodn't care for these newer cars, too many electronical components in them, those who have them say that's always the first thing to go bad, diagnosing and replacingd a real PITB.

I am with you on that. Give me good old points, condenser and carburetors. That's something I can understand and deal with.

 

[Ben_hutcherson]

I am with you on that. Give me good old points, condenser and carburetors. That's something I can understand and deal with.

That's all good and well until you find out that good quality points and condensers are getting difficult to find as well.

The guy who rebuilt the distributor in my MG(and runs a full-time business rebuilding all kinds of distributors but specializing in Lucas) has points made to his specifications and still does some work on them before he ships them out.

Condensers are a **** shoot these days. I've had them fail in 200 miles, although like in the old days good ones seem to never die. Automotive condensers usually are a metallized polyester film rolled up in a can and there's a real issue with getting poor contact with the end caps and either shorting or going open circuit.

 

[snubbyfan]

That's all good and well until you find out that good quality points and condensers are getting difficult to find as well.

The guy who rebuilt the distributor in my MG(and runs a full-time business rebuilding all kinds of distributors but specializing in Lucas) has points made to his specifications and still does some work on them before he ships them out.

Condensers are a **** shoot these days. I've had them fail in 200 miles, although like in the old days good ones seem to never die. Automotive condensers usually are a metallized polyester film rolled up in a can and there's a real issue with getting poor contact with the end caps and either shorting or going open circuit.

That's the thing, I could keep extra points and a condenser in the car with me and change them out myself with some simple hand tools.
Not so much if an engine control computer takes a dump.

 

[coltle6920]

Well you would think that after reading this thread and knowing my battery was 11yrs old I would immediately get it replaced or at least checked.

Nah! Like everything else I do I figure it can wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow turns into next week and eventually it bites me in the posterior.Went out to get my smokes yesterday.It started up but sounded a little sluggish.That should've been the only clue I needed.Came out of the store and went to start the truck and got absolutely nothing.Start to panic because I'm dead in the water with no cellphone on me.While contemplating my next move (I was 12mi. from home) I looked down the row of stores and lo and behold there's an AutoZone on the corner.

Hallelujah! Bought the battery and with an hour of daylight left the salesperson came out and replaced it for me.Did I learn my lesson? You would think so but I'm betting that if it isn't the battery next time it will be something else I pushed down the road.

Cellphone on the kitchen counter and tools,jumper cables and an expensive battery "do everything" charger in the garage.Perfect place for them if my truck ever breaks down in the driveway.

Hope my stupidity makes everyone else's mistakes seem small in comparison.