1931 Model A Battery Charge Issue

[DaWizard]

I only recommend removing the battery from the car because the amount of vapor being boiled out of the battery using a charger 24hours is going to be enough to possibly start deterioration of the surrounding area, possibly the front of the beautifully reupholstered front seat, and the higher the charge rate, the more vapor.

Only a precaution, not an absolute necessity.

J.C.

 

[RonC]

Newbie here with a new-to-me Model A. Had it a few weeks. The battery was low when I got it, and I put a trickle charge on it that took several days to charge fully, then overnight the battery went dead. Zip. Too low for the trickle charge to kick on, so I got a 6 or 12 volt shomacher battery charger that is on it now, Positive on a head bolt, negative on the starter nut. The LED says it is not charging, but I'll leave it overnight and see. The battery looks recent-but i don't know.

Why would it go fully charged and then lose the charge overnight , then appear to not charge?

Sounds like you have voltage draw when the car is off. Does it have an alternator? A common source of a draw when off. Another is a sticking generator cutout which is a big draw. Get a new battery they are junk cheap to buy and don't last long.

 

[Mitch//pa]

common causes of acid residue creating havoc is:
Overfilling the cells
Overcharging
Battery post to case leakage (not sealed) / case crack
Smart chargers are readily available and used now in our modern society to eliminate the overcharging / boiling the cell issue.

 

[Barry B./ Ma.]

Disconnect the battery after it's fully charged and check it the next day to see if it lost current. If dead again I would suspect that something is still on draining it. I had a new alternator that would drain a battery overnight and it was just a tiny current drain. You didn't say if you had an alternator or generator, if an alternator it may have a bad diode.