|
|
|
#16
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
|
#17
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
It is my JUMPER cables, not my battery cables, that are good cables with good clamps. The battery was 6 years old and overdue to fail. As of today, the car has freshly cleaned clamps and a new Group 49H8 battery. We'll see what happens in the morning; car doesn't have a block heater and it's about 13 degrees out there at the moment. Expecting single digits by morning. The reason I was surprised by the failure is that I had advance load-test the six year old battery two months ago on a relatively warm day. It returned a result on their little machine of 1,034 cranking amps available. I should have known that a battery that tested better after 6 years than it was rated for brand-new was probably an anomaly, but I decided to be hopeful and optimistic and hope I'd just finally gotten hold of a really good sturdy battery. |
#18
|
||||
|
||||
I got a nice thick gauge copper jumper cables that were left in Trigger when I purchased it. They are Mercedes blue, have alot of length, and are very good at jumping.
I have a near identical set in the '85 SL of similar vintage, but they are red and white.
__________________
1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k 1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k 1980 240D Stick China 188k 2001 CLK55 AMG 101k 2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!! |
#19
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
|
#20
|
|||
|
|||
00 gauge is the gauge of my jumper cables! There is some serious copper in 00 gauge and there shouldn't be much voltage drop.
__________________
1999 Mercedes E300TD daily driver sold at 238K miles 106K miles were mine, rust worm got it :-( 2006 Mercedes CDI new daily driver! 56,000 miles May 2016 now 85,625 Apr 2018 and Apr 2019 101,000 miles Apr 2020 109,875. March 2024 135,250 |
#21
|
||||
|
||||
Like Brian, I cant see the point of redesigning the electrical system in a car to overcome a problem of a bad battery or connection. Much easier to fix the original problem. Its winter where you are, old batteries give up in the cold.
Never attach the jumper lead to the battery posts. When you put a decent load on the leads, you will burn the post right off. If you have brass lead clamps, grab the jumpers to them.
__________________
Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort.... 1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket. 1980 300D now parts car 800k miles 1984 300D 500k miles 1987 250td 160k miles English import 2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles 1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo. 1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion. Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving |
#22
|
||||
|
||||
I think it was because I used the stuff with like 8 strands. Everyone I talked to said that the fine strand stuff like that is used in car audio is the stuff you want.
__________________
1981 300 SD 213k miles "Stock for now" 1999 Super Duty 7.3L 113k miles 1981 300 SD 180k miles "Heavily modified" SOLD |
#23
|
||||
|
||||
Well, okay.
I've already done the simple stuff. I did that without even asking any dumb questions except double-checking the correct group number. The obvious steps have been taken. The old battery was replaced with a new one and the cables were cleaned with a wire scrubber. That's really all there is to say about the basic solution. What got me thinking was the fact that this morning, because the battery was on its way out for the last time, the engine actually turned over for 30 seconds or so, just at a reduced cranking speed. It simply occurred to me that I might not have had to be jump started this morning, if I had had two batteries instead of one, and thereby had essentially double the cranking time available to me. It's a really cold day, and although my glowplugs work, the engine isn't in absolutely mint condition compression-wise. It's simply one of those that doesn't start well in the cold. Yes, I could address this by an expensive engine rebuild and injector cleaning and all sorts of stuff, and still probably have a cold-natured beast when I got done. It's simply almost worn out, I'm trying to get the last of the good out of it, and cold starts are difficult even under the best of conditions. Two batteries instead of one means that on one of these cold, hard-to-start days, I wouldn't have run out of juice as rapidly as I did. I would have somewhere close to twice as much time in which to build up enough heat in the cylinders to get the engine started. It didn't seem like THAT ridiculous an idea. ANY battery can become discharged after prolonged cranking. The newest and best-charged battery will start to fall off after you drain it for 30-60 cumulative seconds of cranking across multiple glow attempts. With a second battery in the system, this effect would occur at half the speed. Therefore, I'd have a better chance of getting it started before completely draining what current I had available. It was just a thought. I did say that I would only be interested in doing it if it were easily feasible. Since it isn't, it was just a "if somebody ever came up with this, I'd be interested" statement. Maybe I'll come up with it myself one of these days. It just seemed like a good way to prolong the opportunity to get an old, worn out engine started for those who do happen to be relying on it. |
#24
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
I once got a 1.6 VW started using these cables, with no battery in the 1.6 and a less then optimal battery in the supply car. Good cables make all the difference! -J
__________________
1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states! Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels. 2014 Cadillac ELR 2013 Fiat 500E. |
#25
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
I've already done the non-redesigning solution. I'm not saying that I can't use the car again until I modify it. I was just envisioning the next time this happens not costing me the better part of an hour, being late for class, and standing out in the cold. As a practical matter, both of my batteries would probably fail simultaneously, or else one of them would short a cell and then drain the other one because they were interconnected, and I'd just have a doubly expensive version of the exact same no-start condition. Wish I'd never suggested it now. |
#26
|
|||
|
|||
Seriously, you are better off keeping a charged battery pack in your trunk for the occasional morning when that extra few seconds of fast cranking will make the difference between starting and not starting.
|
#27
|
||||
|
||||
I thought that's what all the other cars in the driveway were for...
|
#28
|
||||
|
||||
I can only drive one at a time to college, where it stays at my apartment. The others are at home. Normally that's exactly what I'd do, and I've done it at home several times. But when I've only got access to one at a time and the others are 100 miles away, I'm dependent on neighbors, none of whom have very much CCA available.
|
#29
|
||||
|
||||
Michael ,
Dont feel bad about your suggestion !! There is nothing wrong with tossing in an idea to get people talking, your idea has merit in some applications.
__________________
Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort.... 1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket. 1980 300D now parts car 800k miles 1984 300D 500k miles 1987 250td 160k miles English import 2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles 1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo. 1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion. Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving |
#30
|
||||
|
||||
JNC660
If youse gotta have one...
__________________
'84 300SD sold 124.128 |
Bookmarks |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|