Ohhh, sorry, I gotcha now. I'll check it tomorrow -- I'l be making a 70-mile round-trip in the morning, so I can check it in the evening.

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

35 miles one way may be enough to get the battery to full charge though it is still worth checking.

I have left over SMDs from a shop install I did once, they run on 12V (car battery perfect for this job).

I glued them to a piece of wood and have a lamp wire attached to them ending in alligator clips - attach to battery and you have really bright white light for use - I keep it in my car - had to use it once for a roadside wheel change on the highway.

harbor freight also sell a small LED lamp for a few dollars, Its pretty handy in such situations.

__________________
2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

I'll also suggest a headlamp - the kind that straps to your head. I have several and put a lot of hours on them this time of year. Quality rechargeable batteries and a charger are a very good investment, and will completely change the way you use your gear if you've only had experience with disposable batteries.

__________________
617 swapped Toyota Pickup, 22-24 MPG, 50k miles on swap

Rayovac 3xaaa unit that costs around $13. Has a white and a red mode. Best headlamp I've ever used, it's super lightweight.

__________________
$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

So I was at Autozone the other day and asked the guy behind the counter if he would mind testing the battery for me with their machine (the car had been starting pretty roughly in the extreme cold, and I wasn't sure if the rough starting was due strictly to the cold or due to a flagging battery). He said it was no problem, and so we headed out and he hooked up his machine. It took him a little bit of jiggling of the clips on the battery terminals to get the tester connected, but he got it and then the test proceeded. After a bit of beeping, the display on the tester read: "BAD BATTERY | 12.7 VOLTS | 100% CHARGE".

The guy said to me, "It's dead. It's at 100% charge at only 12.7 Volts."

I thought that 12.7 V was a totally OK reading for a charged battery. The car has continued to start fine as long as we are >10-15 Fahrenheit -- below that it still starts, just with a lot more cranking than usual. Is the battery really bad?

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

You are correct, 12.7 is a normal full charge. If a plate was shorted, it should be ~12.4V. Let it sit unconnected and check it periodically, documenting any loss.

The sweet thing about Costco is they well exchange any battery, no questions asked (they don't even test), and under 3 years it's a 100% replacement. (You don't even need a receipt, since they keep electronic receipts of all purchases.)

__________________
72% 1992 FJ80 + 17% 1983 OM617 + 10% 85/87/92 4Runner + *Eclipse/GMC = 100% Truck
(*<1%)
Build Thread: http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/a-humble-fj80-om617-r151f-swap.759554/