Date:         Tue, 9 Sep 2003 14:34:39 -0400
Reply-To:     Joe Federici <joefederici@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Joe Federici <joefederici@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject:      Re: Auxiliary Battery Issue
In-Reply-To:  <3F5E1514.5000401@fyi.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"

A diehard type battery know as a flood battery is the wrong type to
use for a house battery. Floods can't handle discharges over and over
again. I'm sure at this point the battery is toast. I would have it
check. When replacing it you really should look at a Gel cell or AGM
like the Optima. Yes they cost more but they are designed for what
your doing and will last twice as long and therefore end up being
cheaper!

JFF


>The voltage a battery puts out is dependent on the load.  Your use of a
>voltmeter
>will never work in this situation, given the load will vary from time to
>time.
>                                                             Eric
>
>Josh Greenberg wrote:
>
>>Volks,
>>
>>About six months ago, I installed an auxiliary battery into my
>>Westy.  Since the rely was already present it was a relatively
>>painless job and the installation went smoothly.  I didn't have the
>>money to purchase a deep cycle Optima battery and decided to use a
>>standard Diehard instead.  Since installation, I've worn down and
>>recharged the Diehard numerous times.  I understand that regular
>>automotive batteries aren't meant for that type of use.  I also
>>directly wired in a voltage meter so I can monitor the amount of
>>juice left in my auxiliary battery.  All that being said, here is a
>>description of the issue I am experiencing.
>>
>>When I power up the engine the voltage meter DOES read higher.
>>However, now it only reads marginally higher.  For example, the
>>voltage meter might go from 12.8 to 13.0.  It used to read
>>significantly higher, say from 12.8 to 13.5.  At first, I thought
>>the rely might be fried.  Yet, it does seems as though the rely is
>>working.  I checked all of the wiring and it does look intact.
>>Another piece of information that my help is right around the time
>>all this began, I had entered my Westy to find that my auxiliary
>>battery had been completely drained.  I assumed I left the stereo
>>on accidentally, which is also directly wired to the auxiliary
>>battery, and I recharged the battery using an AC battery charging
>>system.
>>
>>Could my alternator be going bad and not outputting enough juice?
>>Has my auxiliary battery been effected by the constant charging and
>>fully draining process.  Could the rely be fried?  Or, does this
>>behavior sound perfectly normal?
>>
>>Thanks In Advance,
>>Josh