Actually, the battery can hold enough charge to keep the
car running for a while, but not enough to turn over the
motor. I had this happen when my alternator went out
and had to do a jump start. Ran for a while but wouldn't
restart.
Dave
Ross MacPherson wrote:
> At 10:55 PM 11/17/96 -0500, you wrote:
> >Dammit I think I have the same thing - I just finished seven weeks of
> >reuphoulstering the interior of my 72B - (and bloody fine it looks too!) -
> >after i replaced the ($700) seats I was ready for a spin - and knowing the
> >battery was flat from 7 weeks of open doors i jumped it - started and ran
> >fine, went for a spin to charge it and the following day it was dead - red
> >light out all the time..... - jumped again, drove 55 miles - dead
> >
> >Now the battery is only six months old and the alternator "seems" ok -
> >
> Hi Mike,
>
> Please pardon me if the following makes no sense, I've been up all night and
> am just winding down.
>
> It would seem to me that if you jump the car and it runs fine till you shut
> it down and then won't start that your alternator is probably fine and your
> battery is hooped. When the car is running the alternator supplies all the
> current necessary for your ignition, lights and accessories as well as
> charging up the battery as required.
>
> If the car will not crank over on it's own then the voltage at the starter
> is insufficient. Either you've got a wiring fault between the battery and
> the starter or your battery is not up to the task. If your alternator is
> not doing it's thing but you can get the car running via a jump start the
> car will only stay running as long as the battery has sufficient oomph to
> provide ignition. Once the battery is exhausted the car will die.
> Naturally increased load like lights, fans and radios will speed this
> process. On the other hand if the alternator is fine but the battery is shot
> you can run forever but not restart. This scenario is a perfect example of
> why an ammeter is so much better than an idiot light.
>
> Just my 2 cents worth but maybe have the capacity of your battery checked by
> a good auto-electric shop.
> ___ \______ Ross MacPherson
> / __ \ __ / /------|) arm@unix.infoserve.net
> / (___)---------/ (___) Vancouver, BC, Canada
> 1947 MG-TC 3528 1966 MGB-GT
>
>
dhall@vcd.hp.com
dlhall@pacifier.com
http://www.pacifier.com/~dlhall
72 MGB/GT
|