[Healeys] HD6s cont'd & Battery life.

Tue May 9 18:50:23 MDT 2023

Simon:  I’m going to chime in here.

Battery people will tell you that a conventional lead acid auto starting battery loses about 10% of it’s capacity every year.  So after a certain time, they may still be capable of cranking the engine, but not with as much gusto as when new – and it is constantly decreasing in efficiency.  It’s my opinion that after 5 – 6 years, one has already won that battle, and that anything longer is a bonus, especially over the last few years when battery quality in general has gone down at about the same pace as prices have gone up.  Al mentioned peace of mind – if it were me with a 10 year old battery, I wouldn’t spend money on a load test, better put it towards a new battery.  Or at least be prepared to maybe have to do it on the road as you did before.  Others may disagree.

Re: the carb jets:  The advice that you got from Burlen – and maybe others - is good. The trouble is that it’s impossible to predict when that first jet diaphragm will start to seep slightly, or whether or not it will rapidly turn into a tear that will mean not driving the car until it’s fixed.  Personally, I get a bit nervous about my jet diaphragms at about 10 years, but that’s just me.  The older I get, the more that peace of mind matters to me – especially with old British sports cars!  Once again, others may disagree.  Your call.

A little trick:  If you ever suspect that a diaphragm is starting to leak,  disconnect that carb’s choke system so that the diaphragm doesn’t flex when the choke is operated.  The car will start cold on the other carb(s).  This gives you a better chance of getting the car home, or to a repair facility.  Try hard to ignore any gas dripping very close to your lap. (even closer in LHD Healeys). Been there, done that!

Let us know how it goes.

Earl Kagna

Victoria, BC

BT7, BJ8

From: Healeys <healeys-bounces at autox.team.net> On Behalf Of alfuller194 at gmail.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 9, 2023 11:45 AM
To: 'Bob Spidell' <bspidell at comcast.net>; healeys at autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [Healeys] HD6s cont'd & Battery life.

Simon – I agree with Bob that your next step may/should be to have the battery tested, and would add the following:

Don’t forget that starting the car is only half of the battery’s job. Once started, the car will run on the output from the alternator or generator [possibly with a bit of filtering from the battery] – and the battery is there as a backup so the car doesn’t die suddenly immediately upon loss of generating capacity [or over-voltage, or short-circuit, or other issues…].

As such – having tested the battery should provide peace of mind! [And if it fails the test – having a new replacement battery will provide the peace of mind!]

----------------

All the best,

Al Fuller

From: Healeys <healeys-bounces at autox.team.net <mailto:healeys-bounces at autox.team.net> > On Behalf Of Bob Spidell
Sent: Tuesday, May 9, 2023 7:22 AM
To: healeys at autox.team.net <mailto:healeys at autox.team.net> 
Subject: Re: [Healeys] HD6s cont'd & Battery life.

You can test a battery with a load tester:

https://www.amazon.com/TOPDON-BT100-Automotive-Alternator-Motorcycle/dp/B07Z67MMGC/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=battery+tester <https://www.amazon.com/TOPDON-BT100-Automotive-Alternator-Motorcycle/dp/B07Z67MMGC/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=battery+tester&qid=1683641685&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzRkFBT1VDTjZYNlgmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA2NTI1ODcyN0ZVNTNMRFQ3R1M2JmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA1NzE0MjNLR0pDTlhCRjJCREEmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl> &qid=1683641685&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzRkFBT1VDTjZYNlgmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA2NTI1ODcyN0ZVNTNMRFQ3R1M2JmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA1NzE0MjNLR0pDTlhCRjJCREEmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

And/or a modern analyzer:

https://www.amazon.com/TOPDON-BT100-Automotive-Alternator-Motorcycle/dp/B07Z67MMGC/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=battery+tester <https://www.amazon.com/TOPDON-BT100-Automotive-Alternator-Motorcycle/dp/B07Z67MMGC/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=battery+tester&qid=1683641685&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzRkFBT1VDTjZYNlgmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA2NTI1ODcyN0ZVNTNMRFQ3R1M2JmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA1NzE0MjNLR0pDTlhCRjJCREEmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl> &qid=1683641685&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzRkFBT1VDTjZYNlgmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA2NTI1ODcyN0ZVNTNMRFQ3R1M2JmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA1NzE0MjNLR0pDTlhCRjJCREEmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

... to get an idea of you battery's condition. However, I just had a battery that would pass fine on both but still drain more quickly just sitting than it should (I had a 60mA current draw). At 10 years old, and a longer, important trip coming up I would get a new one on principle; you got your money's worth on this one. It's hard to beat an AGM, but they're expensive.

Bob

On 5/9/2023 3:27 AM, Simon Lachlan via Healeys wrote:

Hit the wrong button. Didn’t finish…………

I am too idle to take the 3 carbs out to check the diaphragms out and to decide whether they need replacing or not. And, would I be able to tell anyway? Not sure about that.

The issue came into contemplation because I’m going over to the Le Mans classic in June. It’s no great drive…about 2½  +/- from the port but I think it sensible to sort a few things out first? I suppose that I’ll have to do it!

Another topic….my car’s battery is 10 years old. Bought it in France on the Route de Grandes Alpes trip. It shows no signs of its age but then nor did its predecessor before it gave up very rapidly. Didn’t fade away, just died. Any thoughts on that. I’m not a fan of planned redundancy but it’s occasionally prudent…?

Simon

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