Problem with starting

[royunion]

@Bezzer I looked again at the battery test. Battery 2 tested at "0 CCA" - Charge required. That is not good. It could be mechanically soundbut dry or badly sulfate. It will fall flat under load. The other appears to have 12.46 volts. 12.3 is considered dead. If they are old and you want to try heroic acts to save them, you can open them put in distilled water and try hard charing them and or use a desulfator or rejuvenator. It is likely not to work for long and in reality get two new AGM be prepared to void the warranty, open them and fill them with fresh battery acid. You could expect 6 to 10 years out of them then. The caps will screw off it just looks like the dknt

If you really want a battery that may last easily 15 or more years get an Odyssey or Northstar pure lead AGM battery and do the same thing. They are $400 buck or more a pop however whereas the Walmart ones are $169.00.One thing - IF you do, you will want the house batteries the same AGM design and be sure the voltage regulators are 14.3 set volt. If it is a 96 with serpentine belt unless you already have, you can put dual alternates on it to keep the batteries all charged we

 

[Bezzer]

Bezzer wrote: royunion...I have read your posts about batteries. I don't think anyone could explain batteries as you have and all the other info you wrote.

Just a question: Why do you need all that power? I see you have a 6.5 and spare generator, parts etc.....what exactly do you have?

Here's the battery test you told me to do.
Checked both in parallel- both 12.56
Separated them ...put each one on a 10amp charger (two chargers) for three hours.
They were charging at 15.53 and 15.63.
I removed them from charging...reconnected everything...turn the key on 12.99. Glow plug light on 11.98....starter on at 11.50...started right up. Alternator showed 14.30...let engine running a few minutes ...alternator showed 13.90...turned engine off.

At 5pm both settled back to 12.81....engine off.

16 hrs later the next day they were 12.77.
What's your idea about that test?

Seems like all I need is a small battery and a relay with a push button for the first start up of the new day...like a jump start.

Engine always starts right up when it is up to temperature when we are traveling.

 

[royunion]

@Bezzer Sounds good.

I have a 97 6.5 high top wheelchair lift equipped hydraulic lift van

I have four interior AGM batteries which I can run down to12. 4 volts.

When the two isolated starting batteries are brought in after start, they go to charging all. Only dual alternators will supply enough amps to charge them all quick.

Since the DS4 will not inject unless 200 rpm, the glow plugs hit batteries hard, and a slow crank Db2 will inject and start, a DS4 will not

It is real rare, but if I run it down trying to start with depleted interior batteries in line, the generator and charger size is like carrying two twelve packs of beer, because a jump start really can't do the job even AAA and the voltage and amps they push will damage AGM batteries. So I will handle it myself thank you