BAD BATTERY AND BAD SEPARATOR

Angel · 02-15-2010, 09:39 PM

My starting battery would not hold a charge-down to 8 volts in the AM after 3 days of not moving.

Had it checked at Big O Tires. Machine said 523 cca and should be 650 cca-REPLACE BATTERY. So, I took the paper to Ford, they checked the battery and replaced it under warranty. It was the original battery installed Feb 2008. Since I have a V10, I only have 1 starting battery. It is now holding the charge-2.6 volts for 3 days.

I did not know about my bad battery until my separator stopped working while I was camping. I am glad that I knew how to put a jumper cable on the separator to use the house battery to start the SMB.

SMBW sent me a sure power separator for me to install. If I decide not to install it, I can take it back to SMBW and they will install, under warranty, the Blue Sea separator they are now using. They did not want to mail the Blue Sea to me because it is wired a little differently than the Sure Power.

Angel

jage · 02-15-2010, 09:54 PM

Been there done that. Funny a year ago when I was calling SMBw asking for a BlueSea Separator they didn't know what I was talking about.

Incidentally I don't think you should jump the separator terminals with anything less than a jumper cable or jumper sized cable wire (a good sized bolt or wrench will work in a pinch), basically the amp draw across the terminals is more than most spare wires could take- meaning they might melt or burn.

You can also remove one wire and attach it to the other side for a longer term "fix", but all of these are with live voltage so care should be taken.

Glad you're up. My opinion is run open (no separator) until you can head to SMBw and get that BlueSea. It's much nicer. Make sure they install the switch for it too.

Angel · 02-28-2010, 01:49 PM

Now, my old separator is working. Peter at SMBW had me use jumper cables to connect the batteries in hopes that the separator would start working (to unstick something in the separator). It did not work then. But, last week I thought I would try it again. I left the jumper cables on it for 15 min. and it worked. Now everything is working normal--- when plugged in and battery charger is on or when I am driving or when parked in the sun, both batteries are charging. I am still going to SMBW and get the Blue Sea with a switch.

Now I am checking the starting battery each day. It is down to 12.4 when unpluged for 24 hours and the sun did not shine. Is that normal? Could the new battery I got have a problem or do you think I have some other problem?

Angel

Ford_6L_E350 · 02-28-2010, 02:02 PM

12.4 is ok.

I wonder if the seperator was not working because the starting battery was too low?

Now that you have a good battery it is back to normal.

Mike

Angel · 02-28-2010, 02:46 PM

My battery was replaced Feb. 11. The battery was at 12.8. I kept it there by running SMB each day

Feb. 14: I jumped batteries together for 15 min. House battery started charging while running the SMB but with plugging in and battery charger on only the house battery was charging.

Feb. 16: I started SMB and house battery was charging. Plugged in and turned on battery charger and starter battery now started charging.

If it was a low battery problem, it seems to me the separator would have started working right away.

I am glad that 12.4 V is O. K. for the starter battery. I try not to let my house battery go below 12.2 V. Should I use the same rule for the starter battery?

I just read that battery voltage may drop aprox .10 V for each 10 degrees drop in temp. It was a cold morning when it was at 12.4 V (45 degrees is cold for So. Cal.) :-)

Angel

**daveb** · 02-28-2010, 04:29 PM

Angel, my separator did the same thing a couple of years ago while in Colorado. I drove to Fort Collins and picked up a blue sea battery separator switch with a plan to Parallel it to the sure power. When I went to do the job the old separator was working correctly. Sometimes the relay sticks.

I agree with Mike that your starting batteries sound like they are OK. The van should be able to sit for a week and still not have a rough time starting though. Maybe see what the voltage is after it sits for a while. It never hurts to crawl under the van and feel the battery boxes to see if they are unsusally warm after a long drive. They can also be checked if your house battery charger also provides charge to the starting batteries but the separator must be working. On my last battery problem, after a overnight charge, one box was warm and one was cold...I knew I was having a problem.

Dave

PatO · 03-06-2010, 11:25 AM

Is there a definitive way to check the separator? I drove 460 miles Sunday night after being parked for 4 days. Before leaving Willow Beach my passenger had flicked on the Extra Battery Radio Switch. I drove the van 1 mile Monday night to fill it up. Wednesday night I went to start it and it didn't have enough charge to start. I have a small extra battery and the 2 starting batteries less than a year old. The radio switch is the only load I could find that was left on. It would be very nice to be able to trust the separator to do its job when out in the boonies and away from home.

NEVER MIND I JUST FOUND THE OTHER THREAD ABOUT THIS TOPIC.