The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Cranking amps

rebuilt 216, 12 volt conversion
would the cranking amps required be below 500 ?

( under normal conditions cold)

Are you running 12 volts on the 6V starter? If so, the starter will draw more current than a 12V unit, but I think 500A would be a bit much. If you have access to a carbon pile battery load tester (not the 100 amp fixed-resistance "tester" a lot of parts stores use)you can find exactly what the current draw is. Check the battery terminal voltage while cranking the engine, then load the battery down to the same voltage and see what the current reading is. I've used that test for well over 50 years- - - -it works!
Jerry

Measured cranking amps.......12 volt system, orginal 6 volt starter

236 amps

12 VOLT WITH 6 VOLT STARTER
actually just making sure I am buying a battery with enough CCA

My idea on batteries is buy as large a battery as will physically fit in the space available.

What I am trying to do, 720 CCA

expensive,but at this point I don't want that to be an issue

I finally got almost all the wiring done and tested,(my wife posted it on facebook) I think she was amazed it got done !

We test school buses with 8.9L Cummins engine that only pull high 300 to low 400 amps when starting. I would think 200 range for a 235. My 250 has been starting with a 600 amp battery for years.

update,
bought the Optima Red top battery
really spun the starter and charged easily...

one issue resolved

Optima is great... if you get a good one. Hold on to your receipt.

If you ever drain your Optima totally dead, follow the recharge procedure described on the Optima website.

? problems, please tell me !!

I bought their charger with the maintenance settings and wired in the cables

As you most likely know, a maintenance charge is different from the procedure used to charge a fully dead/drained Optima battery.

If you have a "OPTIMA Chargers Digital 1200 12V Performance Battery Charger and Maintainer" you can do both - maintain an Optima battery, and charge a fully discharged Optima battery.

If your charger is not like the above device, on the right side of this page is RECOVERY OPTION #2: THE DIY SOLUTION FOR CHARGING A DEEPLY DISCHARGED BATTERY (using any old battery charger - 6v or 12v, depending on the Optima battery that you have).

We run Optima batteries in our electric trucks at work, they operate the lift gates. When they go down on power, our digital charger will take 8 hours some days to get two batteries back up to 100%. You must have the correct type of charger or you risk damage to the battery.

If it stay's up, then you have no worries, as they are great batteries. It's only when you let them get really low. We charge at 15 amps or less to keep them cool, the chargers on the trucks run at 10 amps.

Tim,
bought that charger,
All moved ??

Not that many go bad, but more than Interstate, Exide, Sears, etc.
From Moparts.org BBS: many complaints of short service life (less than 1 year), but the real problem is that (in those posts) the dealer tells you to send it back to Optima yourself, and Optima tells you the dealer must warranty it. Therefore warranty = worthless.
This may be old information, but it was pretty bad at the time - like getting a replacement that lasted 1 month. 1 bad in a row doesn't prove anything, 2 bad in a row: no excuse.

Special charger = "there was nothing wrong with it, you broke it".

Just personal: I don't buy anything, no matter how good it is, when the manufacturer stiffs you.

just-a-hacker,

Yes, the stuff from my NY garages are all moved to NC, but it is in total disarray.

Does that Optima charger do 6v and 12v?

Good luck with the Optima - one of my three 6v Optimas went "dead" several years ago, and I was told all the stories about bad Optima batteries.

I followed the correct recharge procedure and got it working. It is now over 12 years old.

I do not maintenance-charge them over the winter, or before start-up in the Spring. They start my trucks every spring, after winter hibernation.

Tim,
I am asking because my move to Maine may be coming sooner than originally thought.

My wife has been told she can work from there.

I will look at charger to see if it does 6V.

Dennis

Good luck with your move, Dennis

Thanks for checking your charger for 6v.

Tim,
It does not have a 6 volt setting,too bad.
Move to Maine is going to be a while,need to build a barn, and more importantly,sell a business