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I thought I had drained my battery (6 volt) trying to start my 1947 (3100) pickup. I took it to Advanced Auto and guy checked it and said it was fine but the amps were low in the battery. He put it on charge and I will pick it up later today. Now, to my question. If the starter does not engage tonight when I get the battery back in where would I begin to look for the problem? Thanks.

Any 6 volt system needs the biggest battery cables available, and clean tight connections everywhere. Don't assume- - - -unbolt and wire brush EVERY connection between the battery and the starter, and do the same thing with all the grounds. Be sure there's either a direct ground cable from the battery to the engine or the bellhousing, or if the battery grounds to the body or frame, be sure there's also a BIG jumper to the engine from there. By big, I mean a #0 wire or bigger- - - -the cable insulation should be as big as your index finger, minimum. One the size of your thumb is better.

If it still doesn't turn right with clean connections and big cables, you've either got electrical problems inside the starter or a tight engine. Can you turn the crankshaft by pulling on the fan with the spark plugs removed?
Jerry

Should ground cable to body or frame be wire or braid?

Run the battery ground directly to the lower starter mount bolt using cable size recommended above. A braided ground goes from bell housing to frame right in back of the starter. As noted above all connections must be extremely clean metal to metal.

Well all was fine until it would not turn over this past weekend (after I had been trying to start it for a good while). Before this incident I never had any trouble with the wiring or the starter. I have had to replace the battery a few times. I will know more after I get the battery back in this week. Another question. I usually keep a battery maintainer hooked up to the battery. I mentioned this to the guy at Advanced Auto and he said using a battery maintainer was not a good idea. He did say on a vehicle that is not started very often it needs to run about an hour whenever it is started. What say you list members? thanks.

bucktruck: I think it would be preferable to listen to the folks here who have lots of experience with your type of truck, and its 6 volt system, versus the good intentions of the guy at Advanced Auto.

I tested a few of those little (ie cheaper) battery maintainers a few years back and found that they were not very good at their intended job. Their goal was to keep a battery charged when the battery wasn't being regularly used. The simple problem that many of them had was that they were not "smart" enough. Their processing ability was pitiful . They often trickled a charge long after it was needed, and thus would kinda slowly cook the electrolyte from my batteries over long term.

I would recommend a better 6/12 volt smart charger. I had good luck with older Schumacher 15amp XCS15 and the SC1359. The smart chargers will do most of your 6v &12v automotive, lawn , or marine battery needs. They are "smart" because they have better microprocessors to sense the battery condition.
I do not leave the smart charger ON for more than a day or so because its normally not needed.
I do disconnect a battery cable from battery when I store the truck for a longer time. I do maintenance charges with that a cable disconnected to isolate the 6volt battery.

If you need more garage starting ability, there are still some big 6volt /12 volt starter charges on the market. They can give extra amps to start your 6 volt.

Smart chargers will not fix a really bad battery, or fix corroded wiring & connections, nor a badly worn starter. They will keep a good battery in good condition. Trusting your 6volt battery when you first go to start your truck can lead to helping you find the true source of a hard start problem by eliminating battery suspicions.

Batteries are like muscles- - - -if they're not exercised regularly, they atrophy. All lead-acid batteries produce current by a chemical reaction between the plate material and the acid. Negative plates are pure lead. Positive plates are lead dioxide. When they're immersed in a solution of sulfuric acid and water. and a conductor is connected between the posts, the acid combines with the plates to produce lead sulfate and an electric current. The acid reduces in strength until there is no more plate material to consume, eventually leaving nothing but water in the cells.

A DISCHARGED BATTERY IS IN DANGER OF FREEZING! Never allow a battery to run down in cold weather and leave it in sub-freezing temps- - - -it will freeze solid and ruin the cell groups.

When a current is forced back into the battery by raising the charging system voltage higher than the cells are producing, the chemical reaction reverses- - - - -the acid recombines with the water, and the lead sulfate goes back to being lead and lead dioxide. Theoretically, this reversible reaction should continue forever, and the battery would never have to be replaced. HOWEVER- - - - -in the real world, plate material detaches itself from the plate grids and falls to the bottom of the cell, where it cannot participate in the charge/discharge cycle. Vibration, like from not being bolted down, is a battery's worst enemy. Second in line of things a battery doesn't need is sitting idle, even with a maintainer in use. Unless a battery gets cycled, like turning on the headlights for an hour or so, or running the starter a few times, the cells don't go through enough of a charge/discharge cycle to stay in good condition.

When it first forms, lead sulfate is a spongy material which re-dissolves easily. If sulfate sits around a while like in a partially-discharged battery, it forms a very stable crystal which is extremely hard to dissolve. A sulfated battery will have normal open circuit voltage, but very little cranking current or reserve capacity. Does that condition sound familiar? If your truck is a "hangar queen" that doesn't get run or driven on a regular basis, you need to give the battery a little physical therapy- - - - -run it down about halfway and do a recharge with a regular battery charger, not a maintainer, or take the vehicle out for a drive and stop and start the engine a few times along the way. Also, keep an eye on the water level- - - -don't let the tops of the cell groups get exposed to air. Sulfate crystals form quickly if the plates get dry. Add clean water (never acid) to keep the cell groups full. Give that battery a little TLC and it will last a lot longer.
Jerry

Thanks Hotrod and others. I have a regular commercial battery charger and a good portable charger. I plan to stop using the maintainer.