The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Are the 2 events related?

I have a '56 235 with a one wire alternator in my '49. Recently my amp gauge was showing a slight discharge over about a 2 week time frame. Tried to start one morning and very weak battery would not start engine.

Turns out I had a dead cell, bought an 'Optima Red Top' for $97, thought I was good to go, no, still showing discharge, was driving by my favorite alternator shop and my 2 year old alternator needs a rebuild.

Bought a rebuilt alt. for $65, (revealing prices so you guys can compare Virginia prices w/ what you pay in your area), installed, after a day of staying about 60% on the charge side, she's dead set on the middle after initial spurt to nearly max charge.

Did one event beget the other event? Like did my low charging alt. lead to the dead cell? or Did my 4 1/2 year old battery live it's life and contribute to the alternator's demise? Thanks, Cosmo.

I think you did well to get 4 1/2 years out of your battery. 2 years seems about average in south Texas. One drawback of the one wire alternator is that it may not "sense" the correct system voltage and you might be "overvolting" your battery which can drastically shorten its life. Check the volts at your battery with the engine running...I think there should be about 14 volts.

Cosmo It may have been the alternator that took out your alternator. Let me explain. If your alt was going bad then the battery may have been a victom of the Alt. Once the battery went it may have expedited the demise of that alt by over working it to death.

Here is an example that I used when I sold auto parts.

Your battery is like a large glass of water. When you start your car/ truck the starter takes a good size gulp out of the battery. The alt is like a pitcher to refill that glass. However the pitcher ( Alt) only has a small spout so it fills the glass slowly (over time). If you try to charge a dead battery with an Alt it is like trying to fill an Olypic size pool with a hose the size of a straw. Not going to work real well.
The Alt job is to top off the glass and run the accessories. In other words it is made for light( ( or lite work) duty. Battery Chargers are made for Heavy duty work.

By the way 4 years is good for a Battery.

Thanks, guys! The first 2 1/2 years of the batteries life I powered it w/ a Generator, the last 1 1/2 by the now defunct old alternator.

I am curious why a battery would only last 2 years in Texas. Is it because of the heat ? I always thought that our cold winters were hard on batteries. I used to think that 4 years was about average but nowdays they don't make them like that.

The worst thing for a batter is Heat followed by Vibration and the Cold.

One wire alternators need you to rev the engine to get the alternator started charging. Otherwise, you're running on the battery. If you aren't revving enough to trigger the sensing circuit in the alternator, this could have caused your problem too.

Fentons w/ dual 30" glasspacks, I REV!!!

You might want to read what these guys have to say about the so called one-wire alternators.
http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/onewire-threewire.shtml

Wiring a alternator with only one wire does not make it a one-wire alternator. There is a difference.
It goes along with what SoTxBoTi and Hot Rod Dad mentioned. One-wire alternators are great for trailer queens that hide all their wiring, but the three wire is a better setup for a daily driver.