The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop can i vent?

At least i asked first. Bought a 6v optima from autozone less than a year ago. Go in today to get it charged. It had 5.6 v. After a hour it was the same. The guy warranties it for me gives me another one off the shelf
Tells me to go to another store and give them the new one i just got and swap it for theirs. Kind of weird but ok. New store gets me the new battery. He tests it says its good but needs a charge. I figure if i can start my truck the generator will charge the battery.

Driving to work the other day my truck was acting as if it was developing an intake leak mid traffic. I was able to get to work, but nothing now. It will not fire up. It will crank but nothing else. I did see fuel come out of the accelorator pump area which would make me think the float is set a bit high. I rebuilt the carb recently with a brass float. I am getting fuel, coil is new, starter is cranking. I swapped out the carb and still no dice. Not too sure where to go from here. I had a cracked carb spacer between the carb and intake but i have replaced it with a good used one, new one is in the mail. Could i still have a vacuum leak somewhere else? Hard to check while in the cab stomping the starter button. My engine is a 216 all stock 6 volt.

Have you checked to see if you are getting spark?
Have you checked point gap?

Point gap is good

I cleaned up the distributor cap but have a dead battery. I am getting a vehicle that should be able to jump start it. If not I will take the battery back to auto zone and have them charge it. I did get it to fire this morning but it did not stay running for long. That was before I cleaned the cap. Fingers crossed

5/8 ton,

This is a little off-topic, but this is pertinent to Optima batteries (especially the 6v). When this battery is drained very low, it often does not recharge by following normal recharge procedures (using normal, older, chargers). Many owners and battery dealers attribute this inability-to-recharge as a defect in the battery (they think the Optima battery is dead - many say this is due to now being made in Mexico).

Here are recharge procedures for Optima AGM batteries. Option #1 and #2 have worked for me, even when shops and dealers have said my Optimas are dead (thus, Option #3 has been unreliable for me).

Last summer, Option #2 recuperated an 8-year-old Optima 6v that would not take a charge (it had been completely discharged due to a slow-drain-short over a 3-week period). Options #1 and #3 were fruitless.

If you have a 6v battery, obviously you adjust the voltage in the procedure by 1/2.

Having a good point gap means almost nothing.
Points can corrode making it so they do not make a good connection.
You need to pull the coil wire out of the distributor cap and hold it close to the valve cover or some part of the engine. Then with the key on crank the engine over and see if there is spark.

Amen......... Check for spark ...
It seems as if you have adequate fuel supply...
Check for spark at the ends of he wires and at the coil!

There was a light white spark at the valve cover from the coil. Number 1 seemed to have no spark that is what prompted me to clean distributor cap. Since I have not had help checking as I am starting. Battery cables are toasting the casing from getting too hot jump starting it so much. This optima is [censored] me off more now that someone stole my battery charger I have had since at least when I was still in high school.

When I wanna crank and inspecti take a wood hammer handle or simaler wood stick and slip it over the stomp button on the top of the starter then just pull it towards the radiator and it pushes my starter. I think you can determine if its a ignition prob just by the sound. If only the starter is working that's all you hear. If you have some spark at all ,even if timings off , it will sound like it wants to fire . I'd jump my car with a 12 v battery make sure you don't turn on the lights lol. Just to make sure that you have sufficient juice. I'd check the wire going to ignition then back down to coil . With stompers it's possibly to engage starter without key on . Ballast bust I don't think you have one. Then the distributed open it up check the points check the cam that rides. Set points with feeler gauge . Then check dwell if you have a meter if not no prob. Check your plugs make sure they not ruined. The try the stick starter trick while you have a plug wire with a plug in it. You should get a big fat spark that jumps a inch or so.. If your holding it right next to the metal to get a spark then I'd look at my coil. Oh and the ground strap the battery has a neg that goes to the frame and your frame should have a strap to the bell house or starter. the engine needs to be grounded with that strap

FYI on Optima battery charging as it cannot be done the same as cell batteries,

If an OPTIMA battery is deeply discharged (below 10.5 volts), most basic chargers will not supply a charge. Also keep in mind that an OPTIMA battery will not recharge properly if treated as a regular flooded or gel battery. To charge the battery, you can wire a second fully charged automotive battery (12+volts) to the discharged AGM in parallel (+ to + and – to –). Then hook up the charger to the deeply discharged battery, setting the charger at 10 amps. Leave for two hours, monitoring frequently. During this process, if the discharged battery gets very hot or if it is venting (hissing sound from vents), then stop this process immediately. When the discharged battery reaches 10.5 volts or more, remove the standard battery and continue charging the AGM until fully charged.

Fro

Its on a 6v 6 amp charger now. I can't find a charger with an adjustment for amps on 6 volt charge

Recovery Option #2: The DIY Solution at the link I gave above is quite similar to what Fro posted.

Charging Your AGM Battery
Tech Tips – Powered by OPTIMA® Batteries
Tech Tip #3 – Don't Throw Away Your "Dead" AGM Battery: Three Tips on Resuscitating a Deeply Discharged AGM Battery

Use a 6v battery charger and an additional, good, fully charged 6v battery.

If I had a good charged 6v battery I would not have bought an optima

i got a 6 v from autozone for a 53 dodge I had two years ago for like 60 bucks. worked ok for me.

I returned the optima and got a regular 6v from Autozone. Changed the condenser and the coil. Charged up the battery and it fired up. Got it going good now. We will see after a day or so. Hopefully I chased out the gremlin I had.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions


By returning the optima at $189 I got a 6v battery and another 12v battery and battery cables for my '62 Pontiac tempest.

Still cranks slow I need to check my ground straps.

I swapped out the optima battery for an Autozone duralast and changed the starter actuator for the foot start and changed the possative battery cable. Fires right up every time.