Dual Battery Questions (1 Viewer)

[nlcruiser]

I apologize if this is a redundant post, but I have done two searches, and have not come up with a solid answer to my problem.

I have an '89 60 series with a 2H engine. It is a 24v system.

One battery has a Cranking Amp (CA) rating of 1075, and the other is 890. It is unclear, but it seems that the CCA are 930 and 750, respectably. They are both relatively new batteries, with one being about 2 months old, and the other about 1 month. The P.O. replaced one, and I was stuck on the road having to replace the second one, and could not get a battery to match the higher one's CCA.

I just had a battery terminal melt on me. It wouldn't start this morning, so I looked under the hood. I saw that the + wire on the smaller CCA battery was loose, so I tightened it. It later happened again, so I tightened it some more. Finally, it cut out on me on the road, and when I popped the hood, I saw that the + terminal on the smaller battery had melted significantly, and did not have a connection.

As an on-the-road fix, a very nice backyard mechanic helped me thread a nut on the + terminal, and we then, after doing some filing, put the wire on that, and it started fine.

I also had my alternator rebuilt about three weeks ago, at an alternator rebuild shop. Would this affect it at all?

My voltage on the gauge in the truck reads approximately 28v, and I don't think I've seen it go higher than that, or towards the max reading of 32. Finally, when I put my alternator back on, I put the tension so that it did not make a squeal noise, and looked and sounded normal.

I guess my long-winded question is this: Is this simply too large a gap in the two batteries? Or was the meltage simply due to a loose connection, thus causing arcing, leading to high heat and meltage?

I only bought this rig around 6 weeks ago, and did so largely out of it's legendary reliability. It seems to have been one thing after another so far, so I really appreciate any help you might be able to offer.

Thanks!

 

[Dieseler]

The melting was probably cased by a loose connction on that terminal the connections have to be tight if not you will get arcing and this destroys terminal posts.
I had this happen last summer when a mechanic working on my rad failed to tighten the cable down and when I was way in the bush I went to start it and it popped and smoked when I opened the hood half the post was gone.

 

[nlcruiser]

Thanks!

I was leaning towards (and hoping) that this was the cause of the meltage. Canadian Tire installed it, so they said they would likely replace it.

 

[mobi-arc]

bad connections

 

[Towpack]

The melting was probably cased by a loose connction on that terminal the connections have to be tight if not you will get arcing and this destroys terminal posts.
I had this happen last summer when a mechanic working on my rad failed to tighten the cable down and when I was way in the bush I went to start it and it popped and smoked when I opened the hood half the post was gone.

X 2.

The fitting of unequal capacity batteries is not to be recommended but will not cause the problems you have encountered. It simply means that the extra capacity of the bigger battery will be wasted as you can only draw what the smaller battery can deliver when used on a full 24v system.

 

[nlcruiser]

Ah, ok. Good to know. Makes sense!

Thanks!