Hope somebody has seen this problem before-it's a long story, but hopefully makes sense:
Yesterday, I went to start Sherman (after a month or so of sitting). I saw the battery was nearly dead, so I hooked up the charger for a few hours and disconnected the Yellow Optima from the truck. Once the charger indicated it was good to go (about 4 hours at 10 amps), I reconnected the battery.
I started Sherman and saw, to my great satisfaction, that the voltmeter showed 15 volts at about 1000 rpm once we were running. (I have a rebuilt bosch 40 amp alternator and a new voltage regulator with a VDO voltmeter). I pulled the light switch on and the voltmeter immediately dropped to 11 volts and did not register any charging despite my revving up to 2800 rpm. I shut the lights off, but it did nothing for the battery/alternator/voltage status: still 11 volts.
I drove it to my son's cub scouts and home (about 2 miles), but no change. Today we drove about 15 miles and again it showed 14-15 volts, until I hit some fog. I once again turned on the lights and it dropped to 11 volts. By the time we covered the next 20 miles, it dropped to 9 volts. I once again tried switching the lights off, but it made no difference.
I charged the battery for six hours, until the charger went off, and started driving home. It started getting dark, so I turned on the lights and again, the battery stopped charging. By the time we got home, we were at 9 volts. My tach, electronic speedo and stereo all shut down. We made it home, but barely. The lights were dimming and the electronic ignition was less than cooperative.
Anyone have advice?
I'm thinking about ditching the external regulator and 40 amp alternator for something a bit more modern.
Yesterday, I went to start Sherman (after a month or so of sitting). I saw the battery was nearly dead, so I hooked up the charger for a few hours and disconnected the Yellow Optima from the truck. Once the charger indicated it was good to go (about 4 hours at 10 amps), I reconnected the battery.
I started Sherman and saw, to my great satisfaction, that the voltmeter showed 15 volts at about 1000 rpm once we were running. (I have a rebuilt bosch 40 amp alternator and a new voltage regulator with a VDO voltmeter). I pulled the light switch on and the voltmeter immediately dropped to 11 volts and did not register any charging despite my revving up to 2800 rpm. I shut the lights off, but it did nothing for the battery/alternator/voltage status: still 11 volts.
I drove it to my son's cub scouts and home (about 2 miles), but no change. Today we drove about 15 miles and again it showed 14-15 volts, until I hit some fog. I once again turned on the lights and it dropped to 11 volts. By the time we covered the next 20 miles, it dropped to 9 volts. I once again tried switching the lights off, but it made no difference.
I charged the battery for six hours, until the charger went off, and started driving home. It started getting dark, so I turned on the lights and again, the battery stopped charging. By the time we got home, we were at 9 volts. My tach, electronic speedo and stereo all shut down. We made it home, but barely. The lights were dimming and the electronic ignition was less than cooperative.
Anyone have advice?
I'm thinking about ditching the external regulator and 40 amp alternator for something a bit more modern.
