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54 Pontiac chieftain


Grizz

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  • 2 weeks later...

Do y’all have any tips for maintaining a 6v battery? Like anything different than you would a 12v? Finally got the new coil only to find that my Oreilly’s battery is dead. I was one month away from the warranty expiring so no money lost but just thinking I did something wrong? It lived on a 6v compatible charger up off of the floor and was full of water. Seems strange that it would fail so soon.   

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Is it one of those "smart" chargers? I've never had an issue with mine and I used to keep it plugged in all the time until I disabled the always running clock. My Sunday cruises are enough to keep the battery strong....but your issue does seem weird unless you overcharged. Maybe someone knows batteries better.  

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56 minutes ago, Grizz said:

Do y’all have any tips for maintaining a 6v battery? Like anything different than you would a 12v? Finally got the new coil only to find that my Oreilly’s battery is dead. I was one month away from the warranty expiring so no money lost but just thinking I did something wrong? It lived on a 6v compatible charger up off of the floor and was full of water. Seems strange that it would fail so soon.   

if another o'reilly's battery fails you, i would find the nearest interstate battery store.

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43 minutes ago, Summershandy said:

Is it one of those "smart" chargers? I've never had an issue with mine and I used to keep it plugged in all the time until I disabled the always running clock. My Sunday cruises are enough to keep the battery strong....but your issue does seem weird unless you overcharged. Maybe someone knows batteries better.  

It’s a pretty simple charger. It says 6v/12v. There is only one button to switch from STD to AGM. It would show the battery as “maintaining” but after I try and start it would show “bad battery/cables switched”. I definitely need to find an interstate dealer. 

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What does the throttle linkage look like? Mine is missing and I’d like to get the pedal hooked up because I can see the pump jets working. Still haven’t got it started. But I did find an ignition that matches the key I found in the ash tray. But now that I Think about it why would the previous owner swap out the one they had the key for?

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There's a rod that goes from the gas pedal to the lower inner rearward hole in the bellcrank where your red line is. The bellcrank end of it is threaded and it's adjustable. The other end has a ball on it that snaps into the back of the top of the gas pedal. If you don't have it you'll probably have to find one somewhere from a parts car.

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The link that's hanging down in front of the starter isn't hanging at all, it's called a Transmission Throttle Front Rod and is part of the Hydramatic shift linkage. The lower end is attached to another bellcrank underneath the front of the starting motor. 

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  • 3 months later...

I found my shift rod. Also after cranking and cranking this thing over I discovered I DO NOT have the “00” battery cables. The ones I had were “1”. So I finally got around to ordering some proper cables. Cost about $45. Now I think the battery I had replaced is also dead. I guess because I’m just letting them sit on the charger for months at a time? I got a stronger crank on the new cables before the battery went completely dead. Also my ground cable looks like it’s burning up. Is this normal?

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As PhilAndrews already mentioned, the terminals need to be clean, and ESPECIALLY on the outside of the post and the inside of the hole in the terminal, because that is where the current needs to flow through.

 

Don't leave a battery on a charger all the time unless it is a "battery maintainer" or at least has a special battery maintain function. Battery maintainers don't cost too much and are a great thing to have if you are not going to use the car that much.

 

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Correct. Unless you have a "smart charger" even the old 6 volt 2 amp ones are too much to leave on all the time. They will kill the battery. You are better to just hook it up and check it once a month or so.  

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