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Battery drain question.

Started by _LH SLR 3300_ , Apr 20 2014 01:36 PM

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34 replies to this topic

#1 _LH SLR 3300_

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 01:36 PM

Just took my 355 LH Torana for a drive to clear out the cobwebs. Started up no problem, drove for 20mins & parked for half hour before heading for home, again, started no problem. Arrived home & turned the car off so I could unlock the gate, open the shed & put it away.

It would not start, barely cranks over. The car runs a near new 85A Bosch alternator & last time I tested it in the car, it was charging around 14.1 on the amp meter. The factory SL/R amp gauge reads just over half, so I'm guessing the charging system is working as it should. Being a fairly hot day & the fact the engine is far from stock, it tends to run on the hot side when cruising at low speed & stop/starting in traffic, so I ran the twin 12" thermos to keep it around 80C temp.

Now, I'm assuming that running these fans for the drive home has drained the battery, is this the likely scenario? I thought an 85A alternator would be plenty enough for the job, there is no big stereo etc in the car.

Could it be the fans are drawing more power than the alternator can cope with? The only other scenario I can come up with is the battery is past it's prime, it is a couple of years old, but has not seen much use in the car & I always disconnect it when the car sits for extended periods.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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#2 S pack

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 01:46 PM

Sounds like the battery has shit itself.

Also, the SL/R has a volt gauge not amps.

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#3 _LH SLR 3300_

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 02:11 PM

Thanks, & yeah you're right, volt gauge. It started with a jump start & again, I think you're right about the battery. Now to prevent any potential problems in the future, I'm hoping any auto elec experts can advise me on some other points with this car. The battery is located in the boot, using heavy duty cables. It is earthed to the body via the rear bumper mounting bolt & it has a separate earth from engine block to the body using the same heavy cable.

I've run an appropriate amperage cable from the alternator + to the starter. I might add that I've also run the constant 12V power source for the car from the starter, along with the constant 12V power for the MSD ignition & a fusible link bar to power three relays, dual fan relays & the electric fuel pump.

Could this be overloading the starter & possibly lead to premature failure & or causing excessive drain that could cause problems with battery charging?

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#4 N/A-PWR

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Name:Dave I
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Posted 20 April 2014 - 02:13 PM

or take the clamps off the Battery and clean all the oxidizing out of those terminals

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#5 _LH SLR 3300_

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 02:28 PM

Already checked terminals. They are as new. Most of the parts that make up the car's electrical & charging system are near new & haven't seen much use. The starter motor is a genuine Bosch gear reduction starter, again with very little use. I should probably add that the engine is a fairly stout 355 Holden running around 12:1 comp, but so far when the battery has had the power, it has managed to turn the engine over fairly easily, so I don't know if this is relevant to the problems I've had or may or may not have in the future.

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#6 N/A-PWR

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 02:34 PM

So, put another battery in for a Battery check

then start on stop a few times to see if that battery can keep starting it, give the Alternator a chance to charge it too

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#7 Ice

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 03:05 PM

One doesnt just clean the cobwebs out in a car like yours Matt
more like drive it like you stole it hahahahahahaha
hope that seatbelts fixed

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#8 _LH SLR 3300_

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 03:14 PM

Actually, I behaved myself....for the most part. Gotta be very carefull with how I handle this car Gene, the difference between how it went with the EFI engine opposed to how it goes with the new engine is like getting off a 250cc bike & jumping on a 900cc bike. At 100kph + in top gear, I can slowly crack the secondaries on the 950HP Holley & it bushfires the back tyres & launches sideways. Seat belt is fixed too.

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#9 Ice

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 03:25 PM

Im liking what im hearing Matt cant wait to go for a spin in it one day

I bet its like a rocket ship

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#10 _LH SLR 3300_

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 04:13 PM

It's frightening how fast it picks up speed, I've never been in or driven anything so quick in my life. I want to start driving it more often, which is why I'm trying to iron out any problems with the electrical side of it. Other than that, the car runs faultless. I also need to fit a bonnet scoop to cover the air filter & it's going to the exhaust shop for a new system & better mufflers to quieten it down a tad, then I should be able to clock some more kms in it.

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#11 _LH SLR 3300_

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 07:29 PM

New engine.

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#12 _LH SLR 3300_

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 07:34 PM

Still trying to figure out photobucket link, another pic of the engine.

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#13 N/A-PWR

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Name:Dave I
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Posted 20 April 2014 - 07:35 PM

Huge

Nice Tunnel Ram too

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#14 _LH SLR 3300_

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 07:36 PM

It may not look much the part, believe me it goes the part though.

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#15 _LH SLR 3300_

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 07:44 PM

What the engine is powering.

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#16 _LH SLR 3300_

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 07:46 PM

I thought I had a pic of the rear wheel arches, just for you Gene, but I can't find it. I'll need a chisel to scrape the rubber off them I think

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#17 _LH SLR 3300_

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 07:51 PM

Thought I had a video of the engine being run on the dyno, but lost that too. So here is an interior pic instead.

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#18 Ice

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 07:56 PM

Still looks neat as a pin Matt

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#19 _zenburger_

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 08:07 PM

very nice mate! was it easy to fit the centre console over the shifter? want to do the same to mine, the 355's go alright hey! still getting used to mine!

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#20 _LH SLR 3300_

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 08:21 PM

I had a fairly stout EFI 355 in the car before. That was good enough to run two 11.7@115mph passes back to back. This one makes a heap more power & torque but as yet is untested on the track. Console was more time consuming than anything to fit over the B&M Pro-Ratchet shifter. I had to cut a small section out of the area under the front lid to clear the front of the shifter & cable, other than that, the only mod was a small cut out for the reverse lock out lever. You may have noticed that I fitted a Rare Spares M21 gear knob instead of the white B&M one. Although due to the protruding air filter & noise the car makes it can hardly be classed as a "sleeper", I like my cars to be as plain & simple as possible.

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#21 Ice

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 08:32 PM

Sleeper that would wake the dead up i reckon matt lol

Do you think it will do 10s Matt

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#22 _LH SLR 3300_

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 08:38 PM

Without speculating too much, I'm fairly optimistic it should. A very similar Holden 355 engine in an un-tubbed LX Torana street car built by my engine builder, Ned Sassine of Hercules Competition Engines has run 9.89@135mph.

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#23 _SLR Goat_

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 10:49 PM

Looks awsome what are the engine specs and is that a HP Ultra carb? how would you rate it

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#24 _LH SLR 3300_

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 11:27 PM

Thanks, big fan of your car too. Engine is a VS block with Harrop crank, four bolt splayed main caps, "H" beam rods, forged pistons, modified EFI heads & solid roller camshaft. Made well over 560bhp & over 480 ft lbs torque on straight 98PULP. Carb is a 950 Ultra HP, been very happy with it's performance so far, pretty much ran it straight out of the box.

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#25 _LHSL308_

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 11:43 PM

Nice Matt I bet it can give you some whiplash. How do you go with the petrol in that thing, I bet a tank doesnt get you far? Mine is only a worked 308 and with the occasional squirt I would be lucky to get 200km out of it with my Ultra HP holley 650.

Edited by LHSL308, 20 April 2014 - 11:44 PM.