[Vwdiesel] Cont'd Electrical gremlins - bad ground?

[Lee Hillsgrove]

>On Fri, Nov 08, 2002 at 07:44:36AM -0500, Lee Hillsgrove wrote:
>>
>>   It almost sounds like a light may be getting left on or something else
is
>> draining the battery. If you are getting 13.9 V while it's running, and
the
>> battery is indeed good, it should maintain a charge overnight. On the
other
>> hand, almost 12 volts when not running isn't that bad, so you may have
some
>> other problem.
>
>   "almost 12" is a dead battery. In fact, 12v is a dead battery. A good
battery
>will read a minimum of 12.5v, but should read 13.5 when fully charged. And
I'd
>be suspicious at only getting 13.9v charging -- I usually see 15-16v with
most
>cars. I've had defective alternators that only put out about 13v.
>
>




  Doh! Of course 12V while running is no good. Should be 14.2 or
thereabouts. Simple typing error on my part, and my apologies.

 What I meant to write was, "On the other hand, almost 14 volts when not
running isn't that bad, so you may have some other problem."

 I maintain that a good battery that has been sitting overnight will read
12V. Don't forget the reduced capacity of a lead-acid battery that has been
exposed to cold conditions and the problems that that will cause.

  Lee
  Oo-v-oO
  PP-ASEL
  KB1GNI