Tom:
I guess you would what I did a "volt drop" test....I put the meter on
(I think?) some setting that said 25k. when I did and touched the pos. and
neg test wires together, I got the meter needle to read "12 o'clock"
figuring that this was good enough to check with, I then used this method to
check continuity at each place I mentioned earlier. But not with motor
cranking.....I thought that this would be sufficient to check with. Guess
it's not huh ? What you are saying then is to do the same test, only have
someone spin it over at the same time to get the "real picture" of whats
going on ? And the reading will show how much when its operating OK ?
-and how much when it is faulty ?
Haven't had time to check it yet.......did you ever have "one of those
days" -when just EVERYTHING goes sour ? well I did last night. Was
jacking B.W. up to do P.M.'s and find an elusive exhaust leak, when just as
I was getting the jack stands.....wham! down she comes. Only this time
she lands on the bottom of the radiator...good thing no one was around to
hear all the blue language......
My original deuce grille shell hit my nerf bar as the radiator brackets
and the radiator's tabs bent forward. Luckily I guess, the nerf stopped
any more forward movement -at the expense of two 3/8" dents on the sides of
the deuce shell. Of course the radiator started to leak as well. But
of course. So after dealing with that for a couple hours, removing the
dents, straightening the shell, and sanding the out side of it readying it
for a repaint, I straightened the chassis radiator brackets and the ones on
the radiator too which were tweaked pretty bad as well, I flushed it and
generally got it ready for a ride to an as yet un-determined radiator shop
( I live in Po-dunkville, NY -where there is NO expertise of any kind to be
had -at any price ! -something as "high tech" as a radiator repair just
might take me to New Jersey in search of help !!!!)
-So after all that, I decided to crawl underneath and what do you know
? .... I found to leak: a 4" crack halfway around the left side header
where they go "two into one" (remember the really really OLD "Heddman
Hedders"? -yup, that's what I started with; to build the entire custom made
system B.W. has on'er. Well, they were OLD ones that I started with
-simply because I had a set just like them when I was 19 and thought they'd
"be cool" WRONG. bad choice.....even though they looked new when I swapped
for them, they must have had more wear and fatigue than I figured on. To
finish a long story, I spent another 2 1/2 hours making a new steel
reinforcement, and welding it to the header -thats after I ground all the
HPC coating off the thing to do so....! Ugh.
So you see I've not had time YET to check some more on the "electrics
delimmma" but you can be sure I will'
Will also be sure to let you know all about it.
Thanks for all you help! my best, Doug Anderson -NY
From: "Thomas E. Bryant" <saltracer@awwwsome.com>
Reply-To: saltracer@awwwsome.com
To: Doug Anderson <boogiewoogie12@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: Murphy's law, and Boogie Woogie's malady....THANKS Fellas!
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 16:30:12 -0700
Just wondering how you checked the ground circuit. One comment, "I
started at the
> battery in the trunk to the actual wire in the cable and performed a
> continuity test: all OK!" Was this an ohmmeter test, or a volt drop? Were
the volt drop test readings taken while the starter was operating? Two very
important questions. First an ohmmeter test will show good if only one
strand is still connected. Not a valid test for what it will do under load.
Second, the volt drop test has to be with the engine cranking.
You may have hit on something when you mentioned the cutoff switch. That
can be checked for volt drop too, shouldn't have more than 0.1 volt.
Tom, Redding CA - #216 D/CC
Doug Anderson wrote:
>
> 7/31/00 Monday
>
> Tom; thanks a bunch for replying, -and for your time.
> I know you have to be real busy readying for Bonneville….
>
> I had hoped Boogie Woogie "was better" after the new battery, new
starter,
> et al, and the trickle charge….. But alas on Friday noon as I shut it off
> for the first time on the first leg of my weekend trip (at full a 190
> degree temp) in my mothers driveway (-and of course, away from most of
my
> tools…) anyway, five minutes later, I went to leave, and upon turning
the
> key, she just grunted….. Oh man….
>
> So after thinking a bit about what you had already posted me, ( and of
> course before I had received this answer post ) I decided that the first
> course of action was to really SEE if I had a good ground. I've
carrying
> a voltmeter/ohmmeter tester with me now, so out it came…I started at the
> battery in the trunk to the actual wire in the cable and performed a
> continuity test: all OK!
>
> Then I checked from the battery to the frame under the battery; OK.
>
> Then, using a scrounged piece of romex wire I found in Mom's basement, (
to
> extend the reach of the test lead ) I moved forward all the way to the
> second ground strap that I have between the Left front motor mount bolt
to
> steering box bolt: OK all the way to that too. Not a bit of voltage
drop
> whatsoever.
>
> Then I checked right at the starter case to the engine block: also OK…
>
> So now, I KNEW my ground system was 100% from battery all the way to
> starter case….. -Tried starting the durn thing again,-just for the
hell
> of it, And what do ya' know; -she starts NORMAL.
> Spins right over like nobody's biznezz…..Whhhombah!
> Go figure. Must be ghosts….
>
> So after pondering that a bit I decide to go off on the planned trip to
the
> "Syracuse Nationals" street rod event 100 miles north…. figuring that
> "I' m bad, I can fix anything" I drove on about an hour and got to
thinking
> about the positive side of the starting circuit…… remembered that I have
> one of those all metal, heavy duty, master shutoff switches wired in the
> positive line about a foot from the battery, -and that I had'nt even
looked
> at it since putting the car together, four years, 16,000 miles, and a
trip
> to the salt ago…….
>
> Hummmmmm…. I wonderrrrr……
>
> found a Parts Plus auto parts store along my route in a small town and
> decided to shut'er on down, and went on in to buy some 14 gauge wire,
and
> alligator clips to make a nice test lead with, -a 12" battery cable
(with
> two flat ends) in case I need to jump the terminals on the shut off
switch,
> and at the last minute , some new flexible jumper cables too -"just in
case"
> ….came out, figured I'd probably end up fixing it right there 'cause
ya'
> just KNOW "it ain't a-gunna" start, and what'da ya' know? She
again
> starts normally…. Whoooombah!
>
> So off we go on down the road to Syracuse…. All weekend long she
> started,….like a good girl -but occasionally she'd grunt, yet start, in
> protest.
>
> I still have'nt checked the master shut off as I must remove, or move,
the
> tailpipes, and rear roll pan, and sure did'nt want to do that on the
trip.
> I will do that this week though, and see if I can see anything
-and/or
> jump the terminals, or perhaps eliminate the thing out of the system
> -though I hate to as it serves as peace of mind for me when the car is
> parked because it's easy to "kill" the electrics disabling the car
> -'course I also have a hidden master inline fuel shut off, and a secret
> ignition circuit shut off that I use as well. Somebody wants to steal
ol'
> Boogie Woogie, They're gonna hafta work for it!
>
> -That or have a rollback truck…. Huh boys?
>
> So anyway, the jury's till out on the starting problems….-but we'll keep
> looking and let you all know what we've found -for everyone's future
> reference OK ?
>
> Tom, I will try your recommendations and procedure on checking the
> cranking voltage, though I will be cautious and hesitant as I've never
done
> it before and "electrics" baffle me at times!
>
> Again a special thanks to you for clearing up my confusion.
>
> Doug Anderson 7/31/00
>
> BTW: "the Syracuse Nationals" had about 4,500 cars…..
> -About a dozen, were HOT RODS.
>
> Had fun talking with THOSE guys though… so it was a success in that
regard,
> though it was HOT, MUGGY, and awful awful CROWDED….I broke out in a
rash;too
> many "Street RodZ" all at one exposure.
>
> Street Rodders sure are a different crowd, with different priorities,
than
> Racers, and HOT Rodders….
>
> Thank you, but no thank you.
>
> From: "Thomas E. Bryant" <saltracer@awwwsome.com>
> Reply-To: "Thomas E. Bryant" <saltracer@awwwsome.com>
> To: Doug Anderson <boogiewoogie12@hotmail.com>
> CC: lsr_man@yahoo.com, land-speed@autox.team.net, DancinDye@aol.com,
> tinshed@ozemail.com.au, jgfiitzhu@providentbankmd.com,
> cbailey@sprise.com, beanracers@aol.com, av8ford@volcano.net,
> salt@ivec.net, hastingsv@aol.com, jungbec@aol.com,
> whodaky@sympac.com.au, hotrodprod@pdt.net, lsaltsman@telenet.net,
> saltsix@earthlink.net, SPLHAUGINC@aol.com, squarerollbars@yahoo.com,
> pvincent@poci.amis.com, kch@digisys.net
> Subject: Re: Murphy's law, and Boogie Woogie's malady....THANKS Fellas!
> Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2000 17:22:02 -0700
>
> Doug,
>
> What you are doing with the voltmeter is reading the voltage difference
> between two points. In other words how much voltage is used up to
> overcome the resistance in the circuit. Kind of like reading the water
> pressure at each end of a garden hose. If you hook the voltmeter to the
> battery, (positive lead to positive post and negative lead to negative
> post), it will read battery voltage, roughly 12.6 volts with no load,
> could be higher if the engine was just shut down because the charging
> system is set to produce 13.5 to over 14 volts. With the voltmeter still
> connected to the battery the reading while cranking will be
> approximately 10 to 10.5 volts on a good system. That is how much
> voltage the battery can produce with the starter operating. The reading
> is also the voltage drop through the entire circuit.
>
> By moving the negative lead back toward the positive side of the
> circuit, from battery negative to the engine block, to the starter, to
> the positive connection on the starter, to the battery post on the
> solenoid, etc. a step at a time. With each move, part of the circuit is
> eliminated from the voltmeter's reading and the voltage reading will be
> reduced with each step back toward the positive post. Of course, the
> biggest change will come when the lead moves to the positive side of the
> starter, because the starter motor is eliminated from the reading.
>
> I don't know how much you understand about electrical circuits, so I
> have used lots of words to explain. The basic message is, to measure
> voltage of a circuit the meter is connected in parallel, positive to
> positive and negative to negative. An ammeter is hook up in series,
> inside the circuit, all current used is passed through the meter (unless
> an amp clamp is used, which measures amperage by sensing the magnetic
> field created around the circuit as current passes through). Volt drop
> is measured by connecting to the source and moving the other lead down
> the same side of the circuit, further and further from the source.
>
> If I could draw pictures with this thang it would be lots simpler to
> explain. You really can;t hurt the voltmeter though unless you try to
> run current through it.
>
> Tom, Redding CA - #216 D/CC
>
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