Chevrolet 10 Series 1970 Service Manual page 394

ENGINE-ELECTRICAL 6Y-2
o f dilute sulfuric acid. P la te straps located on the top
o f each elem ent connect a ll the p ositive plates and a ll
the negative plates into groups. The elem ents are con­
nected in s e r ie s e le c tr ic a lly by connectors that pass
d ire c tly through the case p artition s between c e lls .
top is a on e-p iece c o v e r. The c e ll connectors, by-passing
through the c e ll partition s, connect the elem ents along
the shortest p ra ctic a l path (fig . 2b). With the length o f the
e le c tric a l circu it inside the B attery reduced to a m ini­
mum, the internal voltage drop is decreased resulting in
im proved p erform an ce, p a rticu la rly during engine crank­
ing at low tem peratures.
Protection fo r the B attery charging circu it (10 gauge
w ire ) is p rovid ed by a p igtail lead which is a fusible
link o ff the b attery p o s itiv e cable (14 gauge w ir e ). Th is
lead is an in tegra l part of the B attery cable assem bly
and serv ic in g req u ires
assem bly.
C O M M O N CAUSES OF FAILURE
Since the B attery is a p erish able item which req u ires
p erio d ic servicin g, a good maintenance p rogram w ill
insure the longest p ossib le life . If the unit tests good but
fa ils to p e rfo rm s a tis fa c to rily in se rv ic e for no apparent
reason, the follow in g a re
fa cto rs that may point to the cause o f the trouble.
1. V eh icle a c c e s s o rie s
to cause a discharged condition.
2. Slow speed d rivin g o f short duration, to cause an
undercharged condition.
3. A veh icle e le c tr ic a l load exceeding the gen erator
capacity.
P A R T IT IO N
\
F ig . 2 b —In te rn a l V ie w o f C e lls
rep la cin g the com plete cable
PERIODIC SERVICING
some of the m ore im portant
inadvertently le ft on overnight
PLATE
STRAP
A battery g en era lly has two cla ssifica tio n s o f ratings:
(1) a 20 hour rating at 80 F and, (2) a cold rating at O F
which indicates the cranking load capacity. The A m p ere-
Hour rating found on b a tteries was based on the 20 hour
The
rating. That is, a battery capable o f furnishing three (3)
am peres fo r 20
a vera ge individual c e ll voltage would be c la s s ifie d as a
60 am pere hour battery
60 A .H .). A PW R (Peak Watt Rating) has been developed
as a m easure o f the E n e r g iz e r 's cold cranking a b ility.
The num erical rating is em bossed on each case at the
base of the E n e rg ize r.
m ultiplying the max. current by the max. voltage. The
PW R should not be confused with the am pere hour rating
since two b a tteries with the same am pere hour rating
can have quite d ifferen t watt ratings.
placem ent, a unit o f at lea st equal pow er rating must be
selected.
4. D efect in the charging system such as high r e s is t ­
ance, slipping fan belt, faulty gen erator o r voltage
regu lator.
5. B attery abuse, including fa ilu re to keep the B attery
top clean, cable ends and posts clean and tight, and
im p rop er addition o f w ater to the c ells .
LEVEL INDICATOR
The B attery features an e le c tro ly te le v e l indicator,
which is a sp ecia lly designed vent plug with a tran s­
parent rod extending through the center (fig . 3b). When
the ele c tro ly te is at the p rop er le v e l, the lo w e r tip o f the
rod is im m ersed , and the exposed top o f the rod w ill ap­
p ea r v e ry dark; when the le v e l fa lls below the tip o f the
rod, the top w ill glow.
IN D IC A T O R
F ig . 3 b —E le c tro ly te a t Proper Level
hours while maintaining a sp ecified
(e.g. 3 am peres X 20 hours =
T h is value is determ ined by
F or battery r e ­
CHEVROLET TRUCK SERVICE MANUAL