Hitchcocks Forum

This could apply to any vehicle really. I have only needed to replace the batteries on both Bullets extremely rarely. But my car seems to eat about one a year.. just had it replaced for free...again...., warranty ...no problems... from Halfords. His machine said it was a defective cell. He thought it was a battery fault but we wondered if there is something on the car causing this? The car seems to charge just fine and all else is well. (1968 Minor, positive earth, dynamo) Any ideas what might cause several batteries to have gone the same way? Ta, Chris

Hi Chris, It is possible that the battery just can not keep up with your old timer, you know that these new stuff can not match the old stuff.
Back to the problem... have you checked the charge rate. it should be around 14.5 to 14.8 volts with a good load in it, headlights heater etc running.
If you do not have a volt meter, give me a call, I will come over and check it if you like.

I will not be going to the R.E. club on Tuesday.

Chris, are you running with an alternator or a dynamo ?

1968 would have a dynamo and voltage reg. Martin's right, you need to check the voltage isn't getting too high. It's where to start anyway.

Ok, will start there, Thanks for the suggestions! All the best,Chris

Hi CHRIS----------I believe you'll have the LUCAS RB108 regulator fitted ? ( https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=lucas ... ce=univ&sa )------- The l/h coil is the trembling regulator, whilst the r/h is the cut-out which disconnects the battery from the Dynamo....The points need maintenance in the same way as your ignition points do....If the contacts stay connected then the battery tries to "motor" the Dynamo with a burn-out as the result....Sometimes the contacts are slow to separate thus putting a temp. load on the battery....Have you had any work / repairs done on the Dynamo recently ? and if so was it re-polarised before fitting ?/--------- Is the RB108 a 6v or 12v rated model and does it match the vehicles voltage as well ( Was your vehicle's electrics altered by a PO in the past ??)----------- PS, there's no rectifier as the Dynamo produces DC already....