QuestionQUESTION: Dear Mr. Benjamin:
I have a 1953 Buick Super whose battery went dead. I know that I can't jump it with a car that has a 12 volt battery since the Buick's is a six volt battery. Is there a trickle charger out there that I can purchase specifically for a car with a six volt battery? If not, what are my options? The battery is fairly new but died due to the car not being started up and run for a few weeks. Thanks for your help!!
ANSWER: Yes, there are 6 volt battery chargers - they are a bit harder to find, but I would expect your NAPA store to have one. If you cannot find one anywhere else, a golf cart battery supplier will be able to get one for you.
If the battery is discharged, you need more than a trickle charger- so try to find one that has a selection of charging rates, with at least at a 10 ampere maximum rate available - but leave it on that setting only long enough to bring the battery back up to about 7 volts, then disconnect it or switch it to the "trickle" mode if it has that provision.
I always disconnect the batteries in my hobby cars when I am not going to be driving them for a few days or longer. Leaving a battery connected is asking for trouble, both because of the fragile wiring in our old cars (fire danger), and because very often there is something in the car that is draining the battery slowly, and letting a battery sit unused without being fully charged is very hard on the battery - it will ruin a new battery within a month or so, and if you happen to live in a cold climate, it will then freeze and burst the case, doing a lot of damage to the car. For this reason, I always leave one of the battery cables just "snug" on the post, so that I can easily slip it off when I park the car. I strongly advise you to adopt this practice. Your battery will not "go dead" on you again, unless the battery has been ruined already.
If your car is a 1953 Buick Super, it came with a 12 volt system - so either your car is not a 1953, or is a Special, or someone has changed it to make it a 6 volt car. What do you know about the history of this car?
Something isn't right here. Does it have a V8 or a straight 8 engine? 1953 was the changeover year for Buick from 6 to 12 volts, and all models except the Special have 12 volt systems from then on. Only the Special continued with the straight 8 engine and a 6 volt electrical system into 1953 - all the V8 Buicks had 12 volt systems.
If you want to discuss this further, post a "follow up question" to me.
Dick
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Dick:
Thanks so much for your quick response. My Super is a V-8, the first year Buick came out with the V-8. Perhaps mine IS a 12 volt, but literature I picked up on the internet indicates (not to any certainty) that it's a six volt battery system, but now I'm questioning what I read. I'm certain that it IS a 53 Super (only one previous owner and I have the original bill of sale). Sounds like to me, it's a 12 volt system, considering what you've uncovered.
AnswerYes, it is (or at least originally was) a 12 volt car. You can look at the battery and tell by the number of water fill caps on the top of it, If it has 6 cells it is a 12 volt battery; if it has 3 cells, it is a 6 volt.
You may have to pry up one or two plastic rectangular covers to see the water fill holes on the top of each cell, or there may be simple screw-on caps at the top of each cell, depending on battery brand.
Another way to tell is to find the "group number" or BCI number on it. Originally these cars came with a "3EE" battery which is somewhat hard to find - although there are specialist companies reproducing them. Most cars have modern batteries installed although they don't fit or look exactly right, electrically they are fine.
The correct original battery for your car, the 3EE is a long, thin battery, with 6 cell caps visible on the top. It is still specified for some industrial and heavy duty equipment, and Interstate Batteries still makes one - it is their model 3EE-VHD, or you can buy a cheaper one at http://www.warehousebatteryoutlet.com/batteries.asp for much less money - I do not know what the quality level is of the latter source, but Interstate makes very good batteries. Their catalog listing says the 3EE is a "6" volt battery, but that is clearly an error in the catalog - the picture shows it as a 12 volt battery (you can count the cell caps), and I know for a fact that it is a 12 volt battery from personal experience - I bought one for my 55 Cadillac.
The other comments I made about disconnecting the battery when the car is not going to be used within the next few days still applies.
Dick
