Battery power issue

[JackandJanet]

Honestly, I don't think it's a "short". That would cause an overload somewhere that would probably blow a fuse or pop a circuit breaker.

Bad connections though, are certainly a possibility. Those limit the amount of current that can travel, essentially making for "weekly" operating things. Those connections can either be on the "hot" side of the circuit or the ground side.

If you could measure the voltage at the lifting motor, low or fluctuating voltages would possibly indicated a poor connection. Your batteries and the charging circuit sound perfectly fine to me though. Look for corroded or loose connections, or a wire that has been damaged and is partially "cut through".

- Jack

 

[Garry-HILO]

Honestly, I don't think it's a "short". That would cause an overload somewhere that would probably blow a fuse or pop a circuit breaker.

Bad connections though, are certainly a possibility. Those limit the amount of current that can travel, essentially making for "weekly" operating things. Those connections can either be on the "hot" side of the circuit or the ground side.

If you could measure the voltage at the lifting motor, low or fluctuating voltages would possibly indicated a poor connection. Your batteries and the charging circuit sound perfectly fine to me though. Look for corroded or loose connections, or a wire that has been damaged and is partially "cut through".

- Jack

Thanks Jack, that fits right in with what I have observed. I have gotten different readings from the black charge wire, depending upon where I place the probe. I have tried to remove the nut securing the wire, but the wire rotates instead of the nut and I've been afraid I would break something that would be hard to replace. I'm going to disconnect everything from the batteries and then proceed.

 

[Beekeeper96]

Situation solved.

I have to admit once I got the multimeter I started tracking power from the battery. It turned out I didn't have to go far it stopped at some built up grease on a junction box. Once I cleaned it off the power worked fine. Mystery solved. Thanks for your assistance folks.

 

[hilltool]

Thats great- because I was going to say, " Probably what Jack said."

rick

 

[hilltool]

I just realized we have two discussions going on here. Gary, I tend to agree with jack because I always tend to agree with Jack. I use " short " to describe anything where power is not getting to where it is supposed to or going somewhere it shouldn't. Sloppiness on my part based on ignorance. .Again, stating the obvious I guess- the "charge wire" from the tv should not affect the ability of the battery to operate the lift motor. Unless, of course, it is draining your house battery- which I have heard of. Disconnecting everything and starting from scratch does seem like a good way to go at it, though. I have often been surprised on other issues how quickly I remedied something by cleaning up contacts and tightening grounds. good luck

Rick

 

[Garry-HILO]

I just realized we have two discussions going on here. Gary, I tend to agree with jack because I always tend to agree with Jack. I use " short " to describe anything where power is not getting to where it is supposed to or going somewhere it shouldn't. Sloppiness on my part based on ignorance. .Again, stating the obvious I guess- the "charge wire" from the tv should not affect the ability of the battery to operate the lift motor. Unless, of course, it is draining your house battery- which I have heard of. Disconnecting everything and starting from scratch does seem like a good way to go at it, though. I have often been surprised on other issues how quickly I remedied something by cleaning up contacts and tightening grounds. good luck

Rick

Thanks again Rick. I will have to wait until the temps drop a little before I can get started. Things can heat up real fast working on a concrete slab in triple digit temps. If I touched a hot wire I probably wouldn't even know.