Farmall Cub

I just purchased a 6 volt battery from tractor supply for my cub. I decided to fully charge battery before installing. I have had it on an automatic charger for 3 days,it has charged to close to 75% but will not go to 100% charge. Is this normal for a 6 volt battery? On all my 12 volt batteries it will charge to 100% on this charger. Does 6 volt charge work different or do you think the battery is the problem? Thanks

If it has been on charge that long and not fully charged and you know the charger is good, then you need to take the battery back. It should be showing around 6.3 volts by now. Most batteries are close to that off the shelf.

Your battery is fully charged at 65-70 percent at You have plenty of amps at that rate. My charger shows the same readings.

Disconnect your charger for a few days and check the battery again, should be the same or only slightly less.

I am new to the field of Cubs, but for as long as I have been dealing with antique cars (more than 50 years) batteries have been an issue for a lot of people. It doesn't matter if you ar buying a 6 volt or a 12 volt battery, the same things apply when buying.

Don't buy a battery that hasn't been tested right in front of you; Any store that sells batteries should have a battery tetster on hand, it will test the volts and amps of the battery in question and will perform a load test. The battery tester is the right tool for the job as that is what it is designed to do, If it does not pass, do not buy.

Be sure to check the date on the battery; There will be a sticker on the battery somewhere that will tell you when the battery was filled and charged (not manufactured). If the battery is more than 8 months old, find another one. Another good indicator is how dusty/dirty the batery is, 6 volt batteries have a tendency to sit around longer than 12 volt batteries do, if the top is real dusty odds are it has been sitting around a while.

You get what you pay for, when you buy a cheap battery, you are buying a cheap battery; I couldn't even begin to tell you the number of stories of guys on a car tour that are stuck in a hotel/motel parking lot with a dead battery. If you spend the extra money and buy yourself a good battery, you will have trouble free service. My personal chocie for more than 25 years has been DEKA Batteries, they are made by EastPenn Manufacturing in the U.S., you can go to their website and find a local dealer. Interstate and Delco have also been proven as reliable, but I would never buy a battery from a chain store (Carquest, TSC, Autozone, etc.), but rather from a business that specalizes in batteries. Also remember there are different sizes (Group 1, 2, 2E, 2N, etc.), make sure to get the group size that fits your application (i.e.- battery box/holder).

Always have proper size cables (coming and going) and have good connections; Six volt batteries need bigger cables than 12 volt batteries. The bigger the gauge the better, 1/0 (0 gauge) works well but 2/0 (00 gauge) is better and be sure that the power cable and the ground cable are the same gauge. I don't think I have been into an auto parts store in the last 20 years that has the correct size 6 volt battery cable on hand. If you are looking for original style wiring try Rohde Island Wiring Service at riwire.com They sell original style cloth covered wire and cable (with any tracer pattern you need) along with a wide variety of ends, connectors, loom and whatever else you may need. The easiest rule of thumb for any electrical connection is Bright-and-Tight, clean and tight connections are critical.

Test and maintain your charging system; Be sure that your entire charging system is in proper working order, don't guess, be sure. A good wiring harness, a properly working cutout/voltage regulator and a generator/alternator that is working and charging as it should be. And for those of you that have dealt with third-brush style systems before, make sure that your charging rate is set properly for your usage and application.

Install a battery disconnect switch; You can either instal a disconnect switch (in the ground cable) or simply disconnect the ground cable when you are done using the car/tractor. This will insure that if there is any fault/short in the system, the battery will not go dead while sitting and waiting to be used. As with the battery, you get what you pay for, I would not reccomend the disconnect switch with the green knob that attaches right to the battery post. A switch that is away from the battery and in an easily accessible place is best.

Buy and install a Battery Tender; This is one of the best things that you will buy if you have anything that has a battery that needs to stay charged. You will never be caught with a dead battery when you go to start one of your cars/tractors/motorcycles/toys and they will also help prolong the life of a battery that is not used as much as the one in your modern vehicle. The Battery Tender comes in a variety of models, including ones that will allow you to charge multiple batteries from one charging station. batterytender.com

Rememebr, these are just the things that I have done and still do, I am sure that others will have different reccomendations. At the very least, have the battery tested before you buy it and don't believe them when they say that all 6 volt batteries are the same, they are not.

Have you tested it with a load tester? You can get them for around $20. I bought one of the supposedly better quality automatic chargers form NAPA, It worked great on 12 volt batteries, but on 6 volt batteries it would never shut off, and never showed more than 75% charge. With a little research, and digging I found it was only automatic on 12 volts, not on 6 volts, even though the box said automatic 12/6 volt charger, when you read the small print in the instructions it says it is automatic on 12 volt settings but does not say it is automatic on 6 volts.

My "automatic" charger isn't automatic on 6V mode, either.

My Schumacher automatic chargers (from WalMart for about $20) seem to work fine on 6 or 12 volts. I didn't find any disclaimer in the instructions. On a 6 volt battery, they seem to switch to maintain mode (green light) in a reasonable amount of time.

Criswell wrote: My personal chocie for more than 25 years has been DEKA Batteries, they are made by EastPenn Manufacturing in the U.S., you can go to their website and find a local dealer.

I will echo that. Have had very good luck with Deka batteries in our "real" tractors. (In my dad's big JD's servicing the batteries is a real hassle, they even have a maintenance free in that particular size! )

Al

Jim Becker wrote:My Schumacher automatic chargers (from WalMart for about $20) seem to work fine on 6 or 12 volts. I didn't find any disclaimer in the instructions. On a 6 volt battery, they seem to switch to maintain mode (green light) in a reasonable amount of time.

I have 8 of these, in use on 6 and 12 volt batteries. Never had a problem maintaining full charge on every battery.

Jim Becker wrote:My Schumacher automatic chargers (from WalMart for about $20) seem to work fine on 6 or 12 volts. I didn't find any disclaimer in the instructions. On a 6 volt battery, they seem to switch to maintain mode (green light) in a reasonable amount of time.

My cheaper Schumaker is the same way, but my supposedly high quality NAPA is the one with the problem.

Well I think this was a great Answer from MR. Criswell about battery's, I have 10 yes Ten things that have battery's and I have a few problems with them,
most of the problems are in the winter, i think this will help me a lot, Thank You.

Thanks for all the replies and information. I guess,like Arizona Mike said is correct for my charger. Mine just goes a little past 75% and stays there. I just wanted to make sure it was not the battery. I had good service from last exide battery I purchased from tractor supply.The battery was manufactered about 5 month ago according to sticker. Would have gotten back sooner,but Moms been in hospital. Thanks again for all the input.