Battery and hold down

While I was getting the Waggy ready to go for the summer, she didn't want to start.  Going through the standard no start/no turn over checklist, I checked the battery voltage.  This is what I found.

Well... we know that a car battery should put out around 12 volts.  So less than 4 volts isn't going to get many engines started, let alone an old heavyweight American iron engine like the AMC 360.  Also, when I got the Waggy it had no proper battery hold down, just a tattered old bungee cord.

Well this isn't a safe situation for any vehicle, from a street driven Jeep to an off road monster.  Since I was replacing the battery anyway, I might as well check-off one thing from my mile long Jeep repair list.  Off to the store I go..... I came home with the parts we are going to need to tackle this project.

On the left, an 800 CCA battery.  While a V-8 motor doesn't strictly require a battery with this much power, once the weather cools down here, I wanted the extra amps to keep the motor turning over.  The universal hold down kit contains a rubber battery top and a two J-bolts.  Not a heck of alot to the kit.



Digging around the toolbag, I secured the tools needed for this project.

A 1/2 inch wrench, the digital multimeter, and a hacksaw.

When we are doing ANY work on our Jeeps electrical system we ALWAYS want to disconnect our negative battery cable,. even though for this one we need to disconnect both cables.

So.. after removing the home made hold down, we loosen the 1/2 inch nuts on the battery clamps and remove them from the battery posts.  Once the clamps are off the posts, we pull the old battery out and put the new one in the tray.  At this point I tested it with the multi-meter, just to make sure I wasn't wasting my time installing it.

Ahhh.. that is MUCH better.   12.46 volts isn't bad for a battery that was just on a store shelf, for an unknown amount of time.  That reading will be bit better once the battery receives regular charges from the alternator.

Now installing the new hold down kit is just as easy.  Once we have the j-bolts inserted into the slots in the battery tray, we slip the rubber hold down over the battery and onto the J bolts.  The slip the isolators on the J-bolts and tighten down the wing nuts.   Once the hold down is tight, then slip the battery clamps onto the battery posts.   Tighten the 1/2 inch nuts on the clamps and the battery is now installed.

The hacksaw is used to trim the J-bolts down so they clear the hood once they are installed.  Once that is done, this project is in the books....

On our wrench scale.. with 1 being "I would trust my sister to do it" and 10 being "I'm calling the garage, cause I'm way over my head here".. I give this repair a 3, only because it really does require a tool(digital multimeter) that might not be found in our basic toolbox.

Just remember this old adage... Jeep   Making ordinary people into mechanics for 70 years.

Will 
The semi-proud owner of 4 Jeeps.