slacker cruster
Ohio
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When I tested the battery, volts was about 11.9v. Was thinking of buying a solar charger to run in the cig lighter. Where it is stored, it is not doable to run a trickle charger.
For an F350, how low can the volts go before starting is a problem?
Thanks
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eHoefler
ozark mountains
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10 volts while cranking is about as low as you can go and have enough reserve power to run the ignition/injection system to start.
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AnEv942
CA
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Ya lot of parasitic loads when settin for any time. 11.9 not good, our diesel if it would would be close to not starting. Can you place the charger so it will get sun with camper on?
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skipnchar
Topeka or somewhere else
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Remove the negative lead from the batteries when it's in storage and it should remain close to fully charged for at least several months. I wouldn't feel comfortable at much below the 12 volt level as that's well under 50% discharged.
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elkhornsun
Monterey
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Voltage testing without a load is worthless. See what the voltage is when you are cranking the engine (pull out the cable to the coil so it does not start). If it drops below 12v I would go to a garage and have them do a load test and while you are there they can measure the output from the alternator that is going to the battery.
It sounds like you have a bad cell and so are losing 1.5v from the battery. A 12v battery should be at 14v when new and fully charged.
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Mustang7370
Washington State
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As a 20+ yr auto and truck technician, you should have the battery charged and load tested. Industry standard for a load test is to load the battery to 1/2 its cca rating for 15 seconds. If the voltage falls below 9.6 volts @ 70 deg F during the test, the battery should be replaced. Open circuit, no-load voltage is an indication of charge level, but says nothing about how the battery performs under a real load. I have seen batteries at 12.2 volts survive a load test, and others at 12.7 fail after 5 seconds. Having your alternator checked is not a bad idea either.
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mark_be
Belgium
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Don't know which F350 you have, but mine is a 7.3 and it needs at least 400 rpm to start. Which voltage is needed to get to 400 depends on many things, like battery condition(*), ambient temperature, oil temp, engine wear (which doesn't happen  ),...
(*) A new battery with 11.5V might be able to start your engine, while an old one with 11.8V might not. It depends mainly on how many amps it's still able to give.
In other words: you can't link a voltage to a "being able to start guarantee".
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sunkatcher
Fulltimer
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slacker cruster wrote:
For an F350, how low can the volts go before starting is a problem?
Thanks
This is usually dependant on how far away from home or any other assistance you are coupled with how much of a hurry you are in.
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Peg Leg
Anderson, IN
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I drove for an auto auction for a few years. One night a car's voltage kept dropping. Once it hit 10.5 volts, systems started shutting down and the car died. So the computer didn't like 10.5 volts enought that it took the night off.
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saltamontes
la, ca
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w/ the Ford 6.0 extended low voltage can also affect your Fuel Injection Control Module (FICM).
corrosion starts to set in and then strange injector problems begin.
when your batts begin to go south, don't wait.. replace them
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