Will a too big Battery burn out your starter?

[Oakmaster]

Does anybody have a specific recommendation for a series 1 1955, petrol, battery?

Is there a danger of fitting one that is too powerful? and burning out the starter?

Has this happened

and lastly would anybody care to confirm that the maximum physical size that will fit in the battery tray is 302mm (12") long, by 175mm (7") by 225mm (9") high

thanks

[TheRecklessEngineer]

No, there's no danger of fitting a battery that's too big (assuming it's the right voltage rating). The power is 'sucked' from the battery by the starter, not pushed into the starter by the battery so if you fit a bigger one the starter will still pull the same current. It's just it'll spin it for longer before the battery goes flat.

It's actually a little more complicated than that, but I hope that answers the question.

I got the last battery from here: http://www.tayna.co.uk/ Good service, and a good price.

[Orgasmic Farmer]

Is the opposite not more of a problem? A battery with a low voltage or bad earths/cables/internal connections in the starter will lead to increased amps which will kill the starter quite quickly if left unfixed.

However, I know nothing about electrics so please ignore. I think there is a relationship there somewhere though

[TheRecklessEngineer]

Is the opposite not more of a problem? A battery with a low voltage or bad earths/cables/internal connections in the starter will lead to increased amps which will kill the starter quite quickly if left unfixed.

However, I know nothing about electrics so please ignore. I think there is a relationship there somewhere though

You're partially right. Running it on a lower voltage but still making it do the same amount of work will cause increased current which can lead to burning out the motor. You only tend to see this on a motor that's running at constant duty. A starter motor has a chance to cool off.

[Oakmaster]

Thanks for the advice above - and Apologies for dupicating this post - I just wasnt getting any answers.

- Im pretty sure I measured the space in the battery tray correctly, But it was dark and wet with a failing headtorch.

[LandyManLuke]

Arguably, a bigger battery would allow you to crank the engine for longer before the battery went flat, leading to increased duty on the starter motor. This would be completely prevented by not holding the key for too long, and isn't really an electrical issue caused by the battery, more the operator.

[tugboat]

Arguably, a bigger battery would allow you to crank the engine for longer before the battery went flat, leading to increased duty on the starter motor. This would be completely prevented by not holding the key for too long, and isn't really an electrical issue caused by the battery, more the operator.

True but the opposite is worse - a poor battery giving prolonged starting day in and day out really does knock the stuffing out of the starter, with high amps due to the motor being near stalled or actually stalled, in which ALL the energy is converted to heat. It's much more of a problem with the diesels where cranking speed is vital for cold starts in cold weather. I know - I ruined a 2.25D starter trying to get by for months on a weak battery with, just to add to the cocktail of woes, Series 2 dynamo charging.

If the petrol engine's in good nick, a couple of compressions should fire it up so the battery condition hardly matters at all. There's always the handle.

But in answer to the OP, the bigger the better.

[Snagger]

Try to think of DC electrics in plumbing terms. The voltage is akin to the pressure and the current is like the flow rate through the pipes. It's not a 100% accurate analogy, but it works well enough.

In this case, imagine you have a shower to connect up. It makes no difference to the shower whether the header tanks in the loft carry 10 gallons or 100 - it is only the pressure caused by the height of the tanks above the shower that affects the pressure. In the same way, the capacity of a battery will not affect the performance of the starter motor as long as the voltage is correct. The only difference is that a small capacity tank, or battery, will deplete faster.

[Tanuki]

I'd argue that if you have a vehicle where you need prolonged [more than 10 seconds] of starter-cranking to start your engine, you have a significant underlying problem and failure of/damage to the starter-motor through overheating is a secondary issue.

Indeed I'd suggest that a big battery that can spin the engine rapidly, and not suffer 'voltage-sag' which robs the ignition system of spark-power - is probably kinder on the starter than a weak battery that results in minutes of grinding-over on the starter.

Back when I had a SIIa I could turn the ignition on, pull out the choke, give a couple of pumps of the throttle so the accelerator-pump squibbed a bit of excess-fuel into the intake tract, then it would fire on the second rotation of the starting-handle. If your engine doesn't - ask yourself why?

[i'm saying nothing - apart from "It turned-over reallydamnedfast" - about the time we hooked up a 28-volt mumble-hundred-amps trailer mounted APU to a reluctant-to-start RAF 109'' 12V-electrics crew-bus].

[secondjeremy]

Series 1 original 2 litre engines are brilliant starters - and should start 1st or 2nd turn every time - due to the electric fuel pump ensuring that the carb is full before the engine turns. They really only need a tiny battery.

[Gassed'58]

Series 1 original 2 litre engines are brilliant starters - and should start 1st or 2nd turn every time - due to the electric fuel pump ensuring that the carb is full before the engine turns. They really only need a tiny battery.

Exactly, mine fires on literally the touch of the starter and doesn't need any winding over at all before it fires up Lovely little engine.

[Oakmaster]

My Series one usually exhibits the ‘instant’ starting that has been described above. So I decided that I would use it (and the one owned by my best man) as the Wedding cars when I got married last year.

Being sensible I had it serviced (I should have known – it broke down on the way back)

On the morning of the wedding it was reluctant to start, and cut out 3 times on the 2 mile trip to the Church.

I was completely distracted throughout the service by wondering whether it would start, and what I would do in front of our 120 guests waiting for the procession to drive off.

When we finally got into it (with my teenage bridesmaid daughters in the back) it was with some trepidation that I moved my hand in the direction of the starter. Now I know that logic dictates that I must have touched the button, but my recollection is that as my thumb got somewhere close – It just erupted into life spontaneously

(there are pictures of this event in the Series One club magazine a few issues back)