Like Hal said, the handiest tool I have for this is the volt meter, with a load switch. Harbor Freight has them for $20. Take the batteries out, give em a decent charge, hook up the meter and flip the load switch, that will tell you whether the batteries are ok or not, that needle will drop way lower than 12 volts. Without a load on them, they ought to be at 12.5 volts, and when you place a load on them, the needle should not drop off by much.
You can test the alternator with the same tool, just start the engine and unhook one terminal of the battery, hook up the meter and see what it reads. I believe (someone correct me if not so)that if the batteries are hooked up and dead if you do this, it may not show a true reading, because said batteries act like a short and draw too much ? I thought that you need to spin the alternator without the batteries hooked up to see what the output is, auto parts stores used to have a machine to spin them to see if working properly or not.
I know on a charging system that is working properly, batteries good etc., just hook the meter up while running, should read 13.5-14.5. like was said. Anyone who has multiple vehicles, tractors etc. would benefit from one of these $20 meters, I kept an old one from our old dealership and bought a HF one for the farm, very useful and inexpensive tool to have.
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Today's Featured Article - Good As New - by Bill Goodwin. In the summer of 1995, my father, Russ Goodwin, and I acquired the 1945 Farmall B that my grandfather used as an overseer on a farm in Waynesboro, Georgia. After my grandfather’s death in 1955, J.P. Rollins, son of the landowner, used the tractor. In the winter 1985, while in his possession the engine block cracked and was unrepairable. He had told my father
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