starting them early 1972 K5

[bp71k5]

i picked up a 1990 suburban a couple months ago and since then this has sat in the back yard, I had started it a couple times, about a month ago the battery was dead so I charged it up and had started it twice a week. this Thursday my wifes car goes into the shop and she has an interview the same day, so I told her she can drive the suburban and I will drive the 72 (she wont drive it). sunday I pull the 72 out of the back yard, wife tries to turn her car around in the back yard with the snow and gets stuck so I pull her out with the 72.

Monday morning I go out to head to work and I get 2 slow cranks and a bunch of clicks, dead optima battery. of course the way I have all the vehicles and how our driveway is I cant get any of the vehicles to the front to jump it so I end up having to pull the battery from the suburban and put in the 72 just to make it to work.

I have an aftermarket battery gauge wired in and it shows it is charging at almost 15 volts, wonder if its overcharging and killing the battery?

Get rid of the optima, and get any other battery and you'll be way better off. Maybe the yellow optimas are better but the red ones just sound like junk the past few years.

I've been using a nice AGM battery from Carquest and it can sit for months without a problem.

 

[warrpath4x4]

ya I am measuring to see if I can fit a group 31 battery from work in there.

 

[warrpath4x4]

ya that wont fit, not in the stock battery tray anyways.

 

[warrpath4x4]

so the optima is a piece of junk, I know they're quality control has gone down in past years but I didn't pay anything for this battery so I was using it. put the battery from the suburban in and it fires up as soon as I hit the key, no cranking like it did with the optima. so I am just going to leave it in the blazer and I put a centennial group 31 battery in the suburban, I have ran them in other rigs and have never had any complaints.

 

[warrpath4x4]

so we moved July 11th and I parked the K5 at my old work until I could get the movers to pick it up, they picked it up Oct 10th and delivered it yesterday. my son was so excited to see his blazer again that he ran up and hugged the fender (not the first time he has had this reaction with it)

 

[warrpath4x4]

It has been a few years since I have been on here. We still have the blazer, used it around the property for a while then it sat. It now has an electrical issue (and has for a while), it has been parked for 2-3 years. I am getting the ambition to work on it again and my son is getting older so he can actually start helping and learning now. Plan is an electrical revamp/upgrade to start with then see what it needs from sitting.

 

[sponsoredbydad]

Well Welcome back. May I suggest a nice American auto wire up grade they are fairly painless to install and clean EVERYTHING up nicely. well electrically speaking

 

[warrpath4x4]

Well Welcome back. May I suggest a nice American auto wire up grade they are fairly painless to install and clean EVERYTHING up nicely. well electrically speaking

Thanks, I will look into them.

 

[warrpath4x4]

I feel like I have failed my kid lol, it has been sooooo long since this thing has moved he forgot the top comes off. Since our county is still shut down im hoping to get something done on it this long weekend.

 

[warrpath4x4]

I actually did something on the blazer last night, pulled the old alternator off and stripped some wiring, then test fitting the new 140 amp alternator from a 1994 Cadillac De Ville with heated windows.

why am i not surprised to find stuff like this when this thing has electrical issues, they soldered it then just stuck it in the loom to rub on other wires.

Just sitting in there for test fit right now. I probably could have shoved the alt into the lower bracket but i hit it with a flap wheel real quick just to shave it down. slipped right in with all the original mounting brackets. (dont mind the dust, we had a huge dust storm on Labor day)

 

[max 02]

I actually did something on the blazer last night, pulled the old alternator off and stripped some wiring, then test fitting the new 140 amp alternator from a 1994 Cadillac De Ville with heated windows.

why am i not surprised to find stuff like this when this thing has electrical issues, they soldered it then just stuck it in the loom to rub on other wires.

Just sitting in there for test fit right now. I probably could have shoved the alt into the lower bracket but i hit it with a flap wheel real quick just to shave it down. slipped right in with all the original mounting brackets. (dont mind the dust, we had a huge dust storm on Labor day)

V belt pulley fit right on the alt?

You said don’t mind the dust but holy crap that’s just from a storm. Looks like it was sitting in a barn for 20 years.

 

[warrpath4x4]

V belt pulley fit right on the alt?

You said don’t mind the dust but holy crap that’s just from a storm. Looks like it was sitting in a barn for 20 years.

I didnt change out the pulley last night but ya it should fit, or i have another that i know will. it has been sitting for a 2-3 years but ya it was a bad storm that blew away top soil, ripped down powerlines, blew over trees, ripped roofs off, and it blew at a sustained 20MPH for 9 hours gusting up to 60MPH.

 

[max 02]

I didnt change out the pulley last night but ya it should fit, or i have another that i know will. it has been sitting for a 2-3 years but ya it was a bad storm that blew away top soil, ripped down powerlines, blew over trees, ripped roofs off, and it blew at a sustained 20MPH for 9 hours gusting up to 60MPH.

Oh that don’t sound good. Atleast a tree didn’t crush it.

 

[warrpath4x4]

Oh that don’t sound good. Atleast a tree didn’t crush it.

I keep this and the 77 Jimmy parked away from falling hazards lol.

 

[warrpath4x4]

He is finally to an age where he is figuring out that if he wants to drive this thing he has to work on it lol.

pulled it from the weeds

We bought him a harbor freight carport a couple years ago, we finally got it put up, took the top off the blazer and got it backed in there (the ratchet straps are holding the carport down because our ground is so rocky the anchors wont work and we need to figure out different anchors)

then we went and caught (and released) some small bluegills

finished off our Memorial Day weekend with his scout troop helping the VFW with 4 flag ceremonies