Thanks guys for the info. The dead batteries are all DIN 55. There is no mention of what type they are, lead acid or calcium on them. I suppose they are the traditional lead acid type.
I recon I rejuvenated two of them (for a while???). Time will tell though. Tipped them upside down with the plugs out and hosed a lot of corroded materiel out of them. Filled them up with the good mix of acid and water and charged them overnight. They both read 12.8 volts this morning and still do this arvo. One works ok in the car after three short trips to the shops. Had another charged battery in the boot just to save a walk home. I'll leave the cleaned out battery in the car as long as it lasts.
However, the big find was the that all the belts on one car were slipping badly due to the engine room being cleaned with degreaser six months ago. The car was not started 'till last week when the problems surfaced. Obviously the degreaser had softened the rubber on the belts during the lockdowns. Being well lubricated there was none of the typical belt squealing, rubber was being melted off the belts. The ignition light did not come on while the engine was running. Tip, when you use degreaser make sure it is hosed off everywhere, preferably with the engine running. Then do a few kilometres to make sure that everything is dry.
Now off to get a new set of belts including one for the a/c which was also stuffed.
Bloody cars!!!!!???
