I think we should do the next steps. At least I would start with this.
To make sure that the new batteries give a voltage of 6V and charged. Measure the voltage on the motherboard at the connection point of the battery.
To test whether the change in consumption current at the power button.
I wasn't sure the batteries were charged. The charger is putting out about 8 volts. To make sure I hooked my car battery charger to the battery pack set at 6v. It was putting out 8v. I had soldered the wires to the batteries and am concerned I damaged the batteries. But they were putting out 7v after a half hour of charging. They warmed to about 80F during charging.
Inspection of the board shows discoloration near the screws. I was concerned the conductors had corroded into.
I thought the board would be coated with something but I was able to get a low ohm reading between the pins on both ends of each conductor.
The row of pins bottom center of the photograph connect to a ribbon to the keypad. The second pin from the right has voltage on it. However it is 4v.
With no charger connected the battery connector pins on the board on the reverse side of the board shows 6v. The battery pack is definitely connected.
I was also able to measure charger voltage on the board. I could trace the conductor to the battery pin to verify we have the battery polarity correct.
Here is the back of the key pad panel. It is glued in place.
The instructions state the unit will not work on the charger only, must have a battery installed.
I don't know how to find voltage at the switch.
Andy,
This is my first time posting in your thread, but I have been reading it daily for a month or more. A little about myself to get started...I'm 42, and a resource conservationist for the local Soil and Water Conservation District by day. Part-time farmer raising beef cattle, row crops, and hay in central NC. We keep about 25 brood cows, mostly Angus/Simmental crosses, no-till about 100 acres in a corn, barley, soybean rotation. Another 100 acres of hay. Long-time GJ lurker, as I read here daily, but rarely post.
But I've been meaning to post here for a while. You've inspired me to begin cleaning up my "barn", a 36'x46' pole structure that I built myself from scratch, started about 2000. It was built to house our two horses, but also serves as my shop until I can afford to build my dream shop for myself and the farm. I'm a jack of all trades, master of none...but enough about me.
Your photos of the conservation work on your farm are what finally prompted me to post. What you have there is truly a National treasure, and I think that you realize that. Please do whatever is necessary to preserve it. It is a great piece of Soil Conservation history that is still performing it's purpose today, and speaks volumes of whomever it was that designed it. We have a similar drop structure built by SCS here in our county, built during the same time period, that is still functioning as well. It is pretty neat to be able to take a "newbie" to conservation out in the field to show them how a well designed best management practice can stand the test of time.
Your shop and daily projects are amazing. I love seeing your progress as it moves along. Keep up the "cleaning," I'm rooting for you every day!
You and your wife are in my prayers. It is amazing and a bit humbling to me how we can form a bond with complete strangers half way across the nation (and even the world) by sharing a bit of daily life in a garage forum...but it really does happen. I sincerely hope that you and her doctors are able to manage her medication so that her illness is minimized.
Best wishes from NC, and a fellow steward of the land,
Chris
Thanks for visiting and your great comments! You are obviously my kind of guy! So you get more structure pictures

I have seven smaller structures (about 3 ft each) to let water off a system of terraces. They are all in good shape except the lowest one. However several have big trees which need to be removed to avoid damaging the structure. Here's a typical small structure.
I was shocked and dismayed when I found the big one had been compromised. I think a tree had died and the roots rotted, coupled with record drought which caused the soil to shrink. The hillside is a red Teller soil. Productive but erodible. Here it is when I found it. That is light you can see in the middle of the hole.
Here it is from the other side. I had started putting rock in it.
Notice they had dug into the bank and poured solid concrete to make the wing foundation. That wing has since cracked. My goal is to keep it covered in dirt with the dirt packed solid above the high water level. We had a 4" rain in a few hours so part of my recent visit was to identify high water level. I can't get to the back side with Bob, just have to dump over the wall. It was iffy to start as you see the wall had no support on the back side.
This looks much better!
This crack is at the right end of the wing wall. It will settle for years so I need to keep refilling.
Here's Bob while moving 3" crusher run into the hole. I put three dump truck loads in it.
love the Beatles hair cut
Thanks! But I worked in an engineering office in coat and tie. That was not a long haircut back then.
Andy: good to see your humor about life just keeps on as you keep up with it's challenges. also still hoping for the best for your beautiful bride that has to put up with you and your daily humor.
I love you showing your work and especially on your lathes cause i want to own one and use it some day. is it ok to turn wood on a metal lathe? in case you might need a new leather belt i think a few guys in vintage tools might have a way to make one or they buy vinyl ones i think that might work better than your rubber one.
i just learned on the Woodworking 101 thread that putting glue in a crack that you might have on a piece of wood you want to turn on your lathe might keep it from exploding that might help you. you seem to almost have an unlimited supply of parts and I bet it took years to acquire them and to have them where you could find them.
WELL DONE !!
even if you might not be as clean as some of the shops you have more stuff to organize and keep track of so that is a plus that you are able to do that. my
FSD is usually because i don't want to put whatever i set on a flat surface out of my site where it might never be seen again and i'm working on that method of better storage.
cheers and i'm still not sure what poison ivy looks like or even if i'm allergic to it, but we have nettles i bet you wouldn't like to rub your bare leg on anytime soon.
Thanks for the kind words. I believe in God and heaven is coming. What happens before death is thus of diminished importance.
Did you not see my metal lathe turning wood?

It is not good to switch hit between wood and metal. I am only using a metal lathe for precision pattern work. My local pattern makers use South Bend metal lathes.
You should get a wood lathe to turn wood. You hold the tool in your hand, on a rest. It is a marvelous feeling to shave the wood off and make a shape you desire. Then you need a metal lathe to turn metal.
The flat belt is slick and hard. I'm going to try some belt dressing on it. I would think vinyl would stretch too much to work but I don't know. I may have an old leather belt I can slit to width and use. Just put lacing on it and away we go. I like the slap the lacing makes as it goes around the pulleys. And those are pulleys.
Glue typically does not fill cracks well. A split can be glued back together, but the shrinkage cracks in this piece would not have benefited much with glue. And, most importantly, the cracks, being shrinkage cracks, do not go all the way to the center so none of the wood will fly off while you're turning it. The trick is to get what you want with no cracks, which I was able to do.
My place is all junked up with stuff I might need, to the point I usually have several options as to what to use. I have some big walnut chunks I could have used but this was closer to size so less waste.
While I've not done much in my shop this last nine months except expand and somewhat organize, I'm eager now to get back to work. I've got a Dakota chassis coming to go under the Studebaker but it has to be shortened. My son wants the new chassis for his daughter's safety. We'll save the old frame.
Beetles hair cut and...those super groovy long side burns! way to go. Well it must of worked, you won her over.
Groovy, Baby!

It was 1980. I am blessed with thick hair which still needs to be thinned at every haircut. Makes it hard to wear hats, though. Notice I had a white spot starting to grow over my left eye.
Need I repeat, her fault is her taste in men.
But thanks for the good words!
Hey Andy when I picked up my powdered coated parts I took some pictures of the 34 Chevy I was telling you about. The car was parked in the door of the shop in the sun so I had to tweak the contrast and lighting some. That is part of reason for the poor quality of the pics. Powder coating is supposed to O.K. on coil and leaf springs.
Super cool car!


And you got some great pictures under adverse conditions. Good job, and thanks for remembering
