Charging my 12 volt mule battery

[Jeeps4Brains]

The guy that owned my mule before I got it replaced the engine with one from a generator. The engine had inside the rope crank wheel the generator for the 24-volt system of the generator. He was running that output to the 12 volt battery to keep it charged.

I had a 12 volt battery for the starter in the mule and it really didn’t last very long so I have added a cut off so that when I don’t use the mule the battery won’t drain.

The other owner had run the 24-volt line from the crank generator to what looks like a diode type device to convert it to DC. That was then run to the battery. I measured that output and it is 24-volts.

Did the 24 volts going to the battery reduce the life of the 12-volt battery?

How can I reduce the 24 volts to 14 volts to charge the battery?

[Mike_W]

Yes, that will definitely overcharge the battery which warps the plates inside the battery. Once the plates warp the battery is shot. I know there are 24vdc to 12vdc converters but that is probably not enough to charge a battery but may be enough to keep it topped off. New Lead Cell batteries are 2.25 volts per cell for a total of 13.5 volts which degrades over time. If you do want to try one of the converters, make sure to get one that at minimum is 30A otherwise it probably won't last long either.

[Chuck W.]

I'd just install a 1-wire Delco 10-SI and be done with it.