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Battery Maintenace Tips & how to's

Discussion in 'Electrical' started by Stig, Jun 2, 2009.

  1. Stig

    Stig ST162 Guru Donated!

    We take batteries for granted as they're under guarantee - right?

    Fact is the average lifespan of a battery is about 2,5 yrs (much less in military and govt vehicles)

    The more a car stands, the faster the battery will deteriorate - disconnect it! and charge it
    A hard working battery is a happy battery, an idle battery is a soon-to-be doorstop.

    By now you will be in the habit of checking your motor over at least once a month
    - I do it over the weekend when I decide to wash the car and bay.

    Checking
    Check your battery voltage with everything switched off and a gauge (set on 24VDC)
    between + & -, it should read 12V + (if not, charge it before proceeding)
    Start the car and check the reading again - it should now read 13V - 15VDC.
    Anything more or less is damaging your battery
    Change the gauge to 200VAC and check again - anything more than 30VAC is a regulator fault and will damage your battery and electronics over time.
    For those with no meter - the volt gauge should be just over half-way before starting,
    once started the needle should rise closer to the 18V mark.

    Charging
    You can revive your battery by 1st checking the water, always use distilled water for topping up or battery acid if the battery is near empty. A hydrometer is a handy tool but not many people have them.

    Leave it to discharge overnight with the lights on and then slow charge it up again over 24hrs.

    This will often "bring back" a sick battery and should be done every couple of months
    - more often if the car isn't used much

    Do not fast charge - ever! - it bends plates and cooks the battery.
    Fast charging should only be done on sulphated batteries to try to "knock" the sulphate from the plates.
    If the battery starts to bubble, disconnect the charger, let the battery cool down
    and try again at a lower amperage.

    Always charge on trickle charge, more than 2A is overkill and for emergencies only.

    Clean the terminals with a brush or sandpaper, there is a handy tool you can buy to clean the inside and outside of the terminals.

    If the terminals have white powder on them - mix a couple of teaspoons of Bicarbonate of Soda powder (found in the kitchen cupboard) in a bowl of water and brush that on - it will neutralize acid build up and also useful when you spill acid on your clothes. Alka Seltzer/Rennies/Eno's etc is the same stuff!

    Make sure your battery contacts are clean and tight
    - then apply a light film of grease over the outside to prevent further corrosion, and make sure the + terminal has a plastic or rubber shield over it.
    You can make one from a bicycle tube if necessary.

    Never attach Radio's, Amps, Fogs, Alarms, HID's, Neon's etc direct to the battery (+) terminal - it's untidy and dangerous.
    Open the (+) terminal fusebox and find a spare screw-in connection and make sure you have a seperate fuse
    somewhere rated for the installed item as well.

    The reason for never attaching directly to the (+) terminal is as follows - You have fitted a thicker wire (25A+?) running to an amp (etc?)
    with its own fuse (10A?) at the Amp - The wire chafes near a shock/bodywork and causes a short-circuit
    from the battery (+) to the chassis (-), the wire heats and starts burning and causes a fire -
    The 10A fuse doesn't blow, why? - because it wasn't involved in the battery being shorted to the chassis via a high amperage cable!
    But if we'd used one of the 30/40A battery fuses the problem would have burned a battery fuse - make sense?
     
  2. kevinkyang

    kevinkyang Well-Known Member Donated!

    how do you know when to replace the battery. i dont know how new or old the battery is since i got the car a little over a year ago.
     
  3. Stig

    Stig ST162 Guru Donated!

    Run it flat with the lights on, Charge it for 24hrs - if the voltage is less than 12V - it's a doorstop.
    A healthy battery will read around 13V

    Each cell puts out just over 2V - so if it reads 8,2V, then you have at least one dead cell.

    Sometimes (not often) a battery will read 12V but still won't crank the car, take the plugs out
    and if it still won't crank - it's a doorstop or the starter is toasted, try it on another car 1st

    Best is to stop at your local battery guy, most will do a current test for free which is the
    most accurate way to test it
     
  4. kevinkyang

    kevinkyang Well-Known Member Donated!

    sweet thanks dude. never woulda known to go the battery guys
     

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