Starting Batteries

How do batteries work?

Each cell has a number of positive plates
made of lead (sponge lead?)
And negative plates of ???

How do batteries work?

When the two dissimilar metal plates are
immersed in acid they create a voltage
This voltage is created by the concentrating
Negative Ions on the negative plates and
Positive Ions on the positive plates

How do batteries work?

As batteries discharge the acid is turned to
water and the lead plates are turned into
lead sulfate
When both plates are turned to lead sulfate the
battery is discharged or dead

How many volts does one battery cell produce?

2.1 volts
How many cells in a 12 volt battery?
6 cells
How many volts in a 12 volt battery?
12.6
How can you get 12.6 volts out of a bunch of 2.1 volt cells?
wire them in series

What comes out of a battery?

Electrical POWER
what is power?
Watts = volts X Amps
How do you get more volts out of a battery?
add more cells in series
How do diesel vehicles get 24 volts for starting
wiring 2-12 volt, or
4-6 volt batteries in series

What happens as all the amps get used up?

The electolyte turns to water and...
...the lead and sponge lead plates turn to Lead
sulfate and...
...the acid will no longer strip electrons from
the positive plates
...and add them to the negative plates
The battery will go DEAD

How can we build a battery to supply more amps?

add more lead plates to each individual cell

more lead plates in a cell will increase?

...cranking amps
amp hour rating

So what battery should I use?

1) A battery with the proper voltage
...6 volt, 12 volt, 24 volt
2) A battery with enough amp capacity...
Cold Cranking Amps, or amp hour rating
3) A battery with that will fit in the carrier
...BCI Group rating

BCI Group rating

How tall is the battery
How wide is the battery
How long is the battery
Where are the terminals located

If the battery is the correct BCI Group...

is it correct battery?
NO! it must meet vehicle specific capacity
Manufacturer will specify a minimum CCA... or
Amp hour rating
Adding plates to a cell increases the amp capacity
Adding plates (surface area) will lengthen the service life of the
battery
Adding plates increases price.

Deep Cycle batteries

Some RV and Marine batteries are different
They are intended to operate smaller electrical loads
(lights, 12 volt accessories, trolling motors etc.) for
long periods of time without being recharged.
They are called Deep Cycle batteries as they can
withstand many cycles of long slow discharging
followed by long slow charging.

Deep Cycle batteries

Rapid discharging (like the hundreds of amps
pulled by a starter motor) will ruin a Deep
Cycle battery
...it will overheat the plates.

Starting Batteries
The function of the battery is to start the engine
Then the generator will run all electrical loads.
Some Recreational Vehicles use both a starting
battery and a deep cycle battery.
The deep cycle battery is not hooked to the starter
motor.

Starting Batteries
If you allow a starting battery to slowly go dead it will
SULFATE
This happens when lead sulfate (formed when a
battery discharges) crystallizes on the surface of the
lead plates.
This will not allow the battery to fully recharge
Sometimes a sulfated battery will not recharge at all.

What type of battery do I sell

to the customer?
Proper BCI Group number
So it will fit in the vehicle
The proper type battery
Cranking or Deep Cycle
The more CCA the better
Make sure it meets the minimum
required by the manufacturer

When do I add battery Acid?

Only for filling dry charged batteries
Do not add acid to a battery already in service
Some batteries are assembled but the acid is left
out until it is ready for sale (Dry Charged)
The acid is added just before it is installed
in the vehicle

Storing Batteries
When a battery is new the lead and acid will begin to react and it will slowly
discharge.
Any battery that sits unused for several months will slowly go dead and begin
to sulfate.
This will ruin the battery..
All batteries be periodically recharged.
New batteries, awaiting sale, are given a trickle charge on a regular schedule

What do I add to a battery with low electrolyte?

Distilled (or de-mineralized) water.

Adding tap water will encourage electrolysis
This will speed up the loss of that water when
charging and discharging
It will also encourage corrosion on the battery cables

How full do I fill the battery

Fill until the electrolyte just touches
the fill ring
Practice thisYou can see just when it touches
If you overfillYou can pull the extra out
it your syringe is clean (use a hydrometer)

CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN

Be sure any item that touches the electrolyte
is washed
Clean battery hydrometer with plenty of water
after each use

How can I make the battery live longer?

1) make sure the battery hold down is solid
vibration will knock material off the lead plates, lower the amp
capacity, and short out cells.
2) keep the battery clean
as the battery cycles acid gets all over the case,
this will corrode the cables
...and also provides a path for current to slowly discharge the battery
between terminals
(this can be measured with a volt meter)

2) Keep the battery clean

Always clean the battery with the vent caps on to avoid
contaminating the cells.
Baking soda and water works well to neutralize any
battery acid as do battery cleaning spray cans.
Rinse with lots of water after neutralizing the acid
Soap and water works great to clean a battery

How can I make the battery live longer?

3) keep the battery full
...use distilled water and do not over fill.
If the battery is extra low check the charging system for
overcharging
If low electrolyte with no removable vent caps...
...replace the battery after double checking the charging system.

How can I make the battery live longer?

4) Keep the battery fully charged
...make sure the cables are not corroded
5) Check for parasitic drains ...
..A parasitic draw of up to .050 amps is acceptable.
6) Do not allow the battery to freeze
...a dead battery can freeze at +15 F
a fully charged battery will survive 50F

Frozen Batteries
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO JUMP START OR CHARGE A FROZEN
BATTERY
A charging battery forms Hydrogen gas that will be trapped by the ice
and can cause the battery to explode.
A frozen battery is ruined due to the ice breaking up the sponge lead
plates
Once thawed out it will soon fail.

Frozen Batteries
Replace frozen batteries.
A frozen battery will have a bulged out case that will
not reform
An overcharged battery can also cause the case to
bulge or distort.
If the case looks distorted test the battery and the
charging system

How can I test the battery?

#1) you can only accurately test a fully charged
battery
An undercharged battery might fail the load test
Load testing an undercharged battery may lead
to unnecessary battery replacement

How do I determine the battery

State of charge?
Use a hydrometer and compensate for the temperature of the
battery
As a battery discharges the acid turns to water
Acid is thicker and will float the hydrometer scale higher
A fully charged battery cell has a specific gravity of 1.265
at 80 degrees

Hydrometer Testing
A colder battery will measure higher as cold liquid is thicker
A cold battery may look charged actually be undercharged
Check each cell
If the lowest cell is .050 points lower than the highest cell the battery
is defective
If water has just been added to the battery it will give a false hydrometer
reading

What if there are no removable vent caps?

Some batteries include a built in hydrometer.
This checks one cell only
Indicates the battery is at least 75% charged when green
(or not black/clear)
You can also test a battery state of charge with a volt
meter

Testing the battery state of charge

with a volt meter
12.6 V = a fully charged battery
12.4 V = 75% charged
12.2 V = 50% charged

My battery reads 13.2 Volts

...Is it overcharged?
Some recombinant batteries maintain a slightly higher
open circuit voltage
Normal batteries will also register a surface charge.
This is not an accurate reading of the state of charge

How do I accurately get an

open circuit voltage reading ?

To remove the surface charge place a 250 amp load on

the battery, or crank the engine (without starting) for
15 seconds,
Let the battery recover for five minutes, with the key
off and all accessories turned off.
A vehicle that has not been run for several hours will
have an accurate open circuit voltage reading

Do I really have to do all this

before testing the battery?
Only if the battery fails the load test

If the battery passes the capacity or load test

...the battery is good.
If the battery fails the load (or capacity) test
...let it sit for five minutes
...recheck the open circuit voltage.
If voltage is below 12.6 volts, recharge the battery and run a
second load test

How do I recharge the battery?

The best way is with a slow (or trickle) charge.
Leave the charger unplugged when connecting the
battery, to avoid sparks and potential explosion
Batteries are most prone to explosion after load testing,
jump starting, or cranking th engine
Trickle charging will give the most complete charge and
is easiest on the battery

I dont have time for a slow charge!

Whats wrong with quick charging?
Nothing
... IF YOU FOLLOW SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
to protect the battery and the vehicle
To protect vehicle computers from high voltage...
...you should unhook the vehicle ground before
turning on the charger

What can go wrong when I

unhook the battery ground cable?
Insure the ignition key is turned off.
This will protect the computers from a voltage
spike when power is unexpectedly interrupted
Be sure to supply an additional power source to the
vehicle to protect the computers learned
operation strategy

Back to fast charging

Once the battery is isolated
... you can turn the charger on high
...after connecting the charging leads.

How long do I leave it on fast charge?

Leaving a battery on high charge is risky.
If it is sulfated the voltage will quickly rise above 15 volts and
overheat the battery.
Also if the battery has a shorted cell the voltage may stay low
it will begin to gas excessively
This will create hydrogen gas that may explode.

I take vent caps off when charging,

Is this O.K.?
Vent caps have built in flame arrestors
These can keep a battery from exploding
should sparks or flames come close
Leave the caps ON while charging
MONITOR the battery during a fast charge

How do I monitor the battery?

Check the voltage across the terminals with the charger on.
If it gets over 15 volts turn off the charger or slow the rate of
charge.
Feel the case of the battery,
if it gets hot it is overcharging
all batteries will get warm,
practice to know hot from warm

How do I monitor the battery?

Look listen and smell for gassing.
If you see lots of bubbles through the battery case (white
case) turn down the charger.
If you smell the gas, turn down the charger.
Leave the vent caps on.
Turn off and unplug the charger BEFORE removing the
charging cables from the battery.

Do I need to monitor the battery if

my charger has a voltage regulator?

Yes
A shorted cell in the battery will fool the
voltage regulator and may lead to damage

O.K. Now I have a charged battery

How do I tell if its any good?
The best test is the load or capacity test.
To perform this test you must measure battery
volts and amps

Load Testing or
Battery Capacity Testing
#1 hook up the test leads
#2 look up the capacity of the battery...
...that should be placed in that vehicle
It will be in Cold Cranking Amps
...or in Amp Hours

Load Testing or
Battery Capacity Testing
#3 Place a load (high drain) on the battery
the load should be the Cold Cranking Amp rating
...or three times the Amp Hour Rating of the battery
...look it up to be sure

Load Testing or
Battery Capacity Testing
#4 Watch the voltage of the battery.
It should not go below 9.6 volts within 15 seconds
do not load the battery longer than 15 seconds.
A strong battery will maintain 10 volts.

Load Testing or
Battery Capacity Testing
#5 If battery barely passes or fails the test
...leave everything off for 5 minutes or longer.
Recheck the open circuit voltage,
if it is under 12.5 volts recharge and test again.

Load Testing or
Battery Capacity Testing
If the battery recovers up to 12.6 volts
...and it barely passed the load test
It is O.K., but close to the end of its service life
Recommend replacement if in a cold climate.

Load Testing or
Battery Capacity Testing
If the battery recovered to 12.6 volts
... but dropped below 9.6 volts during the load
test
Recommend a new battery

Load Test the Battery

Amp probe around either test cable

When must you isolate the battery?

Only when batteries are in parallel

How many volts for fully charged battery?

Is this battery over charged?
No! This is a surface charge.

How do you remove the surface charge?

Load battery to about 250 amps for 15 seconds

After loading, wait one or two full

minutes for the battery to recover

Is this battery fully charged?

Volt readings are not accurate without

External Leads

External Volt Meter Leads

Load Battery to CCA

Is this a bad battery?

NO! You must select VOLTS EXTERNAL

What
Cold
Same
tells
Cranking
test
you with
thisAmps,
is
Volts
a good
External
Over
battery?
9.6 Volts,
15 seconds, Load is still ON

What do I do with the old,

junk battery?
Batteries contain hazardous lead
(and other nasty things)
They are very harmful to the environment.
It is illegal to place them in the trash or landfill.

What do I do with the old,

junk battery?
Any business that sells batteries
... is legally obligated to recycle them.

This battery was only three years old,

what caused it to fail?
Vibration
...Check hold down
Overcharging
...look for bulged case, low electrolyte
...voltage with engine running
...after battery is fully charged

This battery was only three years

old, what caused it to fail?
Discharged (sulfated)
look for dirty battery case
and corroded battery cable ends
Recommend more frequent battery cleaning

What Causes Sulfation?

Check voltage drop across positive and
negative battery cables during cranking
should have less that 0.3 volts
Check for parasitic draw
Should have less than 50 milliamps

What Causes Sulfation?

Check for low voltage with engine running
...after battery is fully charged
Insure voltage stays up with all accessories
turned on and engine running at 2,000 RPM
Quiz customer on driving habits
...short trips will not allow battery to fully charge

Replace the entire battery cable

What is wrong with just replacing the cable end?
Shorter cables do not room for engine torque
...and may pull on battery during acceleration
Corrosion often works down cable
and creates starting - charging problems
Connection at end of cable may provide unwanted voltage drop

What
Corrosion
Custom
is wrong
onterminal
this
with
terminal
this
end
battery?
that may
cause voltage drop

Now you are The...

Battery Expert!