TECH TIP FOR JANUARY, 1999

 FIRST, LET ME WISH YOU AND YOURS A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS 1999. THE WEATHER APPEARS TO BE CO-OPERATING. SO MAYBE ALL THESE CARS THAT HAVE NOT HAD ANYTHING DONE TO THEM IN A YEAR, WILL DEMAND SERVICE WORK. 

AT THIS TIME OF YEAR IT IS APPROPRIATE THAT WE REVIEW WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BATTERIES, HOW THEY WORK AND HOW TO TEST THEM. 

THE FIRST THING TO CHECK IS VISUAL. IF THE CASE IS CRACKED, WE ALL KNOW TO REPLACE THE BATTERY. BUT HOW OFTEN DO WE LOOK FOR BULGED SIDES? THIS TOO IS A SIGN THAT THE BATTERY IS NOT LONG FOR THIS WORLD. ON THE SEMI TRANSPARENT CASE BATTERIES, YOU CAN SEE THE FLUID LEVEL. IF ALL THE CELLS SHOW ABOUT THE SAME LEVEL, EXCEPT 1 WHICH IS MUCH LOWER, REPLACE THE BATTERY. THIS CELL HAS BEEN GASSING EXCESSIVELY AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO. IN ADDITION, ANY PLATE MATERIAL WHICH HAS BEEN EXPOSED TO THE AIR AND DRIED OUT, WILL NEVER BECOME USEFUL AGAIN, SO THE BATTERY WILL ALWAYS BE WEAK AND WILL CONTINUE TO GAS. 

IF THE BATTERY HAS JUST BEEN ON CHARGE (BY ALTERNATOR OR BATTERY CHARGER), THE SURFACE CHARGE MUST BE REMOVED BEFORE YOU CAN GET ANY ACCURATE AND USEFUL TEST RESULTS. TO REMOVE THE SURFACE CHARGE, APPLY A 150 AMP LOAD FOR 10 - 15 SEC, OR LET THE BATTERY SIT FOR ABOUT 3 HOURS. ONCE THE SURFACE CHARGE IS GONE, CHECK THE OTV "OPEN TERMINAL VOLTAGE". A FULLY CHARGED BATTERY WILL SHOW A READING OF ABOUT 12.66 VOLTS. IF YOU GET A READING OF 12.45VTS OR LOWER THE BATTERY IS TOO DISCHARGED TO BE PROPERLY TESTED AND YOU NEED TO RECHARGE AND START OVER. 

ASSUMING YOU GET A READING OF ABOUT 12.45 VTS. YOU CAN PROCEED TO LOAD TEST THE BATTERY. CONNECT YOU LOAD TESTER AND APPLY A LOAD EQUAL TO 1/2 OF THE CCA (COLD CRANK AMP) RATING OF THE BATTERY FOR 15 SECONDS AND WHILE THE LOAD IS STILL APPLIED, SWITCH TO VOLTAGE AND SEE WHAT TO VOLTAGE IS. TEMPERATURE INFLUENCES WHAT THE READING IS TELLING YOU. IF YOU WERE TO SEE A READING OF 9.30VT, THIS WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE AT 4 degrees CELSIUS BUT WOULD INDICATE A BAD BATTERY AT 21 degrees. AT 21 degrees YOU MUST HAVE A READING OF 9.60 VT.  

AFTER LOAD TESTING WATCH THE BATTERY FOR "BOUNCE BACK". IF THE BATTERY DOESN'T BOUNCE BACK, ONCE THE LOAD IS REMOVED, TO AT LEAST 12.40 VTS, YOU HAVE TO RECHARGE AND RECHECK. IF IT FAILS AGAIN, REPLACE THE BATTERY.

 ON A BATTERY WITH OPENINGS, WHERE YOU CAN TAKE A HYDROMETER READING, YOU MUST HAVE ALL THE READINGS APPROXIMATELY THE SAME. A DIFFERENCE OF 50 POINTS OR MORE INDICATES THAT YOU SHOULD RECHARGE,  REMOVE THE SURFACE CHARGE AND RETEST. IF THE DIFFERENCE REMAINS, YOU MUST REPLACE THE BATTERY.  

REMEMBER, YOU CANNOT LOAD TEST OR SPECIFIC GRAVITY TEST A BATTERY THAT HAS BEEN ON CHARGE WITHOUT REMOVING THE SURFACE CHARGE! 

A FINAL TEST FOR A BATTERY IS TO START THE CAR, MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS OFF, INCLUDING THE EVER ON HEADLIGHTS, LET IT RUN FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES AND USE AN AMP PROBE TO SEE HOW HARD THE ALTERNATOR IS CHARGING. ON A FULLY CHARGED BATTERY A READING OF MORE THAN 15 AMPS WILL INDICATE A BATTERY THAT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT CHECK, BECAUSE IF THE BATTERY IS TAKING TOO MUCH TO MAINTAIN ITS CHARGE, THEN THE ALTERNATOR WILL BE WORKING TOO HARD AND ITS LIFE SPAN WILL BE MUCH SHORTER.

 WE RECENTLY SOLD A CUSTOMER AN ALTERNATOR FOR ONE OF THEIR OWN VEHICLES, AND 2 WEEKS LATER THE BATTERY FAILED. 2 DAYS AFTER THE BATTERY WAS REPLACED THE NEW ALTERNATOR FAILED WITH THE STATOR COMPLETELY BURNED. A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS SHOWED THAT THE BATTERY HAD NOT BEEN PROPERLY TESTED WHEN THE ALTERNATOR WAS FIRST INSTALLED, AND HAD PROBABLY JUST DESTROYED ITS SECOND ALTERNATOR. 

BATTERY TESTING IS, AS YOU CAN SEE, A SPECIFIC PROCEEDURE (IF YOU WANT TO DO IT RIGHT) AND AS IT'S VERY TIME CONSUMING, THE CUSTOMER SHOULD BE CHARGED FOR THE SERVICE.

  ATTACHED, IS A PICTURE FROM THE BATTERY COUNCIL INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION GUIDE, WHICH SHOWS THE EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON ENGINES AND BATTERIES. MANY OF YOU WILL HAVE SEEN IT BUT IT'S GOOD FOR DEMONSTRATION TO THE CUSTOMER.