here we go! a batt. mfgr. determines the life of the batt. by how deep the
cells are wich allows the scale(sludge) from the chemical reaction with the
lead and zinc plates inside room to pile up in the bottom. a shallow aerea
under the plates is a short term batt.. a deep aerea under the plates
allows for more sludge to acumulate before contacting the bottom of the
plates in a given cell and causing a short in that cell. in the old days
it was not uncommon to dump out a failed batt. wash it out with water and
refill it and have it work for a relativly long time. batt. acid being as
nasty as it is and being hazardous waste it is not advisable to do that!
but most common batt. failure is a "dead cell" caused by the plates being
shorted out to each other by the scale or sludge generated by the acid
literally eating away the plates. and yes a same size batt. can be a
diffrent length of service by how thick the bottom of the case is cast
inside not outside, raising or lowering the inside floor of the case in
relationship to the plates.
have you ever noticed that a batt while charging will boil or gas out of a
open cell? it is suposed to be clear . if it is cloudy liquid you are no
doubt trying to charge a cell that is contaminated and shorted out.
another problem with acid wet batt.s is chemical discharge across the top of
a dirty batt. from the pos. post to the neg. post . the dirt in
conjunction with the acid from fumes generated while under charge will make
a slime wich will actually slowly discharge a good batt. . this is why
batt. service was so important not so long ago and seems to have gone the
way of the do-do bird at most service facilitys. wash off your batt. at
the car wash and clean the posts and terminals to achieve a good contact.
coat with a recomended batt. terminal protectant or some white grease
sprayed or brushed onto the terminal to protect it from corosion in your
future.
why service your batt.? do just like the gas station , ignore selling a
service to a customer. just sell another batt. to the customer since it
has a better profit margin!
this is the season that batt.'s starters and charging systems really mind
and fail. cold to hot or hot to cold weather really plays havoc with
expanding and contracting of components. it brings out the weak spots and
causes failure.
be well in car and soul!
chuck.
yeah i know! i read too much!
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