Malcolm Walker writes:
>> I went to fire up the 4A for the first time since the rebuild. In
>> preparation I put the relatively new Die Hard on the charger and found
it
>> barely able to take a charge. It's 3 years old, but has been sitting
idle
>> for 2 during the rebuild (no trickle charge). After about 5 hours I
did
>> get it to register on the charger and it had enough power to start the
car
>> with some additional boosting. It still does not register as being
fully
>> charged on the charger meter. I seem to recall that batteries that sit
for
>> a while can get "sulfated" and there is a procedure to reverse the
process.
>> I think you need a BIG charger, not the 10 amp thing I have. Can
someone
>> confirm if this is true and if a Gas Station size charger can fix this.
>
>The problem sometimes is oxidization of the lead plates inside the
>battery.
>
>If you can, open up the cells and take a look inside. If the cells have a
>signifigant amount of electrolyte (ACID!) missing, you'll need to either
>add electrolyte or add (distilled, clean) water.
>
If the low level is due to evaporation you should only add water. Only if
the loss is due to spillage should you add acid.
Dave (member of the Battery-A-Month club) Massey
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