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Old 06-19-2009, 05:12 AM   #129 (permalink)
orange4boy
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: The Wet Coast, Kanuckistan.
Posts: 1,275

The Golden Egg - '93 Toyota Previa DX
90 day: 31.91 mpg (US)

Chewie - '03 Toyota Prius
90 day: 57 mpg (US)

The Spaceship - '00 Honda Insight
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If I didn't say it before... Nice work on the mpg numbers. I'm bowing to your 107%.

13.5V won't mix the electrolyte enough or equalize the battery but it can't hurt to give it a try. Exercise should get it going again if your charger is doing it's job.

Is your charger automatic or manual? Not all chargers are created equal. If it's automatic it should bring the voltage up to 14.5 or higher at the end of the cycle which causes the electrolyte to bubble and circulate to reduce stratification and fully charge. If this does not happen then you could end up with a stratified battery which won't charge fully. As a battery discharges it goes from strong to weak electrolyte and the weaker stuff floats up because of the specific gravity difference. You can tip the battery a few times, closed, if you have it out and do a before/after gravity measurement to see how stratified it is.

If your charger is manual then you can equalize it yourself by bringing up the voltage to 14.5V and let it bubble a bit for a couple hours. Not boil, just a good fine bubble. if you pop the covers you should be able to hear it fizz like a ginger ale. Don't get too close though because of the bubble mist. You can see the little acid droplets with a flashlight in the dark.

Many car batteries fail prematurely because the alternator has not had enough time to fully charge the battery during short trips. They become stratified and become hard sulfated.

Or a low voltage reading could be a symptom of a bad cell. Is the battery still under warranty?

Bottom line is if it has enough juice to get you there it's good enough.
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