Any tricks to get more out of. A battery

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by MGB=MPG

go back to where you got it and say . battery will not hold a charge and say you have no idea why it is that way.

Are you really suggesting someone sell their integrity and character for $50? Seems a bit cheap if you ask me, but everyone has a different idea of what their honor is worth. Perhaps the comment was in jest; it's very difficult to read between the lines when all you have is words in a forum.

[SmellyCat]

I Guess beer does make you dumb. Alright.. I'm learning how to keep a battery alive. 12.6 volts means that the battery is fiuly charged. 12.2 means I'm at 80%. before I start the car , lets say meter says 12.8, , once car is running the meter says 12.4, What is the rule for when I am driving around? When the car is running, what voltage do I stop running off the battery? SC

[gone-ot]

...it depends (no, not the kind you wear)...because GM cars since 2005 have a "fuel (fool?) saving" Regulated Voltage Control (RVC) system that backs-down the current from the alternator during daylight/light power driving, and only makes the alternator really 'work' when engine load is light or engine is decelerating. Hence, it's not uncommon to sometime see charging voltage between 13.8-14.8Vdc under perfectly 'typical' conditions.

...other companies use something similar.

[Ryland]

12.6 is 95% full, a battery might drop down to 12.7v after being off the charger for 3 hours or more but if the battery is still good then it should read 12.7 or higher for days, batteries in my electric car haven't been charged for weeks because my motor was getting repaired and the 48v pack is still reading 52.3v or nearly 13.1v per 12v set.
So I would say that if your battery is only reading 12.6v after taking it off the charger, then the charger is not charging it fully!

[SmellyCat]

Is the 12.6. What you read with no load? Or. When the battery is running the fuel pump and spark plugs? If I am sputtering around with the alt off, am I running it to long if the volt meterb says 11volts. Under load?

[SmellyCat]

I added distilled water to battery that seemed ok. 2 days later it went dead. Now it just gets hot when its on a charger. I'm bummed. any ideas, should I pour out the acid and refill it with acid or something. Maybe it was bad distilled water? mk

[JRMichler]

I don't think it's the water. Distilled water is the correct water to top a battery. I think you just have case of altilium subita morte (battery sudden death).

I have also had a battery die suddenly. When a battery dies, it's DEAD. And there's nothing you can do except to replace it with a new one.

[Ryland]

Sounds like you ran the battery dead to many times and had heavy lead suphate deposits, when those flake off they can short out the plates and cause the battery to just heat up instead of charge.
There are no good products out there that fix this problem, you could try to dump out the acid along with the lead sulphate, filter it and put the acid back in, or put new acid in, but if you try that you need to be very careful because the acid is strong enough to burn skin and make you go blind if it gets in your eyes, it will also etch concrete and destroy clothing that it comes in contact with, so treat it as if it will kill you because it could, if you get it on your skin baking soda is the way to treat it, dumping baking soda in a large enough puddle is a very bad idea, but if you get acid on any part of your body fresh water and baking soda will help stop the burning.

[user removed]

How old was the battery? I have seen them last 12 years, but a good average is 4 depending on your local climate extreemes, could be much shorter. Letting one go completely dead shortens life dramatically.
Cheap ones die sooner. Interstate Batteries are one of the best, or were one of the best back when I was working on cars.

regards
Mech

[Daox]

Doesn't matter how old it was. He was abusing the heck out of it and was told this would happen.