Hello friends! Today I want to tell you another simple, effective way to extend the life of your old battery. We all know very well that a lead-acid battery is not an eternal thing. And even if you take good care of it, sooner or later it will still start to fail. The reason for this is sulfation of the plates, as a result of which the battery loses its capacity and is no longer able to perform the specified functions.
I would like to clarify that the method described below is only suitable for sulfated batteries. It is not suitable for batteries with closed or swollen cells, loose plates, etc.
Clear signs of plate sulfation
The most obvious sign is that the battery is not holding the load. That is, when measuring the voltage at the terminals, the voltmeter shows a fully charged battery, but when a load is connected, the voltage drops significantly.
The second sign is rapid self-discharge. For example, you haven’t used the car for 3 days. Come to the garage and try to start it.And the battery is so discharged that even the electronics do not show their values.
All these phenomena do not occur immediately, but come gradually, usually after 3-5 years of battery operation.
Car battery restoration
The first step is to measure the initial voltage.
Next, we will conduct a test with a load fork.
I have long noticed an increase in self-discharge, so today it was generally discharged.
It would be a good idea to check the density of the electrolyte.
Once the battery has been identified and the diagnosis has been made, we proceed to recovery.
Using a hydrometer, drain the electrolyte from above as much as possible. As you can see, its color is dark.
Now we turn the battery over and drain the remainder into a bucket. This must be done especially carefully and the body must be rotated when draining so that the row of holes in the cans is horizontal. This must be done so that the outgoing streams of electrolyte do not short-circuit with each other.
Well, here it is completely black with a lot of impurities.
Now you need to find a capacity for the battery. I took the basin.
Using running water, rinse all jars with plain water. Fill to the top.
And we drain it.
This will remove any remaining electrolyte and black deposits.
Next, take baking soda, you will need 400-500 grams.
We dilute it with 5 liters of ordinary water in a canister. And mix well.
Fill each compartment to the brim.
Everything starts to boil. Add to the compartments where a lot of soda solution has spilled.
Let's wait 15 minutes until the reaction is completely completed. And drain the solution.
Next, thoroughly rinse all the jars with tap water again.
Let it drain a little longer so that there is a minimum of excess water.
I will refill the previously drained electrolyte - a new one is not needed. But for this it needs to be filtered.I use a synthetic cloth as a filter.
I place it in a funnel.
And gradually I filter all the previously drained electrolyte.
Then I gradually pour it back into the jars.
We wait until the bubbles come out, topping up if necessary. We wipe everything dry on top and close the lids.
We measure the voltage. It is virtually unchanged.
We charge for an hour.
The battery is charging. The charging current is a witness to this. The tension rose.
The load fork test proves this.
Now we put the battery on a full charging cycle.
Over time, the battery charged and became fully operational.
A bit of process theory
There is no trick in this method, pure chemistry. The fact is that the sulfate located on the plates reacts with the soda solution and is etched away. That's all.
Of course, the method does not provide a 100% guarantee that the battery will come back to life, but you can still try.
We strongly recommend that you carry out all actions wearing protective glasses and gloves!
Bye everyone.
