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| Thread ID: 124707 | 2012-05-14 08:52:00 | Charging the car battery. | Nomad (952) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 1275295 | 2012-05-15 01:07:00 | I'm only quoting what the experts say. :) |
Trev (427) | ||
| 1275296 | 2012-05-15 01:53:00 | DO NOT loosen or remove the caps during charging. The battery is designed to operate with the caps on, and appropriate venting is provided. Loosening the caps allows the ingress of Oxygen which could cause the Hydrogen to explode. A friend lost his eyes through a battery blowing up with open caps. I agree, like when the battery is in the car and maybe a bit flat the modern alternators can smack in 70 amps plus. The caps are on then. Think its a left over thing from the Boer war. |
prefect (6291) | ||
| 1275297 | 2012-05-15 08:56:00 | I took my driving license in a Ford Prefect E93A. Excellent, tough little car, so long as you didn't want to do more than 40mph. Vacuum wipers were fun too, they stopped when the throttle was open, very good in mud. if you could see where you were going! | mzee (3324) | ||
| 1275298 | 2012-05-15 11:17:00 | www.cteknz.co.nz Why is it that you ask but do not listen? I'm sure there are equivalent systems to CTek if you Google. Chances are your new battery won't even have lead in it and people are talking Ford Prefects - I thought this was a forward thinking forum :-) |
Ofthesea (14129) | ||
| 1275299 | 2012-05-16 02:01:00 | I took my driving license in a Ford Prefect E93A. Excellent, tough little car, so long as you didn't want to do more than 40mph. Vacuum wipers were fun too, they stopped when the throttle was open, very good in mud. if you could see where you were going! Mine had a 100E engine, was good for 1 mile a minute speed if needed like getting to the pub. Good car for drink driving in because the cops would so totally disbelieve anyone would drive something like this when drinking. Vacuum wipers were a worry but you could put your fingers under the dash and move them manually. Or lift your foot momentarily off the gas pedal. Do both at the same time though could sever your fingers. |
prefect (6291) | ||
| 1275300 | 2012-05-16 02:48:00 | From what you say the battery is at the end of life stage, replace it and fit one of those isolating terminals, then when you wish to leave the car unused for a while disconnect it. Your battery will last much longer that way. Total discharge of lead acid cells is not recommended as the DOD (depth of discharge) is inversely proportional to the cycle life of these. www.rollsbattery.com |
KarameaDave (15222) | ||
| 1275301 | 2012-05-17 06:24:00 | From what you say the battery is at the end of life stage, replace it and fit one of those isolating terminals, then when you wish to leave the car unused for a while disconnect it. On our Trucks and Buses we have isolator switchs fitted on the terminals and for a very good reason. Firstly most of the time there is two or more fitted and secondly they are blardy expensive!!! On our Coaster the 24v to 12v inverter causes a drain and that is another good reason to have an isolation switch. Plus makes a good anti theft device. |
coldfront (15814) | ||
| 1275302 | 2012-05-17 07:01:00 | On our Trucks and Buses we have isolator switchs fitted on the terminals and for a very good reason. Firstly most of the time there is two or more fitted and secondly they are blardy expensive!!! On our Coaster the 24v to 12v inverter causes a drain and that is another good reason to have an isolation switch. Plus makes a good anti theft device. Isolator switches ok but in this instance surely a few seconds with a crescendos would be ok. |
prefect (6291) | ||
| 1275303 | 2012-05-17 07:10:00 | Isolator switches ok but in this instance surely a few seconds with a crescendos would be ok. Yes and a lot cheaper if OP is OK with doing that given they have indicated that it is rather enclosed. |
KarameaDave (15222) | ||
| 1275304 | 2012-05-17 16:12:00 | Lots of interesting answers here for sure . The 'modern' battery is a hybrid that is designed to produce a high voltage/amperage-instant capacity, but little reserve capacity . This is to spin a modern engine very fast and get it started quickly . The older lead-acid batteries were capable of long draws at relatively high amperage and not as much voltage - but they could crank for a long time . They could also 'recover' if let to sit for about 15 minutes after taking them pretty low, so they were rated for that recovery rate too . This recovery ability diminishes as the battery gets older and calcified . The first style is designed for the fuel injected engines and the latter for most carbureted vehicles . FI vehicles tend to start a lot easier than carb'd units, as the high pressure fuel is electrically pumped and is instantly 'there' in the injectors, whereas engines with a carburetor and low pressure (3-4 lbs) fuel pump (usually mechanical) require en-training the fuel droplets via the venturi in the throttle bore(s) and allowing it to flow with air into the combustion chambers before ignition could happen: and all this after the fuel pump refills the carburetor float bowl(s) first . ERGO: enters the modern non-serviceable type battery we have today . Besides - they are cheaper with much less lead . Pick one up then the other and feel the difference! Lead is expensive . § Calcium batteries are considered fully charged at 13 . 8 VDC - no load and 65F . § Lead-acid batteries are considered fully charged at 13 . 2 VDC - no load and 65F . § Charging rates while in a vehicle are SUPPOSED to cut off at 14 . 0 VDC for the hybrids; 13 . 8 for the lead-acid types . § Again, this is at 65F . Changing one type battery for the other can cause grief to the charging system if it was made to cut back for a hybrid and there's a lead-acid in it's place . A lead-acid battery will be constantly overcharged in this situation . Since batteries are charged when one normally drives a car (that's why you have a generator or alternator) - charging them IN the car isn't a bad idea . Just make sure of the charger's polarity - modern chargers won't allow cross-connections anyway - but that's really the only 'danger' involved . The tops of the cells - lids or caps, if you will, are mini-distilleries to capture the water that liberates from the charging process, and drip it back into the cells . Leave them on . *** The days of plugged vent holes in battery caps are long gone except for some really archaic designs on RV and deep-cycle lead-acid batteries . You might find these in golf carts and electric wheel chairs - but even they are going to hermetically sealed gel-cells now . Most of those older batteries that could have plugged cap vents were also 'tar-poured' individual cells with soldered cross bars and they always had a lot of electrolyte leaking over the top of the battery . These batteries are the genesis of all the myths about batteries today and after all the old dogs finally die, these antique 'factoids' will disappear too . If you were born after approximately 1960, you'll never see one of these old wet cells . Forget that you even read about them here as they are NOT germane to today's battery designs . If you have a car battery with the green 'Charge-Eye' in it - it's really old . Very old . Have a retirement party for it and go out and buy a new one . Most batteries last 3-5 years in either design . Any use after that is free time and you're riding gratis . Remember - you RENT a battery - never actually own it . If you want to keep a battery topped-up, then a solar panel from Harbor Freight is great . It lays in the dashboard inside the windshield, plugs into the lighter or power port, is self-regulating and won't consume electricity when the sun goes down . These too are very cheap and I personally use one to keep the deep-cycle battery in my K5 Blazer topped up all the time . It (the Blazer) has got a carburetor and as an older style vehicle needs all the help it can get to start at cold temps, especially with the new non-flammable gasolines we have here in the US . BTW: Disconnecting the battery or removing it from the vehicle CAN cause a lot of computer troubles if the vehicle uses it to control and protect the transmission (especially Ford, Mazda and Toyota units) . When you take the voltage out of the ECM - it zero-pages and requires a lot of input (called: drive cycles•) to get it back into the loop and shift and modify the fuel ration, spark advance and other emission controlling perimeters back into alignment . Under the wrong conditions - you can destroy a transmission or ruin the catalytic convertor if the ECM needs too much time to correct for your driving characteristics . Forget all Ye Olde Wyves tales about batteries . • - These 'cycles' are cold starts and getting up to operating temperature for the whole system and attaining cruising speed for a few miles and returning to cold start approximately 5-6 time . This numerical value of drive cycles varies from manufacturer to manufacturer . |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
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