Battery Maintenance

[Nishan.dj]

Hello,

First of all need to thank everyone for sharing knowledge among us.

I have a something to get clarified with the help of you all. I bought 2 exide batteries for my 4DR5 Jeep 2 years ago and both are 90Amp ones. The alternator provide 13-14V when charging and according what I knew and tested by an electrician there is no charging issue with the electrical system and I got the whole wiring system repaired by a good electrician sometime back.

I check the water level once a week of both batteries and get them tested by an electrician at least once in a 3-4 months. But suddenly one battery stopped charging and had to throw away as I am having a bad experience with Exide batteries. I went to meet a supplier of all kind of batteries and got some advises from them too which they say they get more returns of exide batteries and having some issues.

I do not want to criticize any brand but after going through the posts published by many experts I decided to change the brand to Global maintenance free batteries. And also thanks to Sylvi and all, I think its a good idea to use a battery maintainer for keep the batteries fully charged. I highly appreciate for your explanations about battery maintainers and chargers (I'm aware that maintainer is for maintaining a charged battery and a charger for charging but what would be the best for me?) based on the local market. Thank so much in advance.

[harshansenadhir]

Cannot comment on a particular brand but have had bad experience with the brand you're trying to move into as well. Battery failed on the 13th month where warranty is only for 12 months. Replaced with the brand you're trying to get rid of and lasted until I sold the car.

Issue with the first brand you mentioned can be due to high numbers they're being sold. As a matter of fact, most selling brand can contribute to have high percentage among returns as well. check for statistics such as number of batteries sold : no of batteries returned of all brands. Then you can do a fair comparison.

[Sylvi]

Nishan.dj

Log into following web pages. If you have any questions please Email me. [email protected]> <[email protected]

http://autoexpert.hu...ery-Maintenance

http://www.green-trust.org/battfaq.htm.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[Crosswind]

Have to agree with Harshan. I too never had major issues with Exide. You mentioned that your batteries lasted for 2 years, which is just about the lifetime of an average battery. However, I am curious about the sudden death of one battery. I hope your maintenance work included cleaning the oxide in the terminals. Time and again I have had similar issues, and more often than not, it has been due to the frickin terminals.

Also remember one thing. Battery shops will try to SELL you a battery no matter what, even if your problem is caused due to terminals.

[Nishan.dj]

Thanks to Harsha,Sylvi and crosswind.

I do clean the oxide in the terminals as well check weather they are tight enough.

[harshansenadhir]

Forgot one fact.. that is the battery on the passenger side dies fast in these jeeps (J series with 24v starter). Reason is the starter motor (+)ve feed is taken from that battery. Since starter motor pulls 24v serial, the first battery gets a higher load first and then gets the feed from the other. Therefore, you will be extending the life of the battery if you switch both time to time.

Which one died first in your case ?

[Nishan.dj]

Forgot one fact.. that is the battery on the passenger side dies fast in these jeeps (J series with 24v starter). Reason is the starter motor (+)ve feed is taken from that battery. Since starter motor pulls 24v serial, the first battery gets a higher load first and then gets the feed from the other. Therefore, you will be extending the life of the battery if you switch both time to time.

Which one died first in your case ?

Its the drivers' side battery and not the one in the passengers side. Good idea is to switch the batteries from time to time to avoid the failures which then both will die mostly around the same time. Thanks.

[Sylvi]

Members.

I post under with my experience and my opinion in Auto and industrial electrical industry for many years.

Changing positions of 24 volts DC batteries in Automobiles, for every month it is not a necessity. Like Automobile tire rotation.

I have never had the experience of Automobiles 24 volts Dc battery system in other countries also changing the position of batteries. Because I have handled many type of commercial vehicles Electrical systems. We have tippers with electric Hydraulic tipping. They too work with 24 Volts DC.

There are forklifts working inside store houses. They normally work on 48 DC some designs use 72 DC have number of batteries can be 12 volts DC or 2 volt DC batteries with very high amperage connected in series.

DC battery banks are used. Supply mostly for Communication equipment fitted in relay stations emergency patient treatment rooms and EVs. They have separate Battery charging systems designed for the requirement.

For example 10 KV 230 AC Volts .High capacity UPS inverters which are connected directly on line have input to Dc Batteries and the output load always connected to load. Battery banks inverters; Input voltage is DC 240/230. So that Inverter supplies continue 230 Volts AC. 365 days of the year they are connected 24 hours.

Battery bank has 12 Batteries’ 200 or more Ampere batteries. They never change from the position of batteries until one battery fails. They are regularly monitored every month very carefully load tested every cell and the S/G.

Above said batteries undergo very high discharge and high charging cycles.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[Pericles]

Members.

I post under with my experience and my opinion in Auto and industrial electrical industry for many years.

Changing positions of 24 volts DC batteries in Automobiles, for every month it is not a necessity. Like Automobile tire rotation.

Does your experience include reading? Harshan didn't say monthly, did he?

On another note, you rotate your tires monthly? Even the tire shops says to do about every three months. Most people don't have multiple jacks and cheap manual labour to keep rotating their tires every month.

[harshansenadhir]

Members.

I post under with my experience and my opinion in Auto and industrial electrical industry for many years.

Changing positions of 24 volts DC batteries in Automobiles, for every month it is not a necessity. Like Automobile tire rotation.

I have never had the experience of Automobiles 24 volts Dc battery system in other countries also changing the position of batteries. Because I have handled many type of commercial vehicles Electrical systems. We have tippers with electric Hydraulic tipping. They too work with 24 Volts DC.

There are forklifts working inside store houses. They normally work on 48 DC some designs use 72 DC have number of batteries can be 12 volts DC or 2 volt DC batteries with very high amperage connected in series.

DC battery banks are used. Supply mostly for Communication equipment fitted in relay stations emergency patient treatment rooms and EVs. They have separate Battery charging systems designed for the requirement.

For example 10 KV 230 AC Volts .High capacity UPS inverters which are connected directly on line have input to Dc Batteries and the output load always connected to load. Battery banks inverters; Input voltage is DC 240/230. So that Inverter supplies continue 230 Volts AC. 365 days of the year they are connected 24 hours.

Battery bank has 12 Batteries’ 200 or more Ampere batteries. They never change from the position of batteries until one battery fails. They are regularly monitored every month very carefully load tested every cell and the S/G.

Above said batteries undergo very high discharge and high charging cycles.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

No one said the batteries of J44s should be rotated every month. Let me correct you on your response and show the difference between the battery banks/packs you have worked with and the setup in J44/J24

The battery packs/banks always stored next to each other. Therefore, connectivity between (+)ve terminal of one battery to the (-)ve terminal of the other is through either clamps or short thick wires. Resistance is related to distance of the wire? Yeah? So in battery banks resistance of the wire between two batteries is negligible.

However, in J44 setup, the batteries are in either sides of the engine bay (have you ever seen? fine) therefore, the wire used is at least 5ft long. When length increases, the resistance also does increases. Therefore, the resistance of the wire/connectivity between the two batteries is significant and obviously more than of those battery banks. Agree? not an issue, it's a fact.

Let's see what happens when starter motor starts operating. Mind you, these starter motors draw a significant amount of current and if you have loosen terminals; it can damage the terminal too.

Motor starts drawing current from the system and the first battery (naturally, the one closer with a short wire attached directly to the starter motor from (+) terminal) would be first to provide maximum voltage it can. Due to the resistance on the connecting wire between the batteries, the supportive voltage the system gets from the other battery is lesser than what the first battery can provide. So the first battery always ends up straining than the second during the starter motor operation in J44s.

On a side note, if any J44 users have 12V components such as A/C blowers, HID lights etc. plugged only to a single battery, yet again it’s a must to rotate batteries to reduce straining a single battery all the time.

Edited September 4, 2012 by harshansenadhir

[Sylvi]

Harshansenadhir,

(1)Self starter motor will draw more than 100 amps depending on their manufacture.

(2)In that case commercial vehicle batteries are fitted not in the engine bay they are fitted on the side of motor vehicle.Resistance is related to distance of 5 feet copper connectivity wire is negligible

(3)The weakest battery will fail first to my knowledge.

(3) I was in a well known Battery manufacture plant years ago. No two batteries are manufactured to same level they used to put out batteries in mass scale.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[Nishan.dj]

Thanks all for sharing the knowledge and Mr. Sylvi for the charger which help me maintaining the current without any matter now. . The problem is solved with the maintainer. However I found this article [ http://homepages.ihu...anence_Tips.pdf] which is having several ways of reconditioning an older battery. Although I have not tried it, though that sharing is worth. Anyway I will try this method on my older batteries.

"Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom Salts) - Can be bought at either the chemist or supermarket. Add a

slightly heaped teaspoonful into each cell. Fully charge it with a slow charge, then discharge it (use a

car headlight), then add another slightly heaped teaspoonful to each cell. It will take about a month

for the Epsom Salts to dissolve the sulphation and increase the battery's capacity to hold a charge."

If anyone has any idea, kindly post. Thanks.

Edited September 18, 2012 by Nishan.dj

[Fixzit]

I've tried using Epsom salt to re-condition a battery which has been replaced for not charging enough and left dead for about 3 or 4 months..and I'm glad to say it worked on both batteries that I tried. I did not follow the proper procedure to be honest because I just waned to do a test. What I did was to get the renaming acid + water out of the battery..and mix some Epsom salt with about 150ml of hot water.. mix that with the acid which I took out, fill up the battery again with the solution and top it up to the level with some tap water. Left it for an overnight charge on my charger..connect it to a halogen lamp, drain it fully and re-charge.. My friend is still using that battery in his car and no problems at all.. after the second re-charge it was holding about 12.5V..i guess that's pretty good for a battery which was thrown out..Epsom salt is pretty cheap and easy to find over here..Not sure about SL though. 1 KG pack only cost me $4 bucks. If you are planing on doing it, I'd recommend that you use distilled water, and from what i heard you need to mix the Epsom salt until it's saturated solution.

[Ripper]

I've tried using Epsom salt to re-condition a battery which has been replaced for not charging enough and left dead for about 3 or 4 months..and I'm glad to say it worked on both batteries that I tried. I did not follow the proper procedure to be honest because I just waned to do a test. What I did was to get the renaming acid + water out of the battery..and mix some Epsom salt with about 150ml of hot water.. mix that with the acid which I took out, fill up the battery again with the solution and top it up to the level with some tap water. Left it for an overnight charge on my charger..connect it to a halogen lamp, drain it fully and re-charge.. My friend is still using that battery in his car and no problems at all.. after the second re-charge it was holding about 12.5V..i guess that's pretty good for a battery which was thrown out..Epsom salt is pretty cheap and easy to find over here..Not sure about SL though. 1 KG pack only cost me $4 bucks. If you are planing on doing it, I'd recommend that you use distilled water, and from what i heard you need to mix the Epsom salt until it's saturated solution.

interesting stuff!

must try when me battery dies on me...

[Fixzit]

That's what you must do, and keep in mind that this method does not work for every battery..

[Warlord]

Not a technical thingie guys but, Exide and Lucas are pretty much the same battery manufactured in the same small factory in Rathmalana, by an Indian Company.

Just the brand name Exide commands the premium.

[Sylvi]

Members,

Few days ago I attended, Member Nishan dj 's jeep checked up the batteries his other side battery not the side which is closed to self starter had had failed he had replaced with a new maintenance free battery which was perfect on load and old battery which was there was little low voltage on load.

NOT WITH AN INTENTION IN MAKING MONEY FROM A MEMBER OF A/L.

Sylvi wijesinghe.

[Nishan.dj]

Members,

Few days ago I attended, Member Nishan dj 's jeep checked up the batteries his other side battery not the side which is closed to self starter had had failed he had replaced with a new maintenance free battery which was perfect on load and old battery which was there was little low voltage on load.

NOT WITH AN INTENTION IN MAKING MONEY FROM A MEMBER OF A/L.

Sylvi wijesinghe.

Thanks a lot Mr. Sylvi for checking the system and helping me to understand the basics of auto electrical stuff. Really appreciate your help and I think we need the knowledge from the people like you.

I tried recovering 2 used motorcycle batteries and one 70AMP 12V battery in the same way I mentioned above and it was successful except a one motorcycle battery which was holding only 8V because of a dead cells I guess. Happy to say that now the batteries are powering emergency lamp unit for home with 5W LEDs

Epsom Salt is available in the local market and cheap also. However I am still testing it with a recently replaced battery to know how long it takes to desulfate totally.

Edited October 15, 2012 by Nishan.dj

[Sylvi]

Thanks a lot Mr. Sylvi for checking the system and helping me to understand the basics of auto electrical stuff. Really appreciate your help and I think we need the knowledge from the people like you.

I tried recovering 2 used motorcycle batteries and one 70AMP 12V battery in the same way I mentioned above and it was successful except a one motorcycle battery which was holding only 8V because of a dead cells I guess. Happy to say that now the batteries are powering emergency lamp unit for home with 5W LEDs

Epsom Salt is available in the local market and cheap also. However I am still testing it with a recently replaced battery to know how long it takes to desulfate totally.

home with 5W LEDs

'Nishan.dj',

Thank you NISHAN for your comment.

Epsom Salt battery reconditioning I did not try will do in few days.

Glad to hear of that experiment was susesful.

Good luck for your happy day in very near future.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

Edited October 21, 2012 by Sylvi

[harshansenadhir]

Reviving this thread as I thought of trying out the battery re-conditioning thing using epsom salt. (However, this method will not work if the cells are damaged/short circuited etc.)

Bit puzzled as to where should I look for buying epsom salt? youtube videos say, any department store has it.. but we don't have them here. Any help / tips guys as to where it's available to buy?

[Nishan.dj]

Hello harshansenadhir

I bought this Epsom salt from a pharmacy. The chemicals or the ingredients here are called "Magnesium sulfate" and if you ask it specifically, you might get them as well. I tried on 2 old batteries that they had no damaged cells, and could recover it so that one I use it for the vehicle and another for lighting an emergency light system at home. Happy DIY project for you.

[NRX]

Hello harshansenadhir

I bought this Epsom salt from a pharmacy. The chemicals or the ingredients here are called "Magnesium sulfate" and if you ask it specifically, you might get them as well. I tried on 2 old batteries that they had no damaged cells, and could recover it so that one I use it for the vehicle and another for lighting an emergency light system at home. Happy DIY project for you.

Is this thing expensive machan ? Does it come as tablets or what ?

[Nishan.dj]

Is this thing expensive machan ? Does it come as tablets or what ?

Not expensive at all. Around Rs.100 for 150g or so. Its like sugar (white) [not brown sugar ]

[harshansenadhir]

Thanks Nishan, will try out and update you guys.

[Sylvi]

Thanks Nishan, will try out and update you guys.

Harshan Senadhira,

Nishan dj has enlightened the A/L forum with this treatment for battery.

Award must be given to him explaining to the forum. Correct procedure.

Even the USA Product does not carry all detail method.( http://www.batterydoctorswi.com/ )

In USA this is a very good business. I too got down a sample air freighted with duty spending Rupees 17000/=. Some time back. I had totally forgotten the parcel. Few days back I came across the parcel used it once was not that successful due to any correct procedure. So I put to a side.

I tested the said liquid by a laboratory, to find the liquid was Epsom salt colored in very attractive bottles. The promoter wanted to sell a Franchise to me.

Epsom salt. Any western pharmacy will have because doctors widely use for treating patents. It is mainly used by allopathic medicine for generations to clean bowels of a person and any problem on joints. Doctors recommend making a concentrated mixture keep on wetting for swelling to subside.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[Kavvz]

And for haemorrhoids! (Always a good for a laugh at the pharmacy, if they don't know what you want, point to your bum and say " Come on! You know the salt they dissolve in bath water for haemorrhoids? That's what I want!" )