1. Starting Batteries How do batteries work? Each cell has a number of positive plates made of lead (sponge lead?) And negative plates of ???

2. How do batteries work? When the two dissimilar metal plates are immersed in acid they create a voltage This voltage is created by the concentrating Negative Ions on the negative plates and Positive Ions on the positive plates

3. How do batteries work? As batteries discharge the acid is turned to water and the lead plates are turned into lead sulfate When both plates are turned to lead sulfate the battery is discharged or dead

4. How many volts does one battery cell produce? 2.1 volts How many cells in a 12 volt battery? 6 cells How many volts in a 12 volt battery? 12.6 How can you get 12.6 volts out of a bunch of 2.1 volt cells? wire them in series

5. What comes out of a battery? Electrical POWER what is power? Watts = volts X Amps How do you get more volts out of a battery? add more cells in series How do diesel vehicles get 24 volts for starting wiring 2-12 volt, or 4-6 volt batteries in series

6. What happens as all the amps get used up? The electolyte turns to water and......the lead and sponge lead plates turn to Lead sulfate and......the acid will no longer strip electrons from the positive plates…...and add them to the negative plates The battery will go DEAD

7. How can we build a battery to supply more amps? add more lead plates to each individual cell more lead plates in a cell will increase…?...cranking amps …amp hour rating

8. So what battery should I use? 1) A battery with the proper voltage…...6 volt, 12 volt, 24 volt 2) A battery with enough amp capacity... …Cold Cranking Amps, or amp hour rating 3) A battery with that will fit in the carrier…...BCI Group rating

9. BCI Group rating How tall is the battery How wide is the battery How long is the battery Where are the terminals located

10. If the battery is the correct BCI Group... …is it correct battery? NO! it must meet vehicle specific capacity Manufacturer will specify a minimum CCA... or Amp hour rating Adding plates to a cell increases the amp capacity Adding plates (surface area) will lengthen the service life of the battery Adding plates increases price.

11. Deep Cycle batteries Some RV and Marine batteries are different They are intended to operate smaller electrical loads (lights, 12 volt accessories, trolling motors etc.) for long periods of time without being recharged. They are called Deep Cycle batteries as they can withstand many cycles of long slow discharging followed by long slow charging.

12. Deep Cycle batteries Rapid discharging (like the hundreds of amps pulled by a starter motor) will ruin a Deep Cycle battery…...it will overheat the plates.

13. Starting Batteries The function of the battery is to start the engine Then the generator will run all electrical loads. Some Recreational Vehicles use both a starting battery and a deep cycle battery. The deep cycle battery is not hooked to the starter motor.

14. Starting Batteries If you allow a starting battery to slowly go dead it will “SULFATE” This happens when lead sulfate (formed when a battery discharges) crystallizes on the surface of the lead plates. This will not allow the battery to fully recharge Sometimes a sulfated battery will not recharge at all.

15. What type of battery do I sell to the customer? Proper BCI Group number So it will fit in the vehicle The proper type battery Cranking or Deep Cycle The more CCA the better Make sure it meets the minimum required by the manufacturer

16. When do I add battery Acid? Only for filling dry charged batteries Do not add acid to a battery already in service Some batteries are assembled but the acid is left out until it is ready for sale (Dry Charged) The acid is added just before it is installed in the vehicle

17. Storing Batteries When a battery is new the lead and acid will begin to react and it will slowly discharge. Any battery that sits unused for several months will slowly go dead and begin to sulfate. This will ruin the battery.. All batteries be periodically recharged. New batteries, awaiting sale, are given a “trickle charge” on a regular schedule

18. What do I add to a battery with low electrolyte? Distilled (or de-mineralized) water. Adding tap water will encourage electrolysis This will speed up the loss of that water when charging and discharging It will also encourage corrosion on the battery cables

19. How full do I fill the battery Fill until the electrolyte just touches the fill ring Practice this…You can see just when it touches If you overfill…You can pull the extra out… …it your syringe is clean (use a hydrometer)

20. CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN Be sure any item that touches the electrolyte is washed Clean battery hydrometer with plenty of water after each use

21. How can I make the battery live longer? 1) make sure the battery hold down is solid …vibration will knock material off the lead plates, lower the amp capacity, and short out cells. 2) keep the battery clean …as the battery cycles acid gets all over the case, this will corrode the cables…...and also provides a path for current to slowly discharge the battery between terminals (this can be measured with a volt meter)

22. 2) Keep the battery clean Always clean the battery with the vent caps on to avoid contaminating the cells. Baking soda and water works well to neutralize any battery acid as do battery cleaning spray cans. Rinse with lots of water after neutralizing the acid Soap and water works great to clean a battery

23. How can I make the battery live longer? 3) keep the battery full…...use distilled water and do not over fill. If the battery is extra low check the charging system for overcharging If low electrolyte with no removable vent caps......replace the battery after double checking the charging system.

24. How can I make the battery live longer? 4) Keep the battery fully charged…...make sure the cables are not corroded 5) Check for parasitic drains.....A parasitic draw of up to.050 amps is acceptable. 6) Do not allow the battery to freeze…...a dead battery can freeze at +15  F …a fully charged battery will survive –50  F

25. Frozen Batteries DO NOT ATTEMPT TO JUMP START OR CHARGE A FROZEN BATTERY A charging battery forms Hydrogen gas that will be trapped by the ice and can cause the battery to explode. A frozen battery is ruined due to the ice breaking up the sponge lead plates Once thawed out it will soon fail.

26. Frozen Batteries Replace frozen batteries. A frozen battery will have a bulged out case that will not reform An overcharged battery can also cause the case to bulge or distort. If the case looks distorted test the battery and the charging system

27. How can I test the battery? #1) you can only accurately test a fully charged battery An undercharged battery might fail the load test Load testing an undercharged battery may lead to unnecessary battery replacement

28. How do I determine the battery State of charge? Use a hydrometer and compensate for the temperature of the battery As a battery discharges the acid turns to water Acid is thicker and will float the hydrometer scale higher A fully charged battery cell has a “specific gravity” of 1.265 at 80 degrees

29. Hydrometer Testing A colder battery will measure higher as cold liquid is thicker A cold battery may look charged actually be undercharged Check each cell… …If the lowest cell is.050 points lower than the highest cell the battery is defective If water has just been added to the battery it will give a false hydrometer reading

30. What if there are no removable vent caps? Some batteries include a built in hydrometer. This checks one cell only Indicates the battery is at least 75% charged when green (or not black/clear) You can also test a battery state of charge with a volt meter

31. Testing the battery state of charge with a volt meter 12.6 V = a fully charged battery 12.4 V = 75% charged 12.2 V = 50% charged

32. My battery reads 13.2 Volts…...Is it overcharged? Some recombinant batteries maintain a slightly higher open circuit voltage Normal batteries will also register a surface charge. This is not an accurate reading of the state of charge

33. How do I accurately get an open circuit voltage reading ? To remove the surface charge place a 250 amp load on the battery, or crank the engine (without starting) for 15 seconds, Let the battery recover for five minutes, with the key off and all accessories turned off. A vehicle that has not been run for several hours will have an accurate open circuit voltage reading

34. Do I really have to do all this before testing the battery? Only if the battery fails the load test If the battery passes the capacity or load test…...the battery is good. If the battery fails the load (or capacity) test…...let it sit for five minutes…...recheck the open circuit voltage. If voltage is below 12.6 volts, recharge the battery and run a second load test

35. How do I recharge the battery? The best way is with a slow (or trickle) charge. Leave the charger unplugged when connecting the battery, to avoid sparks and potential explosion Batteries are most prone to explosion after load testing, jump starting, or cranking th engine Trickle charging will give the most complete charge and is easiest on the battery

36. I don’t have time for a slow charge! What’s wrong with quick charging? Nothing…... IF YOU FOLLOW SAFETY PRECAUTIONS… …to protect the battery and the vehicle To protect vehicle computers from high voltage......you should unhook the vehicle ground before turning on the charger

37. What can go wrong when I unhook the battery ground cable? Insure the ignition key is turned off. This will protect the computers from a voltage spike when power is unexpectedly interrupted Be sure to supply an additional power source to the vehicle to protect the computer’s learned operation strategy

38. Back to fast charging Once the battery is isolated…... you can turn the charger on high…...after connecting the charging leads.

39. How long do I leave it on fast charge? Leaving a battery on high charge is risky. If it is sulfated the voltage will quickly rise above 15 volts and overheat the battery. Also if the battery has a shorted cell the voltage may stay low it will begin to gas excessively This will create hydrogen gas that may explode.

40. I take vent caps off when charging, Is this O.K.? Vent caps have built in flame arrestors These can keep a battery from exploding should sparks or flames come close Leave the caps ON while charging MONITOR the battery during a fast charge

41. How do I monitor the battery? Check the voltage across the terminals with the charger on. If it gets over 15 volts turn off the charger or slow the rate of charge. Feel the case of the battery, if it gets hot it is overcharging all batteries will get warm, practice to know hot from warm

42. How do I monitor the battery? Look listen and smell for gassing. If you see lots of bubbles through the battery case (white case) turn down the charger. If you smell the gas, turn down the charger. Leave the vent caps on. Turn off and unplug the charger BEFORE removing the charging cables from the battery.

43. Do I need to monitor the battery if my charger has a voltage regulator? Yes A shorted cell in the battery will fool the voltage regulator and may lead to damage

44. O.K. Now I have a charged battery How do I tell if it’s any good? The best test is the load or capacity test. To perform this test you must measure battery volts and amps

45. Load Testing or Battery Capacity Testing #1 hook up the test leads #2 look up the capacity of the battery......that should be placed in that vehicle It will be in Cold Cranking Amps…...or in Amp Hours

46. Load Testing or Battery Capacity Testing #3 Place a load (high drain) on the battery the load should be ½ the Cold Cranking Amp rating...or three times the Amp Hour Rating of the battery...look it up to be sure

47. Load Testing or Battery Capacity Testing #4 Watch the voltage of the battery. It should not go below 9.6 volts within 15 seconds do not load the battery longer than 15 seconds. A strong battery will maintain 10 volts.

48. Load Testing or Battery Capacity Testing #5 If battery barely passes or fails the test…...leave everything off for 5 minutes or longer. Recheck the open circuit voltage, if it is under 12.5 volts recharge and test again.

49. Load Testing or Battery Capacity Testing If the battery recovers up to 12.6 volts…...and it barely passed the load test… It is O.K., but close to the end of it’s service life …Recommend replacement if in a cold climate.

50. Load Testing or Battery Capacity Testing If the battery recovered to 12.6 volts…... but dropped below 9.6 volts during the load test Recommend a new battery

51. Load Test the Battery

52. Amp probe around either test cable

53. When must you isolate the battery? Only when batteries are in parallel

54. How many volts for fully charged battery? Is this battery over charged? No! This is a surface charge. How do you remove the surface charge?

55. Load battery to about 250 amps for 15 seconds

56. After loading, wait one or two full minutes for the battery to recover Is this battery fully charged?

57. Volt readings are not accurate without External Leads

58. External Volt Meter Leads

59. Load Battery to ½ CCA

60. Is this a bad battery? NO! You must select VOLTS EXTERNAL

61. Same test with Volts ExternalWhat tells you this is a good battery?½ Cold Cranking Amps, Over 9.6 Volts, 15 seconds, Load is still ON

62. What do I do with the old, junk battery? Batteries contain hazardous lead (and other nasty things) They are very harmful to the environment. It is illegal to place them in the trash or landfill.

63. What do I do with the old, junk battery? Any business that sells batteries…... is legally obligated to recycle them.

64. This battery was only three years old, what caused it to fail? Vibration…...Check hold down Overcharging…...look for bulged case, low electrolyte…...voltage with engine running…...after battery is fully charged

65. This battery was only three years old, what caused it to fail? Discharged (sulfated) …look for dirty battery case… …and corroded battery cable ends Recommend more frequent battery cleaning

66. What Causes Sulfation? …Check voltage drop across positive and negative battery cables during cranking should have less that 0.3 volts Check for parasitic draw Should have less than 50 milliamps

67. What Causes Sulfation? …Check for low voltage with engine running...after battery is fully charged …Insure voltage stays up with all accessories turned on and engine running at 2,000 RPM …Quiz customer on driving habits…...short trips will not allow battery to fully charge

68. Replace the entire battery cable What is wrong with just replacing the cable end? Shorter cables do not room for engine torque…...and may pull on battery during acceleration Corrosion often works down cable… …and creates starting - charging problems Connection at end of cable may provide unwanted voltage drop

69. What is wrong with this battery?Corrosion on this terminal“Custom” terminal end that may cause voltage drop

70. Now you are The... Battery Expert!