What you need to know about car battery care?

Battery maintenance and terminal cleaning with a wire brush

Battery Maintenance Check the battery, if the cells are cracked, the battery is returned for repair. Dust and dirt are removed from it, and the holes in plugs or caps are cleaned. Check electrolyte levels in all batteries. The electrolyte level is checked with a densimeter. For this, holes with a diameter of 2 mm are drilled at their ends at a distance of 15 mm from the lower edge. When inspecting, remove the caps from the battery covers. The tip of the densimeter is lowered into each hole to fill the protective grille all the way. Squeeze and unzip the pear, determine the filling of the flask with electrolyte and its density. If there is no electrolyte when the level is below the drilled hole, fill the densitometer flask with distilled water and add it to the battery. After checking the electrolyte level, the caps are screwed on.

Battery Check and Maintenance

Make sure that the starter cable lugs are securely connected to the battery terminals. Their contact surface should be as oxidized as possible. If the nozzles and holes are oxidized, they are cleaned with abrasive paper, rolled into a truncated cone and rotated. They move axially. After removing the ends of the wires and battery terminals, they are wiped with a rag. They are lubricated inside and out with VTV-1 technical petroleum jelly and tighten the bolts securely, avoiding tension and twisting of wires. Battery Maintenance When TO-2, in addition to operations TO-1, check the density of the electrolyte, the degree of dilution. The electrolyte density in the batteries is determined by a KI-13951 densitometer. It consists of a plastic case with a nozzle, a rubber flask and six cylindrical floats.

Battery Maintenance and Density Calculation

Designed for density values ​​of 1190, 1210, 1230, 1250, 1270, 1290 kg / m3. When the electrolyte is absorbed through the upper part of the densitometer body, it floats, which corresponds to the measured and lower density of the electrolyte density. More precisely, the density of the electrolyte is determined by the density of the battery, the moisture meter of which has a scale in the range of 1100-1400 km / m3. And the price of one division on a scale is 10 kilograms / m8. When measuring the density, the tip of the densimeter is successively immersed in each battery. After compression of the rubber flask and in the flask in which the hydrometer floats, a certain amount of electrolyte is collected. The electrolyte density is calculated on the scale of the hydrometer in relation to the lower meniscus of the electrolyte. The difference in the density of battery electrolytes should not exceed 20 kg / m3. With a larger difference, the battery is replaced.

Density of electrolyte

If distilled water is added to the battery, the density is measured after 30-40 minutes of engine operation. In particular, the density of the electrolyte can be measured at the end of the last charge when commissioning a new battery. An oil densimeter is used in a cylindrical flask with a diameter of 20 mm. The degree of discharge can be determined by the lowest density measured in one of the batteries. If the temperature of the electrolyte is less than or exceeds 20 ° C, the temperature is corrected according to the measured density of the electrolyte. Battery Maintenance Depending on the nominal charging capacity of the battery, three options for charging the batteries are created using resistors. At a nominal battery charge of 40-65 Ah, they provide greater resistance by screwing the left and unscrewing the right terminals.

Battery service

When charging 70-100 Ah, they have less resistance. When screwing the left and unscrewing the right terminals, at a charge of 100-135 Ah, they turn on both resistors in parallel, screwing the two terminals. The voltage of a fully charged battery should not fall below 1,7 V. The difference in voltage of individual batteries should not exceed 0,1 V. If the difference is greater than this value or the battery is discharged by more than 50% during the summer and more than 25% in the winter. Dry charged batteries are dried and an electrolyte is prepared for their operation. To do this, use battery sulfuric acid, distilled water and clean glass, porcelain, ebonite or lead containers. The density of the poured electrolyte should be 20-30 kg / m3 less than the density required under these operating conditions.

Dry Battery Maintenance

Because the active mass of the plates on a dry-charged battery contains up to 20% or more lead sulfate, which when charged turns into sponge lead, lead dioxide and sulfuric acid. The amount of distilled water and sulfuric acid required to prepare 1 liter of electrolyte depends on its density. To prepare the required volume of electrolyte. For example, for a 6ST-75 battery, into which 5 l of electrolyte is poured with a density of 1270 kg / m3, the values ​​at a density of 1270 kg / m3 are multiplied by five, poured into a clean porcelain, ebonite or glass tank with 0,778. -5 = 3,89 liters of distilled water. And with stirring in small portions pour 0,269-5 = 1,345 L of sulfuric acid. It is strictly forbidden to pour water into acid, as this will lead to a boiling stream of water and the release of vapors and drops of sulfuric acid.

How to save battery

The resulting electrolyte is thoroughly mixed, cooled to a temperature of 15-20 ° C and its density is checked with a densimeter. If it comes into contact with the skin, the electrolyte is washed off with a 10% sodium bicarbonate solution. Pour electrolyte into the batteries with rubber gloves, using a porcelain cup and a glass funnel to a level of 10-15 mm above the grate. 3 hours after priming, measure the density of electrolytes in all batteries. To control the charge level of negative plates. Then carry out several control cycles. In the last cycle at the end of charging, the electrolyte density is brought to the same value in all batteries by adding distilled water or an electrolyte with a density of 1400 kg / m3. Commissioning without training cycles usually only speeds up discharge and shortens battery life.

Current charge and battery maintenance

The current value of the first and subsequent battery charges is usually maintained by adjusting the charger. The duration of the first charge depends on the duration and storage conditions of the battery. While the electrolyte is not filled and can reach 25-50 hours. Charging continues until there is significant gas evolution in all batteries. And the density and voltage of the electrolyte become constant for 3 hours, which serves as a sign of the end of charging. To reduce the corrosion of the positive plates, the charging current at the end of the charge can be halved. Discharge the battery by connecting a wire or plate rheostat to the battery terminals using an ammeter. At the same time, its setting is supported by the discharge current value equal to 0,05 of the nominal battery charge in Ah.

Battery Charging and Maintenance

Charging ends when the worst-case battery voltage is 1,75 V. After discharge, the battery is immediately charged with the current of subsequent charges. If the battery determined during the first discharge is insufficient, the control and training cycle is repeated. Store dry-charged batteries in dry rooms with an air temperature above 0 ° C. Dry battery charging is guaranteed for one year, the total shelf life is three years from the date of manufacture. Because only discharge is a constant property of the battery and its durability during operation and storage in a fully charged state is longer. It is recommended to charge them monthly with electricity when storing batteries, compensating only for discharge and preventing electrolytes from falling out.

Battery service

For low-current charging, only strong, fully charged batteries are installed to check the density and electrolyte level. In this case, the charging voltage should be in the range of 2,18-2,25 V for each battery. Small chargers can be used to charge low-current batteries. Thus, the VSA-5A rectifier can provide a small charging current of 200-300 batteries. The thickness of the electrodes does not exceed 1,9 mm, the separators are made in the form of a package worn on electrodes with the same polarity. With TO-2, dirt is removed from such batteries, the vents in the plugs are cleaned, and the wire connections are checked for reliability. Distilled water is added no more than once every one and a half to two years. To control the electrolyte level on the side wall of a translucent monoblock there are marks at the minimum and maximum levels of electrolyte.

Questions and answers:

How to increase the density of electrolyte in a battery? If the density of the electrolyte is not restored after charging, electrolyte (not distilled water) can be added to the liquid.

How to reduce the density of electrolyte in a battery? The surest way is to add distilled water to the electrolyte and then charge the battery. If the cans are full, a small amount of electrolyte should be removed.

What should be the density of the electrolyte in the battery? The density of the electrolyte must be the same in each cell of the battery. This parameter should be within 1.27 g / cc.

What to do if the electrolyte density is low? You can completely replace the electrolyte in the battery or bring the solution to the desired concentration. For the second method, it is necessary to add the same amount of acid to the jars.