Postby 88sins » March 18th, 2018, 8:23 am
Well fellas I did a quick search & didn't find anything on this particular topic here, so I thought I'd make this post .
But first, a little back story.
Had a battery give up the ghost on me the other day. I was parked waiting for the wife at an appointment, playing a lil music in the car, subs amp turned off & volume low, while playing a game on the phone. After 20 minutes she called to say she'd be coming out in 10 minutes. So I decide to start the car in the meantime. Well all I got was a slow tumble, & the second try I got nuttn but clicks. Battery dead. Or so I thought. So, I closed up the car, & walked across the road & bought a new battery. Got back to the car, Pulled out the multimeter & tested the new battery & saw 12.7v. Good to go as per expectations. Decided to test the old battery one time, so I put the meter on it &it was reading 10.3 v. So voltage & amps were too low to start the car. No shocker here, so I put in the new one, started the car, checked to be sure alternator was charging & it was putting out 14.2v without load, & with total load that dropped to 13.1v & idle & went back up to 14.2v wit some revs. So all was good, I put the old battery on the back seat floor, got in the car with the madam & away we went.
That night, I remembered I still had the weak battery in the car & decided to see if it could be revived. After doing some thinking & a lil research I decided to give it a try, thinking if it works, cool & I'd just keep it charged on standby in storage in case someone needed a jump start or whatever, & if not I had to dispose of it anyway, so no real loss. But I wanted confirmations from a battery professional before I did anything, just to proof my results after the restoration attempt. Took it to them & they charged it over a weekend, & when they disconnected it from the charger & they tested it in front of me it was 12.4v & dropping fast, & load testing showed it was weak. They said probably a defective cell was the issue. So I thought I'd give the restoration attempt a go. Well the result is, the restoration actually worked, & this post is just to share what I did in case anyone want's to try it themselves.
DISCLAIMER: This will not work for all weak or dead batteries. If you accustomed to running a battery to nothing often & it was never properly maintained to begin with this may not work on your particular battery.
So I tried a method I found on a battery forum, where they used magnesium sulphate (epsom salts) to restore a dead battery.
Things you'll need:
Gloves
Goggles(optional if you are careful)
A funnel
A clean large bowl or bucket
1 gallon distilled water
1 large bag epsom salts
Coffee filter(optional)
a 12v power supply putting out anywhere between 2-8 amps, or jumper cables (if your car gas tank full & alternator & regulator working properly)
Mix & dissolve completely the epsom salts in the distilled water.
Then clean the top of the battery, & remove the covers & empty all the battery electrolyte in the bowl/bucket & set it safely aside. DO NOT throw it away, you will be putting it back shortly. It may come out looking grey or black depending on how much lead is dissolved in it.
Fill the battery with the dissolved epsom salts, making sure all the plates are submerged. For really big batteries if all the plates aren't submerged add distilled water till they are, shake to mix & leave standing for 15-30 minutes.
Safely drain the epsom salts solution from the battery & dispose of it. There will be some acid mixed in with it, so be careful.
Get your funnel, coffee filter & the bowl/bucket of electrolyte. No coffee filter? No problem, it isn't mandatory. Put a coffee filter in the funnel, place the funnel in the battery fill holes & filter the electolyte while putting it back into the battery. When all the cells are refilled, wipe up any spills & leave the battery uncovered.
Connect your trickle charger, ideally you want something putting out at most 14v & 2A, amps can be higher, but not more than 8A. Leave the battery to charge, the longer you can leave it the better but 12 hrs at 2 amps should be sufficient at least for testing purposes. If you don't have a trickle charger then one can be made very easily from an old pc power supply if you have one lying around or are willing to buy one. Steps on that to come later on for those interested.
After 12 hrs, disconnect the charger, & test the voltage & load capabilities of your reconditioned battery. When you disconnect, the voltage will drop but it should level out at no less than 12.4v & hold steady there. If it continues to drop but very slowly reconnect the charger & leave for another 12 hrs.
After my attempt I took it back to the battery pros for testing & they told me that electrolyte test shows good results, & it's holding a charge & performing well under load. In other words, battery performing properly as it should.
Just wanted to share the xp, & I hope this helps somebody.
Happy Sunday morning tuners
EDIT:
I drained the battery completely if all current before the restoration attempt. It isn't necessary, but I did it anyway in an effort to be as thorough as possible.
Last edited by
88sins on March 18th, 2018, 8:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
