a battery question
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 347
Likes: 13
From: san diego ca
a battery question
Maybe someone can educate me about my battery. its a Delco OE style battery, almost 3 yrs. old. after i drive the car for awhile and then let it sit for a couple of hours, the voltage i get with a digital multi-meter is right at 12.5. my research says that means about 85% charged. I would think it should be higher than that. Any advice?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 347
Likes: 13
From: san diego ca
the past week, i have used my charger for 2-3 hours at a time and driven the car a couple of hours, and i haven't had a voltage reading above 12.5. i think my battery is on the way out!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 3,146
Likes: 203
From: Edmonton Alberta, Canada
Advanced
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 83
Likes: 0
From: Leamington Ontario
For sure testing it would be ideal, but I had a similar situation with a battery being low all the time since the car sits for weeks and doesn't get charged up enough with occasional driving. I bought a NOCO Genius charger, but it wouldn't charge up the battery enough. When I called their technical support, I was told that my battery was on the way out. Figuring they were full of it and the NOCO was not hitting the battery hard enough, I connected a higher voltage charger for a few hours, then bought a Battery Tender Jr. as a maintainer. Now the vette is under constant charge and the battery is maintained at 13.10. Seems as good as new now. Bottom line, before giving up on the battery, I'd charge it hard for a day then use a maintainer on it if not being driven often.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 2,855
Likes: 78
From: Sammamish WA
WA Events Coordinator
That's why I only use a smart charger...a CTEK 4.3 from DDmods...keep it hooked up all winter and when I don't drive it for weeks.
I know most younger folks don't know, but you can still find "gravity" cell measuring tools, they suck up some of the fluid from a cell and the colored ***** float depending on the condition of the cell. Its a cheap and full proof way to check out each cell. But explaining it to a kid behind the counter at a autoparts place is like talking physics to them.
I know most younger folks don't know, but you can still find "gravity" cell measuring tools, they suck up some of the fluid from a cell and the colored ***** float depending on the condition of the cell. Its a cheap and full proof way to check out each cell. But explaining it to a kid behind the counter at a autoparts place is like talking physics to them.
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