Tune up Your Battery

In this article, you will learn how to maintain and tune up your car battery.

Steps

  1. Make sure the battery is securely anchored to the vehicle. An often neglected component of a battery is its hold down straps. An unsecured battery is an accident waiting to happen. The bouncing of a vehicle, especially a tractor over a plowed field, can cause a battery to scoot around in its housing and possibly short out against another metal component, causing a fire. If not that, it can certainly break a terminal, cable, or case, or even turn over and leak. Purchase a battery hold down kit and install it. It is cheap insurance against car, tractor, truck damage and will increase the life span of the battery.
  2. Invest in a battery terminal remover tool. This cool tool looks like a small gear puller with clamps. After the terminal bolt is loosened, the puller makes removal of the terminal an easy job. Don't screw a stuck terminal back and forth or use a screwdriver to try to pry it off. You can inadvertently crack the battery case or break the seal between the case and the protruding terminal. A puller is cheap, easy to use, and does the job correctly.
  3. Once the terminal end is removed, inspect the mating ends for corrosion, pits or cracks. A battery terminal cleaner works great for removing corrosion build up. This tool has two wire brush ends; one male, the other female. Use it to brush the ends until they shine. Sometimes a terminal end will have a hard blackish coating on it. This lead oxidation stops the electricity from flowing and creates excessive heat at the connection. It won't always come off with the wire brush so you may have to use a small file. Make sure to rotate the file around the terminal as you go so you won't create a lot of flat spots. Don't remove too much material, then tidy up the terminal with the brush. If the bolt is corroded, replace with a new one.
  4. After removing the hold down strap and terminal ends, remove the battery from the vehicle and place on a plastic box or covering.
  5. Before uncovering the filler ports, gently hose down the top of the battery and brush off the accumulated debris.
  6. Take a towel and dry off the entire casing.
  7. Remove the filler ports and check the fluid levels. Place on charger and fill accordingly. Whenever possible, use distilled water. Using impure water in a lead acid battery will harm battery performance and life. Remember to use safety eye equipment and gloves, especially when uncovering the filler ports. If the vehicle's alternator is defective and overcharging the battery, then the water in the battery will be electrolyzing into gas. If the filler ports are sealed, the covers cannot vent this gas (hydrogen and oxygen). Pressure may build up and be released when you remove the covers.
  8. Do a load test. With the battery installed in the vehicle, attach a voltmeter to the battery terminals. Ground the coil to keep the engine from starting and crank the motor over for 15 seconds. If the battery voltage stays above 9.6 volts, then the battery is in a reasonable state of charge. Below that amount indicates a shorted cell or a lowered capacity due to the battery is heavily sulfated harming its useful life. Treat it with ResureX additive and install the MAXI-Life Pulse you could recover from the junk 80% of discarded ones. (BCI source)
  9. When reinstalling a used or new battery, use a terminal conditioner on the cable and terminal ends. The conditioner comes in a spray can and goes on like a red paint. The coating slows battery acid corrosion and lead oxidation and will lengthen the time between cleanings. One can also install felt pads onto the battery posts which have been saturated with baking soda. These also tend to slow acid corrosion. The negative cable has the smaller end and goes to the corresponding terminal.
  10. Reinstall the hold down brackets or straps making sure not to over-tighten, which can warp the brackets and break the battery case.

Tips

  • Terminal ends that are pitted, cracked, or missing due to acid corrosion, should be replaced. It is best, in the long run, to replace the entire cable rather than merely an end. If the terminal end needs replacing, the chances are good that the reason for damage has made its way up the cable under the insulation where it can't be seen. Examples could be unseen corrosion damage, copper strands that have been too hot from resistance and have burned themselves into the insulation, or have been heat damaged, or have internal strand breakage.
  • Excessive corrosion on the cable terminal can be removed by submersing the end in a coffee can of water and baking soda solution for a while. Remove, dry and then wire brush the mating parts.
  • If a battery is to be removed for the winter months, take a few moments to ensure that it will be in good condition when spring comes. Clean the casing and dry with a towel. Clean the terminal posts and check the electrolyte level. Place the battery off of the floor, preferably on a wooden bench or shelf. Place a trickle charger on the battery to bring it up to charge always with our electronic device MAXI-Life Pulse attached across the negative & positive terminals. Some chargers have an automatic shutoff switch that will shut the unit off when the battery comes up to a full charge, and then turn it back on when the charge falls below a predetermined level. This type of charger can be left on all the time. (Float mode). Other Ferrorésonance chargers must be removed to prevent overcharging. When the battery is fully charged store it in a cool, dry location out of the way of kicking feet or falling tools. A light coating of petroleum jelly on the posts will prevent any lead reaction to the elements. When spring comes the battery should be ready to go back to work for your tractor. Boat,Golf cart etc.

Warnings

  • Don't overtighten the terminal bolts as you can cause stress cracks on the ends.
  • Don't drive the terminal ends onto the posts using a hammer. The jarring action may damage the internal connections of the battery. Instead, use a terminal spreader.
  • Make sure while you are doing this that in no way can electricity can flow from one terminal to the other, such as too much water, a damp rag or limb laying across them, etc.

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