AGM battery....can I bring it back from the dead?

[Cameron_B 10+ year member]

OK heres the deal, I just got 2 AGM batteries from work they they were about to throw away. 12v 18AH.

I was gonna run them in my car in parallel till I saw the voltage....

1 bat ~3v

2 bat ~1.8v

I place them on a charger, and they obviously read bad.

Is there anyway I can Revive them?

Like zap them back?

I have a Smart charger, a peak charger and a variable car battery charger I could use.

Click to read more...

 

[thegreatestpenn 5,000+ posts]

you can charge them, but if they're that low they're probably of no use

 

[kovemaster559 5,000+ posts]

try a slow charge for a long period of time

 

[Cameron_B 10+ year member]

I was thinking maybe run them down to 0 then zap them with 12v?

For no memory effect?

 

[kovemaster559 5,000+ posts]

nah dont short the battery. just charge it with a slow charge

 

[Cameron_B 10+ year member]

Thanks

Everytime I hook it up to any charger it says voltage error. Is their anyway to recover?

Like putting my optima red top on the charger then connecting it to the battery?

EDIT so I hooked it up to a DC source at 13.8V to see if I can wake it up.

Charging at 10A (only option) Im gonna leave it for about 30mins

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

you can try charging it while it is in parallel with a good 12v battery, you could crank 15-16 volts through it (in short bursts or if your charger reconditions).. at that low of voltage you have to wonder if the grid isnt somewhat damaged. whatever you do if you hook it up and you smell smoke or see/hear an arcing sound disconnect that battery asap.

 

[Cameron_B 10+ year member]

Alright I fed it straight 13.8VDC for around 15 minutes, and it is not holding voltage. The bat was around 3.0 when I first put it on.....now it goes from 12.8 and steadily drops to 3.8...maybe it's waking up?

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

it's probably dead