Can you "recondition" lead-acid batteries?
- Thread starter Wingman0121
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Wingman0121
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Wingman0121 10+ year member
CarAudio.com Veteran
- Thread Starter
- #3
Yeah these are the sealed maintenance free ones too so it isn't easy to "fix" it, drove around for half an hour and now my voltage sits a little higher(13.8v) but it should be at 14.1 or above while driving. Maybe it just takes awhile to fully recharge them. Turns out it is the Pioneer p3700mp deck, it doesn't work anymore and my car didn't lose power when I disconnect the deck and left the car overnight.
But either way... am I right that lead-acid batteries can only be drained once(below 9v or so) before they lose its full ability to store power?
But either way... am I right that lead-acid batteries can only be drained once(below 9v or so) before they lose its full ability to store power?
trumpet 5,000+ posts
Barry Schanz
1) Your voltage reading with the car running is not the battery's voltage but the charging system's voltage.
2) A fully discharged battery will read over 9V. It's not storing volts, but rather it's potential energy stored chemically. If your reading was correct and the batteries did actually get down to 5V I would be surprised.
3) You need to disconnect the batteries and charge them with a trickle charger at room temperature. Take them into a heated environment, preferably NOT into your home as they can release hydrogen gas while charging, and let them naturally warm up. This is the best way to safely charge them after getting discharged, especially in the dead of winter.
4) If you have a battery store nearby they will probably test your batteries for no charge. You'll need to bring them in after fulling charging them, and they will put them on a load tester. It's the only sure way to know if they are toast other than waiting for your car to leave you stranded.
2) A fully discharged battery will read over 9V. It's not storing volts, but rather it's potential energy stored chemically. If your reading was correct and the batteries did actually get down to 5V I would be surprised.
3) You need to disconnect the batteries and charge them with a trickle charger at room temperature. Take them into a heated environment, preferably NOT into your home as they can release hydrogen gas while charging, and let them naturally warm up. This is the best way to safely charge them after getting discharged, especially in the dead of winter.
4) If you have a battery store nearby they will probably test your batteries for no charge. You'll need to bring them in after fulling charging them, and they will put them on a load tester. It's the only sure way to know if they are toast other than waiting for your car to leave you stranded.
OP
Wingman0121 10+ year member
CarAudio.com Veteran
- Thread Starter
- #5
I used a multimeter and measured across the battery post of my front battery(trunk battery is wired in parallel) and it read 5.18v before I jumped it. My digital dash didn't come on, no interior lights, no power locks... the only thing that worked was my trunk pulldown motor when I closed the trunk, and it was barely working.
It is a pain in the azz to take both out since they're all wired up and all, plus I only have one car and I work all day. It is much easier to just buy new ones and slap them in there instead of trying to do all this stuff but man... I'm pissed because that's at least $160 down the drain. What kind of craptastic deck dies in the winter and drain batteries when it isn't even using the on-board amp?
Haunz 10+ year member
Packing 4/0
Get them charged up and have them load tested... Regular car batteries don't like being discharged like that, and may never rebound... deepcylces on the otherhand are designed for much more abuse...
what brand/model batteries are they ?
Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts
dem shoes......
you can buy packs of acid to refill batteries...i get mine at NAPA
bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts
CarAudio.com Veteran
He said they were sealed.
You shouldn't jump start a vehicle with batteries resting that low it is very hard on the alternator. An alternator is not a battery charger as much as it is a bulk battery maintainer.You can try to charge it(correct type of 2 amp charger) up past 6 volts which you should keep your eye on. Sulfated batteries do not act normal at all. If they get above 6 volts I would use a charger like a ctek 7002 on it to see if it can bring it back. That would be the easiest and safest way, you shouldn't ever let your batteries get that low, if you are not driving the car for an extended period of time you are better off unhooking the batteries from the car after they have been fully charged. No 12v battery made is made to be ran down that far and when they get ran down you should recharge them asap.
OP
Wingman0121 10+ year member
CarAudio.com Veteran
- Thread Starter
- #10
I know, not sure what the correct terminology it is but I hook the jumper cables to my buddy's Jeep and left it charging my car for about 20 minutes before I tried to start my car.
My batteries are Werker batteries from BatteriesPlus. rated at 850CCA it actually did like 1010CCA when he tested it.
Well,get a new one,seems good.
OP
Wingman0121 10+ year member
CarAudio.com Veteran
- Thread Starter
- #12
dood two gel-cell batteries(if I want to do it right) will run almost $400, that's quite a bit of money that I could put towards a new headunit and a 4 channel amp since I don't even have music in my car right now.
SicAudio 5,000+ posts
did you fart dude?
the Shuriken AGM batteries put out 800cca and only cost 80 each and will outlive any standard battery all day long... and they are 1/3 the size of a group 31 battery...
SicAudio 5,000+ posts
did you fart dude?
and for the record CCA is a meaningless term for car audio
you want AH rate not CCA...
you want AH rate not CCA...
OP
Wingman0121 10+ year member
CarAudio.com Veteran
- Thread Starter
- #15
I was thinking that... because CCA rating is only good for starting power for the engine, not sure where I can find the Ah rating for my batts but I figure I'll just skip it until I get new batteries. Kind of want to steer away from lead-acid anyway since they pretty much **** for high power car audio.
So are Shuriken batteries any good? I see them on eBay but there are quite a few different ones.
shuriken battery items - Get great deals on Electronics, eBay Motors items on eBay.com!
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