It is essential to keep your battery regularly charged throughout the year, especially during
the winter months. In the winter the effectiveness of your car battery is reduced by the cold.
Oil is thick. Engines are difficult to start and the heater, windscreen wipers and lights are all
draining power. It is at this time that batteries have to be at peak power. If your battery is not
regularly maintained and kept fully charged, it can cause problems and a possible breakdown.
Listed are some helpful hints on how to keep your battery healthy in conjunction with your
Battery Charger.
Faulty Cells
Batteries are usually made with six cells. One of these cells can deteriorate or get damaged. If,
after several hours charging your battery is still flat, you should test the battery. Take
hydrometer readings from each cell in the battery. If one reading is lower than the others, this
could indicate a faulty cell. If necessary, get an Auto-Electrician to check your battery. One
faulty cell is enough to ruin your battery.
It is pointless to continue using it and you would be better getting a new one.
Care
Sometimes the battery may appear flat, but this could simply be dirty or loose connections on
your battery terminals. It is important to maintain the leads on a regular basis. Do this by
removing the leads from the battery, clean the inside of each connector and terminal posts on
the battery, smear the terminal posts and connectors with Vaseline, refit in there correct
positions and tighten firmly.
It is essential to keep the electrolyte level above the plates.
Note, however, that you should not overfill it, as the electrolyte is strongly acidic. When
topping up do not use tap water. Always use distilled or de-ionized water. It is important to
keep the acid level up. If necessary have it checked by your garage.
Checking the condition of your battery
Using a hydrometer, which can be purchased, from most motor accessory stores, you can
check the specific gravity of the electrolyte in each cell. The hydrometer is use to suck up a
quantity of fluid from the cell. The weighted float inside the hydrometer will register the
condition of that cell. Put the fluid back into the cell after testing, taking care not to splash the
fluid about.
