How to check a Car Battery with a Hydrometer

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  • Опубліковано 27 січ 2025

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  • @laserdiscbeatz9846
    @laserdiscbeatz9846 4 роки тому +5

    What an excellent video! Clean explanation and clear camera. This video really helps me understanding how to check for specific gravity. You're a lot better teaching than others. Some others can't teach me too well.

  • @janm8477
    @janm8477 2 роки тому +2

    Thanks - really clear description and video of how to do this. Also like your calm presentation.

    • @Texasknowhow
      @Texasknowhow  2 роки тому

      Thanks Jan, good feedback. Glad it was helpful. Take care, Clay

  • @delbertyoungsermons
    @delbertyoungsermons 4 роки тому +2

    Excellent video. Thanks for the excellent detailed explanation. Very clear. Also, your cameraman did a great job as well. I could hear and see everything. Thanks.

    • @Texasknowhow
      @Texasknowhow  4 роки тому

      delbertyoungsermons - Thank you for the nice comments and for letting me know it helped you out. I’ll let the camera man know too!

  • @anthonygalloway6434
    @anthonygalloway6434 5 років тому +2

    Thanks for the video! It was much more helpful than the other two I watched.

    • @Texasknowhow
      @Texasknowhow  5 років тому

      Anthony Galloway - You are welcome Anthony, glad it helped!

  • @adolfconradigharas439
    @adolfconradigharas439 3 роки тому +1

    Thank you so much brother, this tutorial really helped and it inspired me to check on the batteries on our car haha. May GOD Bless you, keep safe.

  • @yogibeer9319
    @yogibeer9319 2 роки тому +1

    Could you restore it with one of those desulfinators? Thanks for great video

    • @Texasknowhow
      @Texasknowhow  2 роки тому +1

      Not sure. May be worth a try. As long as the plates are not actually touching each other a person may be able to get the build-up between plates out of there.

  • @frank88ster
    @frank88ster 5 місяців тому

    Hi,
    Thanks for your education on battery recovery. I have a problem,..my hydrometer test on each cell shows it is good ( in between green reading) but shows only 5-7% after 'load testing'??? Why is that?

    • @Texasknowhow
      @Texasknowhow  5 місяців тому

      @@frank88ster - Thanks for the compliment and great question Frank. Testing done with a Hydrometer is used to find a bad cell as compared to the other cells. Use of an invasive load tester will almost immediately pull down surface charge, which can cause issues with other testing methods. But really your Hydrometer is telling you a similar story just at a de-charged value. Load testing and what’s going on inside the battery is maybe another video I could do but basically the battery should show similar results on all 6 cells when tested. That’s why with the battery charged the hydrometer can help you detect a bad cell(s) - they have different (lower) readings than the others.

    • @Texasknowhow
      @Texasknowhow  5 місяців тому

      I should add that a good battery should show about 10 volts minimum after a 15 second load test with a current draw at half the CCA rating of the battery during the test.

  • @paulp5185
    @paulp5185 5 років тому +1

    Well done straight to the point and good advice.
    Can I remove the bad liquid then transfer( using the hydrometer)the good electrolyte from dud say three dead cell battery,to a battery with one dud cell ?

    • @Texasknowhow
      @Texasknowhow  5 років тому

      paul p - I don’t think so. The reason most of the cells that go bad actually have a low reading is not the electrolyte itself going bad but the plates in that cell are corroding together down in there. Then the electrolyte starts to change thus the reading on the hydrometer. You could try it, would be interesting experiment.

    • @paulp5185
      @paulp5185 5 років тому +1

      @@Texasknowhow Hi thank's for the reply. I am going to cut up a scrap car battery and see just what is going on in there. I was once told that the main difference between a £50 cheap and nasty battery and a £100 heavy duty battery is : that the heavy duty battery has more space at the bottom below the plates so that the plates stay insulated for longer and that it is the deposits at the bottom that short the plates out ?.
      Fifty quid's worth of fresh air. Quid is slang for English £.
      If the plates are corroding together that is terminal.If they are sludged up I may try the clean out with baking soda then refill with the original electrolyte.and topped up with a epsom salt /distilled water mix.
      Thank's again Paul

    • @Texasknowhow
      @Texasknowhow  5 років тому

      paul p - Sounds like a good investigation Paul. Take much care with all that acid brother! Report back what you find different about that low cell. Definitely interested. - C

  • @JunPalen520
    @JunPalen520 4 роки тому +1

    How to know if you have incorrect sulfuric acid to distilled water ratio

    • @Texasknowhow
      @Texasknowhow  4 роки тому +1

      That is a good question. Honestly, I'd have to research that to answer you properly. If I get some time, I'll find out. Thanks for watching, Clay

  • @piercefam1
    @piercefam1 4 роки тому +1

    Thanks for explaining this!

  • @kashiflf
    @kashiflf 3 роки тому

    If positive terminal cell gravity is 13 and others cells are 12.2 than what is the problem?

    • @Texasknowhow
      @Texasknowhow  3 роки тому

      Watch the video again starting here - ua-cam.com/video/CrCmDfbRPvA/v-deo.html - I explain how the Specific Gravity of the solution in each cell can be an indicator to whether each cell is good or bad. i.e. if the solution and the plates inside that cell are able to hold an electrical charge.

    • @Texasknowhow
      @Texasknowhow  3 роки тому

      I wanted to add, if the specific gravity is off on one cell vs the others, as in the video, that cell has "sulfated". This means the lead based plates inside have coated up due to the chemecal reactions and probably due to low water or the ratio of H2O to Sulfuric Acid is off. Once this happens the plates will no longer accept the electrons and hold them. There are several good videos out there on the process of Lead-acid batteries.

  • @jpozenel
    @jpozenel 4 роки тому

    ????
    I've been using this type of hydrometer for years now to check the deep cycle battery attached to my backup sump pump. I check it on the first of each month. When I checked today, it would seem that every cell is suddenly bad, real bad. It shows a strong charge with a multimeter across the terminals and the backup sump pump seems to be working well with the charger disconnected. Can this type of tester go bad? It is quite old.

    • @Texasknowhow
      @Texasknowhow  4 роки тому

      PDTALLMAN - was about to say - my be the tester.

  • @europana7
    @europana7 Рік тому

    maybe 1 cell is sulfated and battery just needs to be zapped with a welder to desulfate ? look at 9:00 on Project Farm "Can You Restore a Dead Car Battery With Welder"

    • @Texasknowhow
      @Texasknowhow  Рік тому

      May have worked. I got about 5 years out of it. The shock it with a welder thing could blow up and make a real mess.

    • @Jurornumber5
      @Jurornumber5 6 місяців тому

      Only works if battery is connected to car and running.

  • @Stentens
    @Stentens 8 років тому +2

    Great Video! Thanks for the great info.

    • @Texasknowhow
      @Texasknowhow  8 років тому

      You're very welcome. Just added links to the description to help folks find one of these great little tools. Take care, Clay

  • @asdfnone1346
    @asdfnone1346 8 років тому

    so one of your cell battery is bad/low in acid. what is best solution to balance with the rest? add distilled water in bad cell or does it mean needs a battery replacement?

    • @Texasknowhow
      @Texasknowhow  8 років тому +1

      Low on volume and low on specific gravity are two different issues. The latter means you have a bad cell. If it test good with this device, but the level is low only, then use distilled water and carefully bring it back up to the bottom of the inside plastic level marker (like the other cells). Additionally, understand that most batteries don't last more than 6-7 years (maybe 10 for a good manufacture's battery). So if you are close to the end of the batteries life, even filling the cell back up may not help. Thanks for the Question, Clay

    • @davidweum9334
      @davidweum9334 5 років тому +1

      I dumped out old distilled water and added good distilled water just the other day. It made no difference the guy at battery doctor showed me 2 cells were shot using a hydrometer, so I had to buy a new one. Car starts fine.
      Be happy its not a bad ground, corrosion, alternater, other etc. etc. Batteries are cheap and easy enough to replace. Finding those other problems is not.

  • @hjkfdfjfhjjfghjf9057
    @hjkfdfjfhjjfghjf9057 4 місяці тому

    Благодарю за информацию , что Вы думаете о ареометре гидро вольт !?

  • @dywildatheart
    @dywildatheart 5 років тому

    Very helpful. Thanks

  • @jvazquez7160
    @jvazquez7160 4 роки тому +1

    Most of the batteries now days are sealed

    • @Texasknowhow
      @Texasknowhow  4 роки тому

      jvazquez - yeah, or AGM technology- but for the wet/flooded batteries this method works.

  • @bill-nj6fc
    @bill-nj6fc Рік тому

    dont get so hung up on interstate batts and paying the price for them, Johnson Controls makes like 80% of all car batteries no matter where you buy them.

    • @Texasknowhow
      @Texasknowhow  Рік тому

      Good to know. My last few have been Die Hard AGMs. They are doing very well.

  • @Kritiker313
    @Kritiker313 5 років тому

    Great video but warning: No Smoking and no open flames/sparks. Lead acid batteries emit explosive hydrogen gas.