Battery Care and Maintenance Tips -EricTheCarGuy
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- Battery Care and Maintenance tips was actually suggested by my good friend and forum moderator at EricTheCarGuy.com, College man aka Paul Krawsek. I thought it was a great idea for a video so I ran with it.
The batteries in our vehicles are often overlooked until they don't work. With a little time, some relatively inexpensive tools, and a basic knowledge of what to look for, you can keep your battery working for a very long time. You'll also know if the battery isn't on it's way out before there is a failure. No on likes getting stranded and this is a good way to prevent that.
I hope the tips in this video are helpful and help you take care of your automotive batteries.
Thanks for watching.
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ETCG
Due to factors beyond the control of EricTheCarGuy, it cannot guarantee against unauthorized modifications of this information, or improper use of this information. EricTheCarGuy assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. EricTheCarGuy recommends safe practices when working with power tools, automotive lifts, lifting tools, jack stands, electrical equipment, blunt instruments, chemicals, lubricants, or any other tools or equipment seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of EricTheCarGuy, no information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not EricTheCarGuy. - Авто та транспорт
sir ! u did the BEST video for battery maintenance i have seen in youtube .
completed and well explained.
seems to me u got it.
i bet u r a far more good than an average car technitian (sems to me u like ur job) !!!
thanks a lot for ur efford to deliver us this knowlege !!!!!
greeding from greece !!!!
Making use of the ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxcJ22tnHH9l1vjdIdEIG27iOG55P7LXI8 reconditioning plan, I just saved 2 auto batteries from being completely junked. The guides were very simple to follow. I wish I would have found this years ago! You may use the guide to recondition any battery type
Batteries are another item where the discussion can go on a long time with many differences of opinion, all with some truth to them. In the example we are shown here it is important to establish if you are looking for the cause of why after two days of sitting this battery is dead or if you just have some time to kill on a Saturday. The customer is not going to like getting charged an extra hour of labor so you can make things "book perfect".
If this was a "battery goes dead after two days diagnosis" things would go a bit different. This is where that conductance meter Eric mentioned can be of great use as the conductance meter can give a battery state of health without the battery being fully charged. Many times if you are replacing a battery under manufactures warranty you need the printout that comes with a conductance meter test.
Remember a battery that has a low state of charge will tend to show a low fluid level,don't get fooled and fill a battery up when it was only discharged, makes a mess.
Before the battery got pulled from the vehicle a parasitic draw test should be preformed. This test is not so tough to perform and you want the parasitic draw to be 25 milliamps or less (this figure can cause a "debate"). With newer cars you must give modules a chance to go to sleep before you conclude you have a draw. Some really common places to find draws are with vanity lighting in mirrors. A 200 milliamp draw will cause a no crank condition after only 48 hrs and 200 milliamps is pretty common for a vanity mirror draw. Interior lighting that does not turn off is another common place for a draw to be found. The lighted mirror in sun visors can be battery killers along with pinched wiring up where the mirror mounts. Searching for parasitic draws can be an entire video so I leave it at that.
I do not know if you noticed one battery cable had a replacement terminal. Replacement terminals should be looked at as something to get you to a point where a new cable can be purchased, not for long term use. I say this but I am sure there are millions of cars out there that have replacement terminals,and show nothing for the worse because of it.
I use a combination of carbon pile load test and the conductance test to make that call on if a battery is too far gone. Remember that a battery that is not suitable for safe use (really reliable use is a better term) still has enough power in it to burn the entire car down (shop included). If after charging the fluid level is still low use distilled water. adding tap water that contains a lot of sediment is not doing the battery a favor.
We can talk for a good while about charging system testing. One thing I want to stress is do not forget the ground side of the circuit, it is just as important as the high side. Some alternators actually need a ground wire as they sit on rubber bushings, make sure the alternator is grounded. One last thing for now. If you get in the car and you notice that with the key on you do not have a lit up battery symbol you have a charging system problem. That battery symbol should be lit up with the key on engine off. Fix that problem right along with testing the battery, it is that important.
One last thing I think needs to be mentioned. Most know GM uses side terminal batteries. GM had a problem that lasted over 10 years with the positive side terminal leaking acid. This can cause a tremendous amount of electrical problems and a good number of physical problems. the physical problems are along the lines of not being able to remove the bolt holding the cable down and so much acid damage the positive cable needs to be replaced. The acid leakage can get so extreme that acid wicks down the cable and damages the started solenoid. All this acid leakage can cause it so you must replace the battery box and clean all acid residue,complete with painting some underhood parts. keep you eyes open for leaking positive terminals on 90's era (up to mid 2000). even if the battery has been replaced perhaps there was not enough money to replace a damaged positive battery cable or starter.
Love this up to the reinstall.. positive cable last, he did pos first. And cleaning the cable wires? dude just snip the end and connect to the new terminal, looked like you had enough slack. Clean on top of what he already cleaned? Anyway.. other then that.. this was very helpful ..thank you!
Best way to keep the battery clean is to move it to the trunk. On most cars it will improve the front/back weight distribution too.
the baking soda and "yoka yola" might be the best part of this video :D :D :D
good overview. With cleaner/liquid doesn't one create a liquid wire from + to - ?
I have enjoyed, subscribed, and watched your videos for years and i respect your opinion's, sensible approach to mechanics and your skills. I have used dielectric (conductive silicone) geese on vehicles connections, bulbs, batters, and both home and conical wiring. Should I not use it on vehicles?
the zep cleaner.. is there anything more satisfying than a good foaming cleaner ?? ( or is it just me )
888johnmac yea lol scrubbing bubbles is one of my favorite cleaning products
Amen
Eric, you know what must be done...you must swap for a 383 stroker!
hey thanx for the vid it helps to know this stuff.
Why does my battery constantly have green powder coming from its connection?
: ) Thank you for an interesting video
Lead terminals are no good copper ones last longer.
Mad respect for the detail level here. Dude went 5th dimension on a car battery. Wow.
Having red cables going to both positive and negative would drive me crazy.
Drizzy Williams the battery is clearly marked
Yes that is confusing
@@duminicad your dumb.
I noticed that too and thought that Eric was about to connect wrong way around untill I realised that both leads were red. Bad to have same colour leads.
This one by suggestion from my forum moderator College man. ua-cam.com/video/MhnVZ7ZPunw/v-deo.html
Smashing video Eric :-)
Nice clean and tight connections = low resistance and maximum starting current.
zx8401ztv
Agreed. Voltage drop testing dirt? I would have NEVER thought of that. I felt I knew a lot about battery care. Now I actually do. I just went from Advanced to Expert.
DE Nichols
I suspect the minor dirt conduction only matters if your battery is ill, otherwise if you use the car every other day it wont sap much of the batterys capacity.
Expert, "Ex" means a person i once knew and "sPert" is highvelocity liquid from an outlet, ha ha ok i added an "s" :D :
as always, excellent vid! i agree with DE Nichols , zx8401ztv , a lotta stuff that i didn't know, and now i do, KUTGW!
zx8401ztv Your comment? So funny! Had a job for a while that I had to off road for...fun...and dangerous. Could have been less dangerous but I had some fun.
That level of dirt on everything I bet added up to something for my electrical troubles. Corrosion and battery acid saturated all the dirt and a day without driving risked it not running.
The conductance appeared to be between cells as well in the video. So while I agree this is minimal in my extreme example it may not be minor. (The acid also destroyed like 6 feet of each battery cable.)
As an electronics tech I'm very well versed in batteries, but I never thought about checking for voltage differential between post/connector and post/body of the battery. This is by far the best and most complete car battery maintenance video I've seen.
I don't understand why the voltage differential between the post and the body would matter at all. The posts aren't (normally) connected to the body.
ya, aren't you actually creating the path for the current/voltage when you use your leads?
A DVM does not create a path for current when measuring volts; this setting has an extremely high internal resistance. If you are measuring for current, this setting has the lowest internal resistance and, therefore, you are creating a SHORT (the only setting the DVM fuse(s) are there for)! A DVM should be understood properly before handling, starting with Ohm's law.
The negative post is used as a "ground" or, more correctly said, a current return. If your engine block is not "grounded" properly to the negative battery post, you will never get a spark from the plugs as the current will have nowhere to go to.
I do like your approach to the safety aspect. However, since i have been involved with big Battery Backup systems, sometimes those involve a lot of Batteries connected, with enormous short-circuit Amperages, i feel, it might be prudent to use tools, that are insulated as much as possible. Your spanners and socket wrenches might slip, and then, even a 200Ah Car Battery might turn you into a pizza face. Safety glasses or not
Surface drain. Never thought of that! Thanks Eric!
I have never heard of that either, Eric is good isn't he!
@Rex Erection "I passed on college because it's for simple minded people that think they need a piece of paper to be successful in life." College is not always optional. My father-in-law had been working for a company for 22 years, moved up from the bottom. For several years he was even teaching the newcomers to the company how to do CAD properly because the universities were not preparing them well enough. The company owner wanted to retire and sold the company. The new owners let my father-in-law go because he did not have a university degree, which was now required. He tried applying at many other CAD companies, none would hire him because he lacked the degree. So he went back to college, got his four-year degree, and got back in the industry.
Eh .. I don't think that actually does anything, he's just measuring the potential difference between those two area's. It's "conductive" dust.. not draining dust or that battery would be dead all the time.
May be worth considering an insulated cover for the positive terminal connector. As you say, in an accident a short with the body/hood could cause a spark and ignite escaping fuel. Vasaline for the posts too to prevent oxidation etc. Great video, thanks Eric.
You forgot to tape over "Chicago Electric" on the resistance pile meter. :-D
That totally wasn't arm and hammer baking soda lol.
Blake Caban Duh
I know, gaff tape everywhere!
Eric on a sealed12v battery what should the reading on the volt meter?
It was boka bola
Apparently according to google boka bola means rottenness is some other language lol! @@rotatopoti
Good video. Keeping batteries clean can help prolong their life. I usually start with spraying the battery with a hose. Another tip for topping off the cells,is to use a big veterinary syringe. Keep baking soda on hand -if you spill acid,or get it on your skin,put some baking soda on there,it will neutralize the acid. (On skin,it helps to make the baking soda into a paste,with a bit of water. Apply it to your skin,wait a few seconds,and then rinse with plenty of water.)
If you get acid on your clothes,consider them a goner. There will be a hole where the acid was,after they are washed.
Don't forget to clean your ground connections! They're just as important as your battery connections.
David Birch and sometimes i find unfortunately more important.
Also you can clean it by hot water and use vaseline on battery terminals.
Just a quick tip for a few people who have batteries in their trunks, like my 05 Cobalt, it is very important to reconnect the venting tube if your battery is equipped with one.
Eric, you have saved all our asses 1000 times. Everyone appreciates what you're doing man.
I'm a big fan.
Great video Eric. It was a mix of why I became a subscriber in the first place and the quality of production your capable of with all your skills and experience. My inner motivation for watching these things over a year and a half ago slowly went from loving cars to wanting to be an Automotive Technician. I've been hired! Thanks to everyone's comments as well that has prepped me for this moment! :)
Thank you for emphasizing Safety and low cost solutions. Your instructions were accurate, easy to follow and solved my issue.
BOTH cables in red color ? Hehe, not the best choise to avoid mixing up plus and minus when reconnection cables again.
I remember when BMW used black for positive and brown for negative.
I was thinking the same thing...
moparone22 Really!? When was this, on some of the earlier models?
One's pink, apparently ;)
moparone22 Black in your residential wiring is the hot wire.
With white / bare being a neutral/ground
When a dedicated ground is insulated it's usually insulated in green.
Red in residential wiring is usually used as a secondary hot wire in romex.
For instance in most circuits in your house you will find 14/2 (14 gauge, 2 insulted + ground) Black (Hot), White (Neurtral), Bare Copper (Ground)
Some you will find as 14/3 (14 gauge, 3 insulted + ground) Black (Hot), Red (Hot), White (Neutral), Bare Copper (Ground).
Black as a positive terminal isn't that odd.
Black seems to get over used, because inside electronics and connections it's often used as a ground.
Great video. Comprehensive, thorough and to the point. Eric, your channel is at the top of my list! Keep up the good work.
Like the video, but I don't understand your copyright standpoint. I've seen dozen of paid you tubers come out and show brand name labels, etc etc.. I don't know, just seems odd to me.
It is not about copyrights. It is about giving manufacturers free advertisement.
They know what Eric does in his videos if they want product placement they should have to pay for it. Why give corporate America a free pass. None of us ever get a free pass from these corporations.
Spud Munson I also think it's because youtubers well complain saying he's a sellout and getting paid to advertise these products when he really isnt.
But why didn't he cover the zep label up then?
@@loggerbomb Take a wild guess ;)
so all the snap on he shows, they are paying him?
Erics so mello yellow. But hes saving us tons of $$. If he earned half of what hes saved us all on car maintenance, hed be a billionaire. Just imagine ETCG hobnobbing with Bezos and Buffet at the Stay Dirty Country Club and mixed use development site. Seriously man, thank you. I know the editing process has to suck royally, but the final product is so appreciated by millions!!!
The dielectric grease is good, not bad, because if it gets between parts it insulated from arcing. If the parts are clean and make contact (dielectric grease will not prevent contact connections...) the grease will move out of the way and will allow contact.
Also, likely the terminals are not steel and they won’t create sparks...
Other than these things, good video.
When there is surface drain, there is a trace of sulfuric acid on top of the battery case providing a current pathway between the terminals. Dust/dirt by itself is non conductive unless wet. As abhorrent as it may seem to some, I verify the presence of sulfuric acid (unless I can actually see it) by lightly touching the case top and then taste test. Then spit it out. My tongue has not been burned nor fallen off from occassionaly doing this for well over 45 years. Yes, I know baking soda will tell you, but its not always nearby. Excellent battery care video.
I was listening to an old time radio program than included the sponsors commercials. One was an auto battery manufacturer. They were proudly touting that their batteries only needed water added 3 or 4 times a year (under typical driving).
Hi Eric, really like your channel. Just a quick question. My wife only drive her car locally (almost no highway driving). Would the alternator get enough chance to charge the battery? Someone told me that normally alternator only start charging batteries IF the car is driving on the highway (e.g. >50 MPH), is that true? If the car is mostly driven locally, would it be a good idea to use a car battery charger or maintainer (e.g. Schumacher SC1319 1.5A 6V/12V I2Fully Automatic Battery Maintainer) regularly to keep the car battery full charged (like maybe once a month)? Would that prolong the life of the battery? Thanks!
why are both the battery cables red?
someone replaced cables and connections, and i guess all they had was red, same with the bolt on repair connector, not as good as a crimped on, but i guess its easy to do, same as the cheap connector he replaced, might have been meant for the other terminal as they are differnt sizes, look how much he had to deform it when tighening.....plus its ok to use some vaseline or the battery terminal stuff, it doesnt insulate, it prevents oxidation, its used on external electrical connections all the time, its called a dieletric grease if you really want to go posh, but any grease works well enough.
Is dielectric grease just a more expensive Vaseline?
yes, i use vaseline on battery terminals, they stay new looking easily untill the next service, require very little cleaning ever again, the key is cleaning them properly , not adding vaseline to corroded or badly fitting terminals. but a reamer tool to make the terminals fit better, no need for any expensive grease, any grease is technically dielectric anyway
Hack job all the way. A crimped lug which is sealed with adhesive shrink wrap will prevent corrosion from wicking into the cable. Corrosion X is an excellent spray on battery terminals.
One of the better 12V car battery videos I've seen. Showed a few techniques I'd never thought of before.
Videos like like always motivate me to get up and check things out for myself. I checked my voltage, and it was 12.12v. I checked for surface drain and got over 10v in some places. I cleaned it up with water and baking soda until i got 0 everywhere else. And when i checked voltage at the posts, 12.33v 👍. I know its not the 12.4 we want, but I feel a lot better than it being 12.12v. Thanks Eric!
That is amazing, I've near heard or thought of surface drain being on the battery body itself!!!!
thanks a lot Eric! You just saved my battery :) had the same "dirt conducts electricity" issue, and the freshly charged battery, could not start my diesel truck the next day. After I watched Your video, I measured it, and had 6-8 volts charge leak via the dirt (and actually it wasnt that dirty, but still). Cleaned it, measured it and now it has 0.0 volt leak. Charging at the moment. hope it starts now! Cheers from hungary!
25 years of fooling around with cars I’ve never even thought to check the case for draw. Thanks a million!
Old vid, I know BUUUUTTT dielectric grease AKA silicone paste is used instead of 'axle grease' on the cleaned and installed connectors/posts. It does NOT restrict the flow of electricity and keep em weather free! Love you Eric (platonically of course)!!
"Battery CAN be heavy" nah, they ARE heavy, especially with their smooth surfaces, makes grabbing them alot harder.
Thank you Eric the Car Guy! That is what my no start/no crank issue was! The negative terminal connection was loose and was not adjustable so $10 later with a new cable the car started right up. I thought it was something else since my headlights were bright but my car wouldn't crank and then not even the dash lights would come on. Put the new cable on, voila, it is a car again! Thanks so much for pointing this out. My other car ('94 Pontiac Grand Prix) that did this too, it was the bolt that threaded into the positive side of the battery that had somehow gotten stripped and I did get a new battery and a new starter before I figured out it was the bolt. I'm so glad I didn't do that all over again. Thanks again!
Hey Eric, excellent video as always. But I'm struggling to understand why you find it necessary to cover up all the manufactures names/logos throughout the video?.
It is not about copyrights. It is about giving manufacturers free advertisement.
They know what Eric does in his videos if they want product placement they should have to pay for it. Why give corporate America a free pass. None of us ever get a free pass from these corporations.
So I guess ZEP paid for some advertising then? I could care less. Eric's video's are so informative.
It's just a product, and everyone uses products. I don't care about which brand the baking soda, battery or battery charger are from, and I don't think anyone else would either. Also, Eric has a lot of viewers all over the world (not just the US) who wouldn't be able to buy these products anyway.
AJ Brown
I think ZEP sent Eric a goody bag (or goody box). So yeah that kinda answers the question too....Wanna see your name on a EricTheCarGuy video? Send a box of goodies!
AJ Brown I think you meant to say "couldn't care less"...
the last 2 batteries i have purchased were used from late fresh model wrecks, and been very lucky, the cost of a new battery eing around 130 is insane. I Saturday had to get another battery for my 95 Corvette, it had a bad cell, went to a junk yard and got a used one for $30 dollars, whats your take Eric, your videos about this save me from having a bad moment from happening
How to remove stuck battery terminal clamps: Use a flat end screwdriver or the pointy end of a file. Stick it in the gap where the two parts of the clamp come together. Gently tap with a hammer. Clamp should open up and be easy to remove.
Eirc, instead of axle grease, use solid vaseline in the terminals, it will prevent corrosion via oxidation and sulfacid completely and won't affect the connection.
You can also use a special gel that's used for electricla connections(usually comes in telecom boxes to keep moisture out) but it's sticky as hell and very expensive, vaseline is much better
We use that on stationary big UPS batteries and haven't experienced any problems, wherever it goes away the terminal corrode
That stuff you're talking about is flux
Cryous
no, i meant electrical gel sealant like www.arrowelectricals.co.uk/electrical-accessories-c33/electrical-sealants-gels-c42 or www.xmultiple.com/xwebsite-sealant-GEL.htm
OR used sealed batteries like optimas. I was tired of stuff rusting under the hood near batteries
I like NO-OX-ID A-Special. 8oz tube will last a lifetime.
Alan Ackaway Sealed is the way to go if you can afford the difference. My last battery was a Odyssey and withstood 8 years of abuse. No maintenance, no corrosion! I'm giving Optima another chance this go round since they were about $75 cheaper.
One most important tip for battery health is knowing the date code for when it was manufactured. Always check a batteries date code before purchase to make sure it isn't old. All the cleaning , voltage checking and charging are ok, but knowing it's age and setting a replacement date (5-6) yrs depending on brand ,type and usage are paramount. Especially if you live in a cold climate. I always put an easy viewable date code and record service dates. During service when the hood is up, no guessing is required .Knowing dates for repairs makes it easy for replacing parts.
❤
Quick question: Can a large fast battery charger be hooked up to the house batteries of a driving RV
I've watched a few videos about battery care, but this is undoubtedly the most informative I've seen. I was beginning to give up on finding a decent instructional, but this has now changed that. Very grateful for this. Splendid job!
Thanks for the cleaning tips on the battery housing which I was not aware of to cause problems.
Great video thank you very much, could I use silicone grease on the terminals instead of axle grease?
Lol you like your black tape. You like it so much you put it on everything :-)
carlcostello360 your coment is very stuped and it shows who you are its obvious that he does not want to advertise for other business be for personal reasons or legal concerns stop been fucking domm
Do NOT use axle grease on your battery. Use dielectric grease.
Baking soda on top of the battery should be used very sparingly, as there is a good chance it can get down in to the battery cells and cause damage.
How do you apply dielectric grease on the terminal? Thanks
@John Bratus thanking you sir
@John Bratus can it be applied on cv boots to preserve and or prevent it from cracking? Thanks
@John Bratus awesome thank you so much great tips I will apply some tomorrow 👌👍😁
@John Bratus hi one more question do you think it's safe to spray the alternator/timing belts and pulley with wd40 special silicone. Thanks heaps
Love these videos. I'm amazed how much of a drain a little dirt created! Good to know in dusty Az.
I used to test for good connection/hidden oxidation similarly. After getting solid read at posts, switch one probe to opposite clamp/terminal, also on wiring, looking for any fluctuation, then compare to initial voltage read. Repeat for other side. I used to use wire brushes until a few post and clamp got too worn to connect tightly. I started using a few drops of lime away for toilets(buck at $1 store). Just a quick scrub with sponge or toothbrush, wipe dry and it's nice and shiny. I put a thin film of white silicone grease on exposed metal to displace air and prevent oxidation.
Thanks Eric...great to learn that surface grime can put a voltage drain on a battery....
Excellent, I will be showing this video to my high school class, Life Skills.
Thank you Eric
First 3 minutes....It is clear that I am speaking with a proffessional....just getting helped....you are burning fire Eric🔥🔥🔥🔥
Thanks Eric. I had no idea that the battery case could become conductive, something else to check on my vehicles, good one.
I dont like the idea of both battery cables being red. Bad idea from Ford at that time.
New camera? very nice sharp and fluid view. Like you would be in my living room doing this!
Eric, you're the man! I never knew that the dirt that sits on top of the battery can actually drain the charge! Good thing I always try to keep everything nice and clean, lol. Keep up the good work ETCG!
Anti theft on ⁰4 monté carlo sgguts iff starter, altntor, has factory battery ràin.
$350 for new ignitúon wrh the key.
Thanks Eric. Very informative video. I enjoy watching all your videos.
Thank you very helpful 😎👍
Is rain water considered, distilled water?
I have a Johnson controls regular flood acid battery, its now over 5 years, which is good for cars. and its still is good. wondering how long can a good battery last when taken care of? It's a civic 2005 ex
Eric - These videos are as good as gold. Keep up the good work!
What's your opinion on the small solar chargers for long term storage like a boat or tractor? Thanks.
sketchyssk8shop i like them. very small amps too. you can find them at harbor freight for a good price.
Just get a new battery from Walmart. No need to deal with corrosive acids.
You should still do maintenance on your battery to maximize it's useful life
Thanks Eric great video ...appreciated the time and the effort...we need more video like that
I work in a battery store, and for the most part, a great video, however, if you block the filler holes in the top of the battery, when you remove the caps to clean there, then the dirt will not get inside. Secondly, the washers that you don't care for, do actually work, I noticed you put them back on again, after dissing them! The fact that both of your cables are red, is not a smart move. If you want to spray your teminals with something, do not use axle grease, use anti-corossion spray, which is di-electric and conducts electricity just fine. The hold down clamp IS important as you say, but you forgot to mention the stress on the cables and clamps from a battery moving around. You should also check the ground cable where it attaches to the body for tightness and corossion, finally, I did like your solid lead clamps, so much better than the nasty thin metal clamps used on so many modern vehicles, those corrode away quickly, they also stretch and crack. When buying new clamps, make sure they are real lead and not nasty fake cast clamps which invariably crack.
Good video Eric ha ha but no sponsors for the battery company. I see that black tape:)
Amazing video. I loved this one Eric! Especially since I have been having battery issues lately. I hope to use some of this information in the coming days! Cheers!
Hi Eric I use a sugar soap solution in a spray bottle which seems to work well at dissolving the grease on battery boxes, when you look inside the cell it's important to check the colour of the water inside and the colour of the cap, as battery's age the get a build up of black gunge this can be a sign of a battery on its way out. Its important to note on battery's 580ah and above the load tester you used will not load the battery enough as it is an element tester and only good for 100 amps or so a larger carbon pile tester is required that's good for 500 amps.I also check neg/ground back to the engine. Vasaline is a good terminal protector.
Great video .
One thing I spotted , it's great to see a mechanic using an adjustable Spanner .
I have an 06 VW Touareg 3.0 V6 tdi .
Biggest bugbear is if I don't drive it . It struggles to start .
Trouble is electrically it's a complex system .
As soon as you unlock it and open the drivers door , you can hear something in the vehicle firing up.
It took me a while to work out that it's the Webasto engine diesel preheat system .
Went out to it today Tuesday , last started Friday last week .
First try starting . Probably cranked over for 5 or 6 seconds then stopped .
2 goes with engine preheat (heater plugs ) it turned over normally and fired up sweet as usual .
The battery is 8 weeks old from new .
I know only too well it's got a parasitic drain .
As always another great video. I like the new 60fps video.
Eric, you missed or didn't go into too much detail on sulfation. As far as charging, using a good quality desulfating battery charger can make the batter last significantly longer. If you are not going to be using your car for more than a couple of days, it should really be on a battery maintainer (desulfating battery charger).
Boodieman72 i did some research on that and unfortunately came up short on information. what kind is good?
Dixon Cider I have a BatteryMinder unit, but I am sure there are others.
Hii Eric,
i am really interested to know the SG value of my new battery (keen to learn) Varta battery F19 (for toyota avensis diesel)
hence i tried to pry out the sunken cap of the battery.. but no luck, the plastic cap dented a bit yet nothing come up..
any idea how then i check the sg of the battery ?
thanks
andrew
Thanks Eric
Great video Eric. Is there any advantage of removing the water from each cell, dumping it, and refilling it with fresh distilled water from time to time?
That would ruin the battery. What would be removed is not water but an aq. solution of sulfuric acid(and even that is inaccurate to say the least).
Only add deionized water to the max level, all the acid is in there. Batteries only lose water, not acid.
That's a great tip Eric. I didn't know about the "surface drain" thing at all! I'll be cleaning all of my batteries this weekend, thanks! (seriously, I will, lol)
Great video about how to become car battery maintenance expert :)) Thanks a lot.
At 8:02 he says acrosst instead of across. Now I don’t trust his advice.
hii Eric,
how when water evaporate from battery, the SG value goes up.
when battery is more charged, the more SG value goes up.
when temperature of battery liquid goes up, the SG value also changes..
so, how to check SG value since so many factors affecting the SG value of battery water ?
thanks
First, its useless to check for voltage drop across a battery connection when there is no load on the battery. Do something, turn on the headlights, or use a load tester connected to the battery terminals (not the post). Second the damn mechanic volt drop test. Do you know how much current your meter needs for a given voltage reading? When we used the old simpson 260. it was 50ua for a full scale reading. on any dc voltage scale. You could make a decent guess about the current by estimation(example, if you got a 1/5 th scale volt drop reading that was 10ua. with your electronic meters they have a much lower circuit loading and if you do not know whats going on you are just guessing. In 45 plus years, I never had a bad connection from terminal protectant, oil or grease, If you clean and tighten the connections properly that stuff does not get between the post and clamp. Another service tip. If you must use those replacement terminal clamps that clamp onto the stripped copper wire. Take a good powerful soldering iron and tin the copper wire, wipe off the rosin while the wire is still hot. Then you have some protection from corrosion while its in the clamp and in use. The battery gets vibration if its tied down or not. Its a GOOD thing for any sulfate to settle to the bottom of the cells. The real reasons to tie the battery down are saving the case of the battery from puncture due to banging on things, and or shorting out on stuff. As for the damage to the alternator from charging a run down battery. Can happen but what really burns up an alternator is a shorted cell in the battery and that does not necessarily show up on a cool battery. I have seen the battery have a shorted cell only when it got hot on a hot day with high under hood temp. All kinds of strange thing happen to batteries, opens, shorts, poor capacity, high internal discharge, Oh and with a load test. Do time it for the full 10 seconds not just 1 or 2. Be sure to let the tester cool off well before the second test and after test see that the battery voltage recovers properly. I love your videos and you get people to understand what/where/and how to do things.
Eric, this is an excellent video with all the information. You are our man. Great.
+Carlos Elias Remember to be in a well ventilated area for the baking soda. It reacts with the leaked green stuff and I almost passed out from the fumes... VERY TOXIC =(
makes sense yes.
There is nothing wrong with the makers logos on the items you use in your video, i think.
I wish my mechanic would go this this in depth while checking my battery.
Your mechanic would probably be happy to be that thorough if he knew you were willing to pay the extra money for it!
and I would.
very nice to see 720p60fps videos thanks for that
Knowledge is priceless. Thanks EricTheCarGuy for sharing your experience and knowledge for free.
I don't think that you were ysing a Carbon Pile tester. Your testee was possibly a Resistive element tester that draws about 80A current. Carbon pile testers current can be manually adjusted and can draw above 500A l.
Thank you Eric. A very helpful vid.
Eric, Please correct me, but I'm confused. In this video while you you explain removal of the Neg (black) cable 1st, your hand taps the POS (red) cable & terminal. Then proceed to remove the POS (red) cable 1st? What gives? PS You are my "go to guy" for videos on ALL auto issues.!!! Thnx
Your videos are the best I have seen to educate DIYers like me. I understand your rule of thumb (9.6 volts or higher) when doing the load test and noticed you did not use CCA scale on the tester to see if the pointer is in the good or bad zone based on your battery CCA. Any reason for not using the CCA scale reading? Thanks
Just got a CTEK charger/maintainer, it’s interesting to see how my battery, although in great health, wasn’t fully charged as I am disabled and don’t drive much. Glad you showed surface drain..too many ppl let their stuff get really dirty, this can really drain the battery!
I am planning to buy a new battery for my 2012 F-150 Lariat 5.0 4x4. Autozone has the Duralast Gold battery CCA 850 CA 1000. What battery would you recommend?
You can't measure voltage drop unless there is a load on the circuit so turn on your headlights before doing any voltage drop tests.
The so-called leakage voltage is actually a current (about 1/2 microamp) in this video. This will not drain your battery significantly (unless more than a million hours). BUT it DOES INDICATE the amount of boil-off vapor from the battery. The vapor contains battery acid (sulfuric) and this deposits on the cover. IF you get anything like this reading, you should look at the water-level. It will probably be low.