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Battery condition?

B

Bill Tom

Member
Have 12 volt 650 cca battery in truck. Had oil changed at dealers yesterday and tech said the batt
showed 432 cca . I had cleaned the pos term 2 weeks ago really well but it is starting to corrode again. Is this a sign the batt is close to dying.
Thanks in advance
 
Check the top of the battery. Sometimes a battery that appears to be "sealed" and just has vent caps. It's actually a serviceable battery.
Depending on how the battery is tested. It could read 50 to 750amps.
Clean the posts and clamps real pretty while wearing eye protection. Connect, wipe on a thin film of grease and use the battery until it quits.
 
never liked using grease,has the potential of melting and getting in between the post and the clamp.Do like those treated felt washers or regular old spray paint(color of your choice). bill m.
 
If it's not a sealed battery. Use a hydrometer and check the specific gravity in each cell and compare the readings. Should be around 1.260 or better. Hal
 
Did not see tech test it. only noticed it on bill when i got home. No one mentioned it.When I cleaned it earlier i got it good and shiney, put those felt washers on, covered terminals with dialectric grease and tightened down and coated everything with grease again.Water level was good , didn't have to add any.Thanks to all for helping.
 
As was mentioned, my favorite battery tool is a hydrometer....costs just a few bucks in any auto store and it measures each cell. Put it in, suck up the juice and read the specific gravity reading...if one cell reads low (red) get a new battery if they all read good, run it.
 
Die electric grease is the wrong thing to use on battery terminals. It actually increases corrosion.
The tech probably used a Midtronics battery tester. All of the domestic car companies have them as required shop equipment. We have 2. One simply shows available CCA and either "good" "replace" or "charge and retest". The other one shows a bar graph of state of charge, state of health, and checks starting and charging voltage and diode ripple.
 
Hydrometers are a very unreliable way to test a battery. They are analagous to testing an ignition coil with an ohmeter. Both tests will tell if the respective battery or coil is bad but not if they are good.

To test a battery do the following: 1} Buy a voltmeter 2) Charge the battery 3) Clean the tops of the battery terminals and hook voltmeter leads to them 4} Disable engine from starting by unhooking ignition module or fuel pump relay 5} Crank engine for 15 seconds 6} Voltage must not drop below 10 volts
 
Went to auto-zone, bought hydrometer.Had them load test it for 45 seconds.Battery voltage held steady at 11 volts, Meter sez it is good. Went home and checked with hydrometer,1 cell read 1.2 (bottom of fair range), 2 cells read 2.5 or little less ,1 read 2.6 and a couple read 2.7. Hooked my vom to battery, 12 volts. Started engine read 13.75 volts.
Looks like it's new battery time. Thanks all
 
Checking with a hydrometer will show the condition of each cell and to see if it is charged up.All cells may show charged up,but put a load tester on the battery to see what kind of power it will produce.If the battery quickley loses power or cells start to bubble heavly(one or more) It is probably bad.After years in the battery business,trere would always be the exception.
 
If corrosion continues, you probably got a little hole or crack in the case and acid is getting on the post. Post may even wiggle a bit. Dave
 
Would this be one of those dealers where the 'techs' work on parts commission? Perhaps they don't tell you that....

The way I look at it... if it starts the truck, it's good. If it doesn't start the truck, it's bad. In time you'll notice it start to get slack, then the first cold snap will finish it. Then you replace it.
Carry a set of booster cables. You should have them anyway...
I find that OEM batteries will last 8-10 years quite often before they die. Every one after that will do perhaps 5 or so unless it's an Exide... then it's more likely 2 or 3.

Rod
 
They're about as accurate as the hand/eye coordination of the user... If you don't fill them to the mark, or hold them just level, and don't breath on them... they'll probably give you a half decent idea whether the cell is dead or not.
I wouldn't trash a battery based on a hydrometer test...

Rod
 
Corrosion on the outside of the battery terminals doesn't mean much. It's the connection between the post and clamp that matters.

After cleaning the posts and clamps real well, I like to put just a dab of metallic anti-seize compound on the posts before hooking everything back up. It prevents corrosion from starting in this critical connection.
 
Wrong.Uneven cell readings will let you know the battery is on the way out.Load testing is good but a hydrometer costs 89 cents.
 
New floating ball hydrometers dont have to filled to a mark and can read ok at a 45 degree angle.Case in point.My truck battery read low on 1 cell thru the summer.In january that cell came up frozen.Battery was over 8 years old.89 cent hydrometer was right on.My sawmill sawmill battery had very uneven readings at 4 years so I replaced it.Most people cant get a year out of these small 12v batteries.
 
Both of my tractors are set to charge at 5 amps max.No corossion at all and hydrometer says they are at full charge.
 
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