(ET) Charging, and general battery confusion

[John G <zoo_keeper_johng yahoo com>]

OK, after carefully checking my "new" used Trojan T-105s, and
charging them in 12V pairs twice, once on "10A", then again on
"6A" I got very good service from them for a mowing (an hour or
so total).  I attempted to use the on-board charger and found
the cap to be leaky (I think).  I could only get an OCV of 38Vdc
with it connected and charged overnight, and now with it
disconnected I can get 38.8Vdc, again OCV.  From what I've read
here, that's too low, it should be much closer to 42Vdc.  My
individual OCVs range from about 6.4 to 6.65Vdc with the lower
occuring on the "taps", that I think is pretty normal.

I noticed that if you remove the cap wire, a single (or even
two) wraps of "good" electrical tape is not safe *enough* to
prevent a short.  TAPE it WELL, like 6 wraps if not more.

Are my batteries just discharged that far, and they need to be
"cooked" longer, or do I have a charger problem in addition to a
leaky cap?  Or, will a new cap bring the voltage up some, and
closer to the 42V I think I should see?

TIA.

=====
John G, '73 E12


        
                
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