Re: (ET) Battery bad lot? Open ?

["David Roden" <etpost drmm net>]

On 22 Apr 2009 at 16:37, JohnR wrote:

> with one dead cell, who cares ... as other post said ... time to
> recycle the battery ! 

Not so fast!  If the problem is a dead cell, not a shorted one, sometimes 
a 
long, slow equalization (for a golf car battery, constant current at 
around 
3-5 amps from something between several hours and several days ) may be 
able 
to get you going again.  

Even so, if the bum cell has been reversed, or has been dead for a long 
time, its capacity will be reduced -- maybe quite a lot.  This will limit 
the energy you can get from the battery forevermore.  However, 
equalization 
is usually worth trying before you go for replacement, especially if you 
don't work the battery very hard in normal use.

On 22 Apr 2009 at 17:24, RJ Kanary wrote:

> The scariest one are the ones that the electrolyte starts bubbling in
> one or two cells during a load test. :( 
> 

That usually means you're reversing one or more cells.  Friend of mine 
from 
the EV list calls this a "Trojan Teakettle."  ;-)