Use and maintenance of batteries

1) How to activate a new battery

Before a new battery is used, the surface of the plate will be oxidized to a certain extent. The longer the storage time, the more serious the oxidation. After adding the electrolyte, the temperature will rise sharply, and it will show a large resistance during charging, making charging difficult. Therefore, when using a new battery, you should do the following: after adding the electrolyte, let it stand for about 6 hours, wait until the electrolyte completely penetrates the plate and the temperature drops below 35°C, then connect the power supply to charge; strictly control the charging current within the specified range. If the temperature rises too high during charging, exceeding 45°C, you can reduce the charging current or stop charging; perform 1 to 2 charge and discharge cycles to reach the rated capacity.

2) How to charge a new battery for the first time

Connect the positive and negative poles of the battery to the positive and negative poles of the power supply respectively. First, charge the electrolyte with the initial charging current until bubbles are released and the single cell voltage rises to 2.3-2.4V. Then reduce the current to 1/2 of the initial charging current and continue charging until the electrolyte releases violent bubbles and the electrolyte specific gravity and voltage remain stable for 3 hours. The total charging time is about 45-65 hours. The electrolyte temperature should be measured frequently during the charging process. If the temperature is too high, the temperature can be controlled at 35-40℃ by reducing the current by half, stopping charging or cooling. After the initial charging is completed, if the electrolyte specific gravity does not meet the requirements, adjust it with distilled water or an electrolyte with a specific gravity of 1.4 and then charge for 2 hours until the specific gravity meets the requirements. New batteries often fail to reach the rated capacity after the first charge, and should be charged and discharged in cycles. Use a current of 1/20 of the rated capacity to discharge until the single cell voltage drops to 1.75V, and then use a supplementary charging current to fill it up. After one charge and discharge cycle, if the capacity is still less than 90% of the rated capacity, another charge and discharge cycle should be performed.

3) How to maintain the battery

a. During the use of the battery, the evaporation of water and the electrolysis of water during charging will cause the liquid level to drop. Therefore, the liquid level should be checked every 5 to 6 days in summer and every 10 to 15 days in winter, and distilled water should be added as needed. Except for the drop in the liquid level caused by leakage, it is not allowed to add electrolyte, otherwise the electrolyte specific gravity will be higher than 1.300, which will shorten the service life of the battery. The battery liquid level should be 15mm higher than the plate. If the liquid level is too high, it is easy to overflow and corrode the surrounding parts. It may also cause the positive and negative poles to conduct and cause self-discharge; if the liquid level is too low, the upper part of the plate is easy to expose the liquid surface, which will not only reduce the battery capacity, but also the exposed plate will quickly sulfide.

b. Batteries in use are often undercharged due to different working conditions (especially for short-distance vehicles). Supplementary charging should be carried out when any of the following situations occur: ① The electrolyte specific gravity drops below 1.200; ② The discharge exceeds 25% in winter; ③ The discharge exceeds 50% in summer; ④ The light is dim; ⑤ The starting power is weak. Supplementary charging is carried out in two stages. In the first stage, the current is charged at 1/10 of the rated capacity until the single cell voltage reaches 2.4V and the electrolyte begins to emit bubbles. It usually takes 10 to 11 hours. In the second stage, the current is reduced by half until it is sufficient. It usually takes 3 to 5 hours. If the electrolyte specific gravity does not meet the requirements, it should be adjusted in the same way as the initial charging. c. When using batteries in winter, you should pay attention to the following: ① Ensure that the connection between the charging pile and the wire connector is firm and in good contact; ② Install a heat preservation device on the battery to prevent the temperature from being too low and the resistance from increasing; ③ Adjust the specific gravity of the electrolyte as required; ④ Add distilled water when the engine is running and the engine is charging the battery to prevent the water and electrolyte from mixing unevenly and causing ice; ⑤ The engine should be preheated when started cold, and the starting time for each time should not exceed 5s. Repeated starts should be spaced at intervals of 15s. If the start fails three times, it should be checked and not started blindly; ⑥ Always keep the battery in a fully charged state to prevent the electrolyte from freezing due to a decrease in specific gravity, or even damage the battery.

4) How to operate safely when maintaining batteries When maintaining batteries, the following safety regulations should be observed: ① When moving batteries, handle them with care and do not tilt them to prevent electrolyte from splashing onto clothes or skin, causing corrosion or burns. If splashed, rinse with clean water immediately. ② When checking the specific gravity and liquid level of the electrolyte, just move the straw slightly away from the electrolyte injection port. Do not lift it too high to prevent the electrolyte from splashing. ③ It is forbidden to place oil containers and various metal objects on the battery shell. ④ When preparing the electrolyte, a ceramic container should be used, and sulfuric acid should be poured slowly into the water. It is absolutely forbidden to pour water into sulfuric acid to prevent sulfuric acid from splashing and burning the skin and clothes, or even the container from bursting and causing an accident.

5) How to discharge the battery

When charging and discharging new batteries and testing their working capacity, they need to be discharged according to certain specifications to check whether the batteries have reached the rated capacity. Use a current of 1/20 of the rated capacity of the battery to discharge until the voltage of each cell is 1.75V, and measure the voltage every 2 hours after the discharge begins. After the voltage drops to 1.8V, the voltage should be measured every 15-20min because the voltage drops quickly. When the voltage drops to 1.75V, the discharge should be stopped immediately, otherwise the voltage will drop sharply to "0" and burn the plates, making it difficult to charge the next time. There are many discharge methods (such as discharge with a bulb, discharge with a variable resistor, discharge with an electrolyte, and discharge with a battery with a lower voltage), which can be selected according to specific conditions. In the discharge circuit, an ammeter must be connected in series and a voltmeter in parallel to observe the voltage value in time and stop the discharge without losing time.

6) What to do if the battery capacity decreases

After the battery is charged, it will not be charged enough after a short time of use. The starter will not rotate easily, the engine will be difficult to start, the volume of the horn and audio will be reduced, and the lights will be dim. If the voltage of a single cell is checked with a high-rate discharge meter and is lower than 1.5V, the battery capacity will be reduced. You should first check whether the generator capacity is appropriate, whether the regulator voltage is too low, whether the battery is self-discharging due to long-term storage, whether the starter is used too frequently, and whether the electrolyte level is too low and the battery is often added with electrolyte instead of distilled water. If the above problems do not exist, the battery cover should be opened to check whether the electrolyte is missing. If the liquid level is too low and the time is too long, so that the exposed part of the plate is sulfided, the plate should be pulled out for inspection. If a layer of white lead sulfate appears on the surface of the plate, it means that it has been sulfided. If after pulling out the plate and pouring out the electrolyte, there are too many plate active substances or other impurities that have fallen off in the bottom shell of the battery, it means that these substances cause a short circuit between the plates, causing insufficient capacity. 7) How to diagnose the failure of battery storage capacity reduction

The decrease in storage capacity is commonly known as "power leakage". The main phenomena are: the battery is fully charged when the car is collected the day before, but the starter is powerless the next day; the engine is difficult to start again after being turned off for a long time; the lights are dim and the horn does not sound. Check whether the battery wires are grounded. If not, use a high-rate discharge meter to check the voltage of each cell, once an hour. If the voltage reaches a certain value at the beginning and then drops rapidly, and drops to 0 in severe cases, it means that there is a short circuit fault between the plates. The battery cover should be opened and the electrolyte should be extracted with a glass tube. If the electrolyte is turbid, it means that the electrolyte contains impurities. At this time, the plates should be taken out and the partitions should be pulled out for observation. If the partitions are perforated, it means that the fault is caused by the perforation of the partitions. In addition, check whether the battery surface is too dirty and whether there is electrolyte overflow.

8) How to prevent battery explosion

During the initial charging and discharging process of a new battery, water is decomposed to produce a large amount of hydrogen and oxygen. If they are not released in time, the battery will explode when encountering sparks. ① The vents on the battery cover should be checked and unblocked regularly to ensure that the gas generated inside is discharged in time; ② The internal connections of the battery and the connection on the charging pile should be firm to avoid sparks; ③ Try to avoid scratching the battery charging pile to avoid explosion; ④ Open the battery plug cover first, and then check with a high-rate discharge meter.

9) How to use dry cells instead of storage batteries

When the car has no battery or the battery is damaged, 6 to 8 dry batteries can be used instead. The method is: connect the dry batteries in series, roll them into one with cardboard, connect one end to the ground, and connect the other end to the switch terminal on the ignition coil with a wire, then use the hand crank to quickly crank the crankshaft to start the engine. When the engine reaches a certain speed and is sure that the generator can supply power, remove it.