Batt not holding charge
 

My two year old 6v is losing it's charge. On the bench it will drop from 100% to 75% in 24 hours with no load.

Is it shot? Seems to have enough water.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Carl

Re: Batt not holding charge
 

Sounds like its bad. Give a good slow charge and see if it dies again. A parts store can load test it for you.

Re: Batt not holding charge
 

Thanks Patrick, I think you're right.

Re: Batt not holding charge
 

Many of the 6 volt batteries sold today only last 2 years! That's why they have a one year warranty !

Re: Batt not holding charge
 

Battery! Had three do same thing! Changed brands no problem.

Re: Batt not holding charge
 

Batteries just don't seem to be as good as they used to be.

Re: Batt not holding charge
 

If 6V battery, many places do not have a 6V battery tester. Here is an inexpensive 6/12 V load tester from Harbor Freight.
https://www.harborfreight.com/100a-6...ter-61747.html


Have also been able to get a couple of batteries to come back to almost as good as new with this NOCO. Not cheap, but its paid for if it saves a battery.

https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GENIUS5-.../dp/B07W8KJH44

Re: Batt not holding charge
 

I have a load tester. I know most folks don't. But they are nice to have around.

Bringing batteries back to life ? Some of that does work. As a broke kid I used to clean/wash out old batteries and refill/charge them, if they came back then sell or use them. Quite a few would come back to life for a few more years. Ha, as expensive and as bad as new batteries are today it might be worth trying again.

Re: Batt not holding charge
 

Planned obsolescence !

Re: Batt not holding charge
 

Many years ago when I didn't have any money, I salvaged batteries. First I would short the terminals for a second to knock debris from the plates. Next I by drained them, flushed-out the debris that shorted the plates, put back the electrolyte and charged them.

Re: Batt not holding charge
 

A battery that is used on a daily basis will last longer than a battery that sets up for long periods. It's not enough to just put a battery charger on them. The only way to knock the sulfate build up off the plates to any great degree is to draw them down with a big load like a starter does. Lead sulfate materials that fall off the plates will settle to the bottom of the case and build up over time. Eventually they will reach the bottom of the plates and start to short them out. You can call it planned obsolescence but batteries eventually wear out due to loss of spongy lead from the acidic reactions and sulfation. None of them last forever.

Back in the day, they would rebuild them by removing the tar and old plate set then they would install a new plate set and apply sealing tar.

When servicing a battery, add distilled water to replace water that is evaporated out. If you use battery electrolyte, the acidic content will be too high and eat the battery up. You can attempt to drain them but you can't always get all the lead sulfate materials out. Tar tops could be opened up and resealed but these plastic ones not so much.

The spiral cell AGM type batteries last well due to the way they deal with sulfation but they cost a lot more too. The spiral cells have more lead and spongy lead plate area than the average battery due to the way they are manufactured.

Re: Batt not holding charge
 

PM sent to 20500

Re: Batt not holding charge
 

It way be worthwhile to take it back to where you bought it from for evaluation and possibly warranty replacement.

Re: Batt not holding charge
 

Desulfaters have been around awhile but I never used one until now. I don't know what to think of them yet. I put one on the golf cart a couple years ago and I'm thinking it might be working but still not quite sure yet.

Re: Batt not holding charge
 

Was your Battery No Good??

Re: Batt not holding charge
 

The 2-year-old 6-volt Optima battery went south in my ’28 roadster when the cable shorted out. The battery registered close to zero volts and I couldn’t get it to charge on my 6/12/24/48-volt charger. I bought a new 6-volt wet cell battery from an auto parts store to get it going again. A few weeks later I decided to try to revive the Optima battery. I fully charged the wet cell battery and then connected it to the Optima battery with heavy duty jumper cables for about 15 minutes. Now the charger worked so I left it on it overnight. Then I reinstalled the Optima battery in the Model A and it has been holding it’s voltage well. I should note that the Optima battery cranks the engine a noticeably faster than the wet cell battery does.