Bad Battery Example

[Hugh Meyer]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

Hugh,
That is a bad battery. It sure would seem that there is something going on internally as well. I have seen the two volt drops before, but I have not experienced the rise that is shown. It would seem that maybe some internal heating is shorting something then opening again. Is this battery less weight than a new one? I often wonder on a battery with curves like this, that maybe some venting has occurred in the past and the plates are not fully covered by electrolyte. Is it warm as you run the test?

Al,
It is an old Exide battery from 2006. I had a student running the test and I just saw the report when he was finished. Would you like the battery? If so I may still be able to recover it and send it to you. We will check the vents to try to determine if any are open or damaged. There was no evidence of obvious electrolyte leakage.