|
New Holland Skid Steer Loader
QUESTION:If I jump start a car with a working but drained battery, then rely on
the engine's generator to recharge the battery, how long will I need
to drive around to have the battery recharged to a normal level?
ANSWER: you don't want to do that if you can help it. If the battery is truly
discharged, it will need a proper charging at a slow rate until its charged
fully. If you use your car to do it, your alternator will be working to its
maximum, trying to produce all the current for normal operation as well as
trying to charge a dead battery too. The result is an overheating
alternator and charging system wiring harness. The battery will most likely
never fully charge and you will overburden your charging system in the
process. As far as the battery is concerned, charging it at such a high rate
will destroy it internally. The high rate overheats the electrolyte, warps
the plates, knocks big chunks of sulphate off the lead plates and in some
cases it shorts the battery out internally and yes, it could explode too.
There is a chemical reaction that takes place inside the battery which
produces electrical energy. I won't bore you with every detail so....the
lead plates absorb the sulphur from the sulphuric acid while discharging.
When you charge the battery back up, you actually drive the sulphate back
out of the lead and into the electrolyte where it dissolves and can once
again be used to "make energy". If a battery stays in a discharged state
for a long period of time, it is difficult if not impossible to drive the
sulphate back into the electrolyte and in this case we usually buy a new
battery.
I recently brought a dead battery back to life out of a New Holland skid
steer loader. It was condemned because it was very dead. The float in the
hydrometer was almost completely submerged. It was dead. I charged it with a
one ampere trickle charger and about five days later, the specific gravity
readings were back to normal. If you really want to charge it back up, buy
one of these chargers (they are cheap) and hook it up and leave it plugged
in over night and for a few days if possible.
|
|
|
|
