Your help is required please,

I have a problem with a 14 month old 110 amp hour battery.

Disconnected the Multi meter reading 12.2 volts

Connect battery to van, onboard gauge reading 11.9 volts

Use battery for about 1 hour voltage on onboard gauge reading drops to .9 
volts pump plays up lights hardly work

Change battery to spare everything is fine and works well.

Multi meter reading 11.7 volts on problem battery after disconnecting from 
van. Electrolyte level is quarter to half inch above plates when I used a 
hydrometer to check individual cells I get a reading of 11.5 for all six 
cells.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.


Regards,
Postie

"postie" <postie-at-madasafish-dot-com> wrote in message 
news:q82dnWRTn-sQMInVnZ2dneKdnZydnZ2d@brightview.com...
> Your help is required please,
>
> I have a problem with a 14 month old 110 amp hour battery.
>
> Disconnected the Multi meter reading 12.2 volts
>
> Connect battery to van, onboard gauge reading 11.9 volts
>
> Use battery for about 1 hour voltage on onboard gauge reading drops to .9 
> volts pump plays up lights hardly work
>
> Change battery to spare everything is fine and works well.
>
> Multi meter reading 11.7 volts on problem battery after disconnecting from 
> van. Electrolyte level is quarter to half inch above plates when I used a 
> hydrometer to check individual cells I get a reading of 11.5 for all six 
> cells.
>
> Any suggestions would be appreciated.
>
>
> Regards,
> Postie


You don't mention how your battery is being charged.
Assumming you have an on board charger and the .9 volt should read as 9 
volts I would suggest the charger output fuse has blown, in which case you 
will eventually have the same problem with the spare.

Fred

on 27/04/2008, postie supposed :
> Your help is required please,
>
> I have a problem with a 14 month old 110 amp hour battery.
>
> Disconnected the Multi meter reading 12.2 volts
>
> Connect battery to van, onboard gauge reading 11.9 volts
>
> Use battery for about 1 hour voltage on onboard gauge reading drops to .9 
> volts pump plays up lights hardly work
>
> Change battery to spare everything is fine and works well.
>
> Multi meter reading 11.7 volts on problem battery after disconnecting from 
> van. Electrolyte level is quarter to half inch above plates when I used a 
> hydrometer to check individual cells I get a reading of 11.5 for all six 
> cells.

No mention of charging the battery, or a charging system....

The above could mean the battery is simply flat and in need of 
charging. If it was charged fully before your above tests it probably 
means the battery needs to be replaced. Has the battery been left 
perhaps in a discharged condition for a while? That would quickly kill 
even a new battery.

-- 
Regards,
        Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

On Sun, 27 Apr 2008 17:44:45 +0100, "postie"
<postie-at-madasafish-dot-com> wrote:

>Your help is required please,
>
>I have a problem with a 14 month old 110 amp hour battery.
>
>Disconnected the Multi meter reading 12.2 volts
>
>Connect battery to van, onboard gauge reading 11.9 volts
>
>Use battery for about 1 hour voltage on onboard gauge reading drops to .9 
>volts pump plays up lights hardly work
>
>Change battery to spare everything is fine and works well.
>
>Multi meter reading 11.7 volts on problem battery after disconnecting from 
>van. Electrolyte level is quarter to half inch above plates when I used a 
>hydrometer to check individual cells I get a reading of 11.5 for all six 
>cells.
>
>Any suggestions would be appreciated.

With a reading of 12.2 volts disconnected I would consider that the
battery was to all intents and purposes flat and in need of charging.
I would charge it with a bench charger charging at 5 amps or so for 24
hours, by which time the voltage should be in the region of 14.5 volts
whilst still connected to the charger, then disconnect and leave for a
couple of hours and if the battery is in decent condition you should
expect to see a voltage of about 12.9 volts. 
If you are relying on your caravans battery charger to charge the
battery and it is giving you the results that you say above then it
would seem that your caravan battery charger is faulty.  Most of them
are not designed to fully charge a battery they are designed to give a
maximum voltage at which the caravans equipment will work
satisfactorily which is not always the best voltage for achieving a
full charge in the battery. 
Bill Lord
I've taken a vow of poverty To annoy me send money

e-mail messages to bill dot lord at uku dot co dot uk 
( Get rid of the spaces  and use symbols for the hyphen at and dots )

"bill lord"  wrote in message 
news:2ig9141074d6dbtdcm8lv0i9s68cjvmuv8@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 27 Apr 2008 17:44:45 +0100, "postie"
> <postie-at-madasafish-dot-com> wrote:
>
>>Your help is required please,
>>
>>I have a problem with a 14 month old 110 amp hour battery.
>>
>>Disconnected the Multi meter reading 12.2 volts
>>
>>Connect battery to van, onboard gauge reading 11.9 volts
>>
>>Use battery for about 1 hour voltage on onboard gauge reading drops to .9
>>volts pump plays up lights hardly work
>>
>>Change battery to spare everything is fine and works well.
>>
>>Multi meter reading 11.7 volts on problem battery after disconnecting from
>>van. Electrolyte level is quarter to half inch above plates when I used a
>>hydrometer to check individual cells I get a reading of 11.5 for all six
>>cells.
>>
>>Any suggestions would be appreciated.
>
> With a reading of 12.2 volts disconnected I would consider that the
> battery was to all intents and purposes flat and in need of charging.
> I would charge it with a bench charger charging at 5 amps or so for 24
> hours, by which time the voltage should be in the region of 14.5 volts
> whilst still connected to the charger, then disconnect and leave for a
> couple of hours and if the battery is in decent condition you should
> expect to see a voltage of about 12.9 volts.
> If you are relying on your caravans battery charger to charge the
> battery and it is giving you the results that you say above then it
> would seem that your caravan battery charger is faulty.  Most of them
> are not designed to fully charge a battery they are designed to give a
> maximum voltage at which the caravans equipment will work
> satisfactorily which is not always the best voltage for achieving a
> full charge in the battery.
> Bill Lord
> I've taken a vow of poverty To annoy me send money
>
> e-mail messages to bill dot lord at uku dot co dot uk
> ( Get rid of the spaces  and use symbols for the hyphen at and dots )

Thank your for your replies I am in the process of charging this battery on 
the garage bench as recommended and will test it again at the end of the 
time.
Your time and trouble was much appreciated.

Regards
Postie

On Sun, 27 Apr 2008 17:44:45 +0100, "postie"
<postie-at-madasafish-dot-com> wrote:

>Your help is required please,
>
>I have a problem with a 14 month old 110 amp hour battery.
>
>Disconnected the Multi meter reading 12.2 volts
>
>Connect battery to van, onboard gauge reading 11.9 volts
>
>Use battery for about 1 hour voltage on onboard gauge reading drops to .9 
>volts pump plays up lights hardly work
>
>Change battery to spare everything is fine and works well.
>
>Multi meter reading 11.7 volts on problem battery after disconnecting from 
>van. Electrolyte level is quarter to half inch above plates when I used a 
>hydrometer to check individual cells I get a reading of 11.5 for all six 
>cells.
>
>Any suggestions would be appreciated.
>
>
>Regards,
>Postie
>
>
An accurate meter reading of 12.2v would indicate a battery very
nearly discharged.

If voltage drops upon connecting battery to 'van, either there is a
discrepancy in accuracy between multimeter and 'van gauge, or there is
a current drain as soon as the battery is connected.  Connect
multimeter while battery is connected to 'van to find out.

After 1 hours use battery voltage drops to X.9v?  What is X? I'm
assuming a typo.

Multimeter reading of 11.7v on a disconnected battery indicates it is
fully discharged - and then some!

If the electrolyte level is equal in all cells and is the same
specific gravity in all cells then it is unlikely to be one faulty
cell.  However, your hydrometer reading is spurious - the best I can
get on a fully charged battery is 1.30, so I'm assuming you mean 1.15,
which is not low enough to indicate a flat battery.  So now I'm
confused - a specific gravity of 1.05 or lower would indicate a really
flat battery and agree with the multimeter reading.

Suggestion:-

Charge your battery off the 'van with a bench-top charger, until the
specific gravity reaches 1.25(1.30 would be better) in all cells, or
one of the cells starts to bubble.  If you can measure the voltage
while it's charging you really should be getting a voltage of 14.4v
minimum, otherwise the battery will never reach a  fully charged
state.

Tip for the future - Never leave a lead-acid battery in a state other
than fully charged.  Always fully charge the battery as soon as
practical after use and before laying up.

Let us know what you find.

Neil

(Reply via NG please)

"Neil"  wrote in message 
news:m6ca14da74h10cq8u5vp59av30i34mmd6d@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 27 Apr 2008 17:44:45 +0100, "postie"
> <postie-at-madasafish-dot-com> wrote:
>
>>Your help is required please,
>>
>>I have a problem with a 14 month old 110 amp hour battery.
>>
>>Disconnected the Multi meter reading 12.2 volts
>>
>>Connect battery to van, onboard gauge reading 11.9 volts
>>
>>Use battery for about 1 hour voltage on onboard gauge reading drops to .9
>>volts pump plays up lights hardly work
>>
>>Change battery to spare everything is fine and works well.
>>
>>Multi meter reading 11.7 volts on problem battery after disconnecting from
>>van. Electrolyte level is quarter to half inch above plates when I used a
>>hydrometer to check individual cells I get a reading of 11.5 for all six
>>cells.
>>
>>Any suggestions would be appreciated.
>>
>>
>>Regards,
>>Postie
>>
>>
> An accurate meter reading of 12.2v would indicate a battery very
> nearly discharged.
>
> If voltage drops upon connecting battery to 'van, either there is a
> discrepancy in accuracy between multimeter and 'van gauge, or there is
> a current drain as soon as the battery is connected.  Connect
> multimeter while battery is connected to 'van to find out.
>
> After 1 hours use battery voltage drops to X.9v?  What is X? I'm
> assuming a typo.
>
> Multimeter reading of 11.7v on a disconnected battery indicates it is
> fully discharged - and then some!
>
> If the electrolyte level is equal in all cells and is the same
> specific gravity in all cells then it is unlikely to be one faulty
> cell.  However, your hydrometer reading is spurious - the best I can
> get on a fully charged battery is 1.30, so I'm assuming you mean 1.15,
> which is not low enough to indicate a flat battery.  So now I'm
> confused - a specific gravity of 1.05 or lower would indicate a really
> flat battery and agree with the multimeter reading.
>
> Suggestion:-
>
> Charge your battery off the 'van with a bench-top charger, until the
> specific gravity reaches 1.25(1.30 would be better) in all cells, or
> one of the cells starts to bubble.  If you can measure the voltage
> while it's charging you really should be getting a voltage of 14.4v
> minimum, otherwise the battery will never reach a  fully charged
> state.
>
> Tip for the future - Never leave a lead-acid battery in a state other
> than fully charged.  Always fully charge the battery as soon as
> practical after use and before laying up.
>
> Let us know what you find.
>
> Neil
>
> (Reply via NG please)

Battery charged at 14.44 multi meter reading for 36 hours. taken off charge 
left for 8 hours 13.28 multi meter reading. Specific gravity reads 1.23 to 
convert to your scale. The van had been in storage and the battery had been 
running the alarm system for 3 weeks it was fully charged when connected at 
the start of that time period.

Regards,
Postie

On Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:09:37 +0100, "postie"
<postie-at-madasafish-dot-com> wrote:

>Battery charged at 14.44 multi meter reading for 36 hours. taken off charge 
>left for 8 hours 13.28 multi meter reading. Specific gravity reads 1.23 to 
>convert to your scale. The van had been in storage and the battery had been 
>running the alarm system for 3 weeks it was fully charged when connected at 
>the start of that time period.

readings like that would suggest that the battery is fine, I would be
disappointed with that amount of discharge after only three weeks of
supporting an alarm. It would be interesting to see what the voltage
is after another three weeks of sitting in storage with the alarm on,
I would suspect that starting now with a full charge that the battery
will not be as run down as it was previously.
Bill Lord
I've taken a vow of poverty To annoy me send money

e-mail messages to bill dot lord at uku dot co dot uk 
( Get rid of the spaces  and use symbols for the hyphen at and dots )

"bill lord"  wrote in message 
news:2aeh1491n0cdf4nh9vb4o3ss3oc7qih9oe@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:09:37 +0100, "postie"
> <postie-at-madasafish-dot-com> wrote:
>
>>Battery charged at 14.44 multi meter reading for 36 hours. taken off 
>>charge
>>left for 8 hours 13.28 multi meter reading. Specific gravity reads 1.23 to
>>convert to your scale. The van had been in storage and the battery had 
>>been
>>running the alarm system for 3 weeks it was fully charged when connected 
>>at
>>the start of that time period.
>
> readings like that would suggest that the battery is fine, I would be
> disappointed with that amount of discharge after only three weeks of
> supporting an alarm. It would be interesting to see what the voltage
> is after another three weeks of sitting in storage with the alarm on,
> I would suspect that starting now with a full charge that the battery
> will not be as run down as it was previously.
> Bill Lord
> I've taken a vow of poverty To annoy me send money
>
> e-mail messages to bill dot lord at uku dot co dot uk
> ( Get rid of the spaces  and use symbols for the hyphen at and dots )

I will test this scenario again at the next opportunity I get. It is about 
get a lot of work I hope out for a lot of weekends over the next few weeks.

Regards,
Postie
I