Thread: “Riddle me this Batman”

One recharge is not enough to know for sure. You may want to leave the dodgy battery on a multi stage charger for several weeks of conditioning before you will know for sure if it can be recovered.

When not in use the battery was always connected to my c-tek charger. Regularly on charge for 1-2 weeks between use. The old battery which has been out of the vehicle for a week is still @ 13.2 volts and the charge indicator is green. From what I can find a fully charged wet lead acid battery should settle at about 12.7v. Does 13.2v indicate some sort of problem?

Originally Posted by SeanC

...Does 13.2v indicate some sort of problem?

Probably surface charge.

I believe that's surface charge Sean.

Originally Posted by Ferret

Probably surface charge.

After a week?

Easy to tell, if you connect up a light load overnight like a single led or something, it should drop back down to 12.7V.

Tim (Traxide) recommends not leaving batteries connected to any charger for long periods of time (more than 24 hours). I found that out after i nearly destroyed one from over charging it after constantly running a smart charger for 6 days at a time.

I just put it on for 12 hours once a week if it's not being driven.

A small solar panel is good as it charges during the day and lets it rest at night.

Originally Posted by Russrobe

Easy to tell, if you connect up a light load overnight like a single led or something, it should drop back down to 12.7V.

Tim (Traxide) recommends not leaving batteries connected to any charger for long periods of time (more than 24 hours). I found that out after i nearly destroyed one from over charging it after constantly running a smart charger for 6 days at a time.

I just put it on for 12 hours once a week if it's not being driven.

The c-tek supposedly won’t overcharge the battery. Was one of the reasons I bought one.

CTEK’s smart chargers move into a pulse maintenance mode once the battery is fully charged. Rather than sending in a charge and estimating what the battery needs, a CTEK charger will stay in constant communication with the battery, reacting and charging only when it is needed.
In pulse maintenance mode, the battery will be allowed to naturally self discharge to a certain level before being fully charged once again. Not only does this avoid the risk of overcharging but, as the battery is being exercised as it would be during normal use, the lifespan of the battery is extended considerably.