Lesson #1 – How to Recondition

Car Batteries
Table of Content:

 Car batteries die suddenly

 How to find out what type of battery is in your car
 Wet/Flooded Battery
 Calcium-Calcium Battery
 VRLA: GEL
 VRLA: AGM
 Deep Cycle
 Lithium Ion Battery
 What to do if the battery breaks down during the ride
 How to charge a car battery yourself at home
 Cleaning corroded car battery terminals
 Checking the battery charge
 The battery charge indicators
 Checking the battery electrolyte level
 Measuring specific gravity
 Safety rules for working with car batteries, unsafe behavior can cause
a serious eye injury or burns on your skin
 The final expert kit for working with car batteries
 If it is hard for you to sort all of this out
 How to set up a car battery reconditioning business

Car batteries die suddenly

Man Autoist autoists got used to the idea that a car battery “dies” slowly. But
modern batteries do it suddenly giving its current to the end. And one day it
just does not start, especially when you need it most, although the warranty
period is still on.
The fact of the matter is that battery manufacturers managed to “set” their
products to work that long as mentioned in the warranty sheet and break down
the following day. These simple, but not honest ways remain unknown to almost
all of ordinary people. After that, an Autoist autoist has to buy a new battery,
and the manufacturer gets the old one for recycling.

Some motorists try to charge a car battery with a battery charger bought from
a store, but such charge does not last long, since all cheap chargers from a
store are too primitive.
They cannot charge a battery, they just maintain the charge, which does not
affect the real configuration of the battery. In addition, the owners of such
devices often miss the important steps which we will talk about in this
article.

However, there is a real way to recondition a battery by 90-100 percent of the original
factory condition and extend its life.

To do this, first of all, you should identify what type of battery is in your car.

How to find out what type of battery is in your car

To identify what type of battery is in your car, just remove it and read what it
says. Pay no attention to the large print on the front. Since basic elements in
most of the batteries are the same, the manufacturer put the most recognizable
terms on the cover to boost sales. That is why after you take out a battery,
read the information written in small print carefully.
Right there you will find the actual type of the battery. 6 types of batteries are
manufactured for cars. You can identify the type of your battery by price or
description using the list below.

Wet/Flooded Battery

Price: from $50.

This is the most common type of batteries. It became popular due to the lowest
price among competitors. The design of the battery is fully sealed that is why it
does not require any maintenance. When the liquid in the battery wears off
fully, your car will die out right on the road. All is left to hope that it will not
happen in a desert without people.

Calcium-Calcium Battery

Price: up to $100.

This battery is made of an alloy of calcium, which has different charges on the
ends: one is “positive”, the other one is “negative”. Calcium reduces the amount
of fluid loss in the battery, but it takes more time to charge it. Overcharge
causes serious structural damage. For example, it can break down during the
long and cold Christmas trip.

VRLA: GEL

Price: $100 – 250.

This type of car battery has a safety valve for adjusting the lead acid battery
content. The valve helps prevent the fluid loss and thereby increases the
lifespan. Besides gel, silicon is used in these batteries. This is a great choice for
a car, but it is not good for a starter. Surely you have noticed that it was taking
you longer than usual to start the car before it broke down.
VRLA: AGM

Price: $50 – 300.

It also has a pressure relief valve for adjusting the lead acid battery content.
The design is made with the use of frosted glass. It keeps very low source
resistance for a long time, which makes it ideal for starting a car. If you do not
check the liquid level every week, it breaks down quickly.

Deep Cycle

Price: from $200.

Highly durable type of battery. It is more often used in motor boats than in cars
(it is also used for the solar and wind energy collection and storage). Discharges
very quickly: if you do not use your car for two-three months, it will just not
start.

Lithium Ion Battery

Price: from $1000.

It is used in some high-capacity vehicles or in limited editions of cars. It weighs

significantly less than other types of batteries, which ensures more efficient fuel
consumption. The high price won’t let you mix up this type of battery with any

other in the world

More often, types 2-5 of car batteries are used in cars.

What to do if the battery breaks down during the
ride
It’s worst of all, when you’re suddenly stuck on the road. With road with
children. children. In winter. At night. In winter at night Modern modern
batteries die out at the most inappropriate moments, so the smartest and
provident decision is to always keep a portable power bank in the car that will
allow you to run the starter even in the most unpromising situations, or, at
least, to have a jump start kit.

Top 3 reasons because of which the battery dies most often:

 1. Frost – risks of getting stuck massively increase in cold weather.

2. Forgetfulness – car enthusiast very often forget to turn off the lights, bulbs, etc. In
this case, the car will not start in the morning.

3. Open air party – if you listen to music from a car for a long time, especially if you
have a subwoofer, it is most likely that you will not be able to start the car after.
We would like to share with you 3 options with their pros and cons in case your
battery dies on the go.

Solutions Pros Cons

 You need another

Jump start kit, to
jump-start a car
using another car
charged car battery
 Cheap
for jump-star
 Takes a little space
 You will have to deal
with another driver

 Portable, takes a little

space
 Also can be used for
Portable power
bank (Read here lighting other 12V  A bit more expensive
about the editor’s appliances than regular wires
choice)  Completely autonomous for jump-start
– does not require the
participation of other
cars
  Expensive
 If you do not use it,
it will probably die as
Spare battery
well (find out)
 Takes a lot of space
 Can make a car’s
interior dirty

If you have not prepared in advance, call an emergency rescue service or your
dealer’s road assistance service.

Your main task is to get to a service or a shop where you can replace the
battery or to home, where you can charge the battery by yourself, and
recondition it by following the instructions.

How to charge a car battery yourself at home

Often, you can easily recondition a dead battery and save money on car shop
and about $100-200 on a new battery.

Before proceeding to a battery charging, prepare it and do a simple

maintenance procedure (possibly partial reconditioning).

Battery maintenance plan at home:

1. Clean the corroded car battery terminals and the battery box from dirt.
 2. Check the battery charge level.

3. Check the battery electrolyte level, fill up if necessary.

4. Measure specific gravity.

We recommend you read the detailed instructions how to service a battery at
home.

Cleaning corroded car battery terminals

Almost any experienced motorist has dealt with terminals corrosion. Terminal is
covered with a coating that prevents the proper performance of a battery. As it
is growing bigger, it may cause that your car would stop starting.

It is quite easy to fight the corrosion:

1. Remove the terminal from the electrode (the more coating it has, the
harder it will be to do this).
2. Take a fine sandpaper paper or a metal brush.
 3. Thoroughly clean and polish the place where the electrode contacts the
terminal. Pay special attention to the inner surface of the terminal.

Lifehack:
How to clean terminals from corrosion using soda and coke

Checking the battery charge

The fastest and most precise method of testing a lead acid car battery is to use
budget-priced and easy-to-use multimeterMultimeter.

The sequence of steps when checking a car battery:

1. Turn the device in the DC voltage control mode.

2. Set the range above that declared as maximum in a battery, for example 20 V.

3. Connect the device’s black probe to the negative charge jack.

4. Connect the red probe to the positive charge jack.

5. Save the indicators on the multimeter’s Multimeter’s display.

6. Disconnect the electric circuit after the measurement.

The battery charge indicators
The numbers shown on the device display can help check the battery charge in
a percentage ratio at the moment:

battery voltage (V) 12.8 12.6 12.2 12.0 below 11.8

charge level % 100 75 50 25 complete discharge of the battery

To get the accurate indicators, you should check the battery charge with a
multimeter at least 5 – 6 hours after it has been removed from a car or a
charging device. The ambient temperature is not important for the indicators
accuracy.

If you check the charge and capacity of the battery regularly, you can avoid
many problems on the road and protect the car’s on-board electronics. Avoid
deep battery discharge, as this leads to sulfation of thethe sulfation of battery
plates – the battery capacity decreases, it starts discharging faster and faster.
As a result, your battery needs to be charged more often.
This helps to provide a proper care for the battery and charge it on time, which
significantly prolongs its use. Another important factor of the constant
monitoring is the confidence that the car will not die out at inappropriate time
on the road.

Checking the battery electrolyte level

To check the electrolyte level, first of all, you need to have a look if there are
MAX and MIN marks on the box. If the electrolyte level is between these two
values, it means that everything is okay.

If there are no marks, you will need a clean glass tube, inner diameter of which
isn’t more than 2 inches.
The sequence of steps when checking the electrolyte level:

1. Unscrew the battery cover.

2. Dip the tube inside until it stops against the protective sheet.

3. Close the outer hole with your finger.

4. Remove the tube and estimate the electrolyte level.

The optimal value of the electrolyte in a battery must be between 0 and
0.6 inches. If the value exceeds the allowable limit, remove it using a
hydrometer syringe or a syringe. If there is not enough of electrolyte, add
distilled water. The temperature of the distilled water should be 50-60 °F.

Remember that you should not pour water from a tap, as the battery will discharge.

Measuring specific gravity

You will need a hydrometer to check specific gravity.
The sequence of steps when checking the specific gravity:

1. Wear gloves in order to prevent the acid from electrolyte contact with your skin.

2. Open all battery banks.

3. Gather electrolyte from the first bank until the float pops up.

4. Evaluate the electrolyte density by the scale on the float.

5. Check the electrolyte density in banks each after each.

6. Close all banks.

State of charge Relative density

Fully charged (100%) 1.28

Half charged (50%) 1.20

Discharged (0%) 1.12

If the electrolyte density is lower, it needs to be charged. If the density is

higher, pour distilled water into the bank. This procedure need to be carried out
once a year.

Get access to the entire battery reconditioning program:

We recommend you carefully follow the step-by-step instructions on cars battery full
reconditioning

Safety rules for working with car batteries, unsafe

behavior can cause a serious eye injury or burns
on your skin
Observe precautions when working with batteries.

The premise where you work with cars batteries should be ventilated properly.
It is forbidden to eat, store food, and smoke in the premise.

During charging a battery, do not smoke or use an open flame next to it

(even sparks), because during the charging process, electrolyte from the
battery gives up the detonating gas, which can provoke an explosion.
During the electrolyte preparation and filling, and installing a battery, it
is necessary to work in rubber gloves and boots, apron and goggles. Follow the
strict rule: pour acid into water! Not vice versa, the acid poured in water
instantly heats the solution and turns it into the lava that burns everything.
Don’t mix acid with water like this

When preparing the electrolyte for alkaline batteries, remember that alkali
dissolving produces heat energy, so you need to mix the solution gently. Don’t
touch pieces of alkali with bare hands. It is not recommended to use glass dish
for alkali dissolving, as it may break, and the worker can get hurt.
When preparing the electrolyte for acid batteries strictly observe the following
rules: pour acid into water, but not vice versa. Use only glass or lead dish when
preparing and filling the electrolyte. It is better to use special siphons to decant
acid or prepared electrolyte.

Even the weak concentration of sulfuric acid destroys all organic materials and causes
severe burns.

See also: What to do if car acid contacts your skin or eyes.

The final expert kit for working with car batteries

1. The step-by-step instructions

2. Portable power bank.

3. Jump start kit, to jump-start a car using another car.

4. Multimeter to check a battery charge.

5. Sandpaper or metal brush to clean the terminals.

6. Distilled water if you have the electrolyte level lowered.

7. Hydrometer to check the electrolyte density.

8. Gloves.

9. Goggles.

If it is hard for you to sort all of this out

Actually it just seems difficult. If you get the instructions and observe the safety
precautions, this inexplicable process can become for you a great business on
charging batteries (even very profitable one, from $1000 per item).
And if you still think that this is not for you, at least, you should choose the
battery that will work longer from proven producers.
How to set up a car battery reconditioning business
You can make an excellent business on car batteries reconditioning. In this
context, if you live in a cold climate, the merciless frosts are a true gift of fate.

In such weather conditions, batteries are not able to withstand loads and
collapse much earlier than anticipated.

But even in comfortable weather conditions a battery reconditioning is a great

business. Turn attention to taxi stations, public transport fleets, golf clubs,
truckers’ parking lots, warehouses, and other similar places. These are pots of
gold for businessmen reconditioning batteries.

Spent batteries are just trash for motorists, and they want to get rid of it. That
is why in most cases, you can freely collect unnecessary containers, recondition
them by 90-100 percent and sell cheaper than factory-supplied ones.

That is why, if you know how to fully recondition a battery, making money is as
easy as pie. You will not have any costs, because you get all raw materials for
free. Just start doing it.

Watch more about this business in the video:

How to make money on reconditioning almost any batteries

And remember: Ecology will “thank you” for that. Good luck!

What you can do right now:

 Bookmark this page in your social networks, so you can easily get back to it.

 Read our detailed instructions on reconditioning almost any batteries.

 Create your own expert kit to service car batteries.

 At least, take the power bank for a car with you, so you won’t get stuck on the
road.