April 27, 2017

Like any product, acidic lead battery has its own expiration date and correct operation will last quite a long time. Failed car power supplies are replaced with new ones, but in some cases repairs are possible, after which the battery will last for some time. You should know that a reconditioned car battery will last for some time, but by and large you should prepare yourself to purchase a new one.

To better understand the information discussed below, we invite the reader to familiarize himself with the device car battery. It is clearly depicted in this diagram:

The main causes of car battery failure

The most common malfunction of car batteries is. At the same time, the battery capacity drops noticeably, and as a result, the device does not have enough power to turn the starter.

Sulfation of plates can be determined by the following signs:

• Reduced capacity;
• Electrolyte boiling;
• Overheating of the plates;
• Increased voltage on the electrodes.

Next common reason malfunction battery – destruction and shedding of coal plates. This malfunction can be determined by the dark color of the electrolyte. Restoring the car battery in this case is possible, although not always.

The third most common malfunction is related to by connecting lead plates in one of the battery sections. It is quite easy to identify this failure. When charging, the faulty section will heat up excessively, and the electrolyte will boil away. It is possible to restore the battery in this case, although it is somewhat more difficult than in the first case. The solution to the problem is to replace the lead plates in the section, which is quite expensive, although cheaper than buying a new battery.

The fourth reason for battery malfunction is related with improper operation and storage of the battery. It is known that a battery that is not fully charged when sub-zero temperature may freeze. As a result of freezing, the lead plates and the casing of the device may be damaged. This can lead to short circuits in the device body and boiling of the electrolyte. In this case, unfortunately, it will not be possible to restore the battery.

DIY car battery restoration

Having found out the reasons, you can move on to considering ways to restore the battery.

ELIMINATING SULFATION

Sulfation of the plates leads to the fact that a charged battery does not produce full power, and the discharge occurs very quickly. To carry out battery restoration work you will need:

• Charger;
• Electrolyte;
• Distilled water;
• Safety glasses and gloves;
• Desulfating additive;
• "Ariometer".

The battery is fully charged, after which the electrolyte is drained and washed. Poured into jars new electrolyte and an appropriate desulphating agent is added.

The rules for its use should be studied before starting work. The electrolyte with the additive should be completely filled to the level recommended by the manufacturer. The battery must sit for two days, during which time the additive should remove deposits on the plates.

CAPACITY RESTORATION
Once the deposits have been removed, the capacity of the power supply must be properly restored. To do this, charging should be carried out with low currents, not higher than 0.1A. The battery is fully charged, the density is checked and, if necessary, leveled to the required values. Next, we discharge the battery to a voltage of 10.5 volts, while the voltage in each bank should not be lower than 1.7 volts.

You can determine the battery capacity by calculating the battery discharge time. To do this, you need to multiply the charge current by time. If the battery capacity is below nominal, charge-discharge cycles should be carried out until the car battery is completely restored.

Charging the battery You can use series-connected batteries as a load. car lamps. After this, the battery is fully charged, and the charging current should not exceed half of the normal charging values. The power of the lamps and the discharge time to the specified values ​​should be determined. Using a simple formula, the battery capacity is calculated and in case of insufficient capacity of the power source, the “discharge-charge” cycle should be carried out until acceptable values ​​of the battery capacity are achieved. After completing the work, you can add a small amount of additive to the electrolyte, tighten the plugs and use the reconditioned battery.

DEEP SULFATION
There are still ways to restore a car battery that is almost completely sulfated. However, these methods are quite dangerous and will require special premises for work

REVERSE CURRENT RESTORATION
To perform a restore using this method, you will need a power source. increased power. For example, it would be suitable for this welding transformer(not to be confused with an inverter). This source must have an output voltage of at least 20 volts and a current of more than 80 amperes. It should be taken into account that the battery should not have a short circuit of the plates, in this case the consequences may be unpredictable. Restoration is carried out with reverse current, for which we connect the plus of the transformer to the minus of the battery, and the minus to the positive terminal of the battery.

Charging the battery The plugs of the recoverable power source must be turned out and the electrolyte level must be normal. The charger is turned on for 30 minutes, with abundant gas formation and abundant heat generation; electrolyte may even splash out of the necks of the cans. Therefore, safety measures must be strictly observed. At the end of reverse current charging, drain the electrolyte, rinse with distilled water and add a new solution of sulfuric acid of the required density.

Next, charging is carried out with a conventional charger of the correct polarity, minus to minus, plus to plus. After the charging is complete, you can carry out several control and training cycles. It should be remembered that these works do not guarantee restoration and may lead to permanent failure of the battery.

This method, like the previous one, should be carried out on a battery, which, in case of failure, would not be a pity to dispose of. The battery is charged as much as possible, the electrolyte is drained and washed with distilled water. A solution of sodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid is poured into the empty container. To prepare it, it is better to use a chemical laboratory.
The time required to desulfate the battery ranges from 40 to 60 minutes, during which time a lot of gas is released and the container heats up. At the end of gas evolution, the solution is drained, washed 2-3 times with distilled water, a new electrolyte is added and the battery is charged. If you are lucky, the reconditioned battery will last for some time.

CORRECT OPERATION OF A CAR BATTERY
And so that you don’t have to wonder about how to restore a car battery, it’s worth adopting a few useful tips about caring for this device.

• Check the electrolyte level and density once every two to three months;
• In severe frosts, it is worth raising the electrolyte density to 1.40 g/cc.
• The battery must be charged with a current ten times less than its capacity. For example, if the battery capacity is 60 A/h, charging should be performed with a current of 5 amperes;
• If the air temperature is below –25’ C, you should not leave the car overnight. open parking lot. At this temperature, the electrolyte in the battery may freeze, which will lead to battery failure.

Subject to these simple tips, you will be able to significantly extend the life of your battery and will not have to wonder how to restore your car battery.

The rechargeable battery is one of the most important attributes technical equipment modern motor vehicle, without which its operation is practically impossible. That is why this device requires increased attention to its maintenance and maintenance, and in the absence of such, it quickly fails. This is explained by complex chemical reactions, flowing in its internal elements, which represent a rather complex structure (see figure).

Despite these difficulties, experienced car enthusiasts manage to deal with all these accumulations of parts and even learn how to revive a previously uncharged and seemingly “ruined” product. In this regard, I would like to familiarize all interested users with the accumulated experience that allows restoring the battery at home.

Before you restore or “bring back to life” the battery, you need to know that there are several ways to resuscitate it, the main of which are:

• Artificial restoration of the battery with low charging currents;
• Resuscitation by full shift electrolyte in its banks;
• Reverse battery charging;
• Charging in specially prepared distilled water.

Features of low current charging

Restoring a battery at home can be organized using the well-known technology of repeatedly recharging it with small currents. The procedure for carrying out such procedures involves the use of a mode in which recharging is carried out gradually (with short breaks). In this case, the battery is not restored immediately, but after several such charging cycles are completed.

During the entire period of resuscitation, it is necessary to carefully monitor the density of the electrolyte and the voltage in each of its cans. IN various containers The instrument readings should not differ very much from one another.

Additional Information. To control the electrolyte density, you should use a special measuring instrument called a hydrometer.

The battery is charged through several sequential approaches, which makes it possible to equalize the potentials in individual banks to a standardized value and, as a result, provide a full supply voltage of 12 Volts. To implement such a regime, you will need household electronic device, capable of delivering currents whose magnitude is an order of magnitude less than during conventional charging.

In addition, the use of such an intermittent mode makes it possible to more evenly distribute the electrolyte density in the space between its internal elements(electrodes). To achieve the required indicators, these cyclic procedures should be repeated at least 8 times. Experts advise using charging currents that are approximately ten times less than the capacity of a working battery.

Electrolyte replacement

Users often wonder whether it is possible to restore the battery by complete replacement in him working mixture(electrolyte). It turns out that this approach has been used in practice for a long time, moreover, it has established itself as one of the most effective methods for restoring a battery.

To implement it, you will need to perform the following operations:

• First, you need to completely drain the old electrolyte from the battery system cans and rinse the emptied containers with warm running water;
• At the same time, you need to prepare three tablespoons of baking soda and dilute them in 100 milliliters of distilled water;
• The solution prepared in this way should be boiled well and poured into thoroughly dried containers (see figure below);

• After this, it is necessary for the battery to stand quietly for 20-30 minutes, after which the liquid is drained, and this procedure is repeated again at least three times;
• Upon completion of the entire cycle of operations, the containers are thoroughly washed hot water.

Note! This method can be used to revive most known types of modern battery products.

After the final rinsing of the cans, new electrolyte should be poured into them and the battery should be pre-charged, which can last about a day. After this it will be necessary to carry out more whole line charging carried out in a cyclic mode (6 hours a day for 10 calendar days).

The charger used in this case must provide an output voltage of 14 Volts and a load current of at least 10 Amperes.

Reverse charging

In order to return to operation very old battery, you can use the so-called “reverse charging” method. To implement it at home you will need a powerful source direct current, similar to a welding unit, for example. The latter must provide an output voltage of at least 20 Volts at charging current up to 80 Amperes.

Before charging with reverse current, be sure to unscrew the battery plugs, as shown in the figure below.

Immediately after this, you need to connect the plus of the charger to the negative terminal of the battery being restored, and the negative terminal of the device is connected to its positive contact. With proper reverse current charging, which should not exceed 30 minutes in duration, it is possible to extend the battery life by 2-3 years.

Important! During the process of reverse charging, the battery may begin to “boil”, which should not be particularly alarming. This boiling is provided for by the recovery technology itself.

Upon completion of the process (after about 30 minutes), the electrolyte from the cans should be drained and their insides should be rinsed with warm water. Only after this can the battery be filled with fresh mixture and placed on direct charging from a home charger. In this case, the operating current should not be more than 15 Amperes, and the charging time is chosen to be 24 hours.

Charge recovery in distilled water

If you could not finally decide how to restore the battery, and also did not choose the most suitable way resuscitation, we suggest considering another simple option. Using this technique, you can bring an old battery back to life very quickly (this will take about an hour).

The order of operations in this case is as follows:

• A completely discharged battery should first be charged somehow (if possible);
• Then you need to completely drain the electrolyte from it, first unscrewing all the plugs on the top panel;
• After this, all the insides of the cans should be washed with hot water and, after drying, a special solution prepared on the basis of ammonia trilon should be poured into them;

Additional Information. This mixture desulfates the plates, which takes about an hour.

• When the release of gas bubbles in the electrolyte begins, accompanied by small splashes, this will mean that the process is coming to an end. The complete completion of desulfation can be determined by the cessation of bubbling.

At the end of these procedures, the jars are washed again with clean water or distillate (this should be done several times), after which an electrolyte of a given density is poured into them. The battery is charged again to the desired condition, after which it is considered that it has been restored. All that remains is to make sure that the voltage between its terminals corresponds to the norm (see figure).

Owners of cars with problem batteries experience difficulty starting the engine. After all, only a serviceable battery produces the required current. After reading the article, you will find out what kind of battery malfunctions there are, whether they can be repaired, and learn how to restore the functionality of this device.

When the battery needs repair

The first sign that something is wrong with the battery is difficulty starting the engine. A serviceable and fully charged battery spins easily crankshaft motor at temperatures from +50 to -30 degrees. If this happens to you, measure the voltage at the battery terminals.

With the ignition off voltage must exceed 13 Volts, and during starter operation do not fall below 11 Volts. If the voltage is ok, then the problem is not with the battery. If the voltage does not correspond to the above, this device must be checked.

How to check the battery - is it possible to restore it?

First of all, remove the battery from the car and wipe it with a clean cloth. Place it on the table and examine it carefully. There may be a crack in one of the walls of the housing through which electrolyte has leaked. Be sure to inspect the bottom of the battery (tilt it slightly to do this). If there are no cracks anywhere, remove the plastic strip that covers the filler holes. Look into them - the electrolyte level should be 1-2 below the battery cover.

If the electrolyte is lower, it may not be doing its job, causing the charging voltage to be higher than necessary. As a result, the electrolyte boils and steam escapes through the breathers (small holes about a millimeter in diameter) of the filler plugs.

Buy a device called a hydrometer from your local auto parts store. Without it, you will not be able to assess the condition of the battery. The density should be in the range of 1.22-1.3 g/cm3. If the density is lower, the battery needs to be charged. If the density falls within these values, more serious diagnostics are needed. It is also necessary to top up with distilled water to restore the electrolyte level.

Video - How to properly increase the electrolyte density

Car battery restoration

After making sure that the battery density is in order, prepare a plastic basin into which you will drain the electrolyte. Perform this operation wearing rubber gloves, safety glasses and a respirator, because sulfuric acid not only leaves chemical burns, but also releases toxic substances. There are two ways to drain the electrolyte - by tilting (and then inverting) the battery and using a rubber bulb, which can be purchased at some stores that sell auto parts or medical supplies. The first method is faster, the second is safer.

Pour off or remove 2/3 of the electrolyte using a bulb. Wipe the battery with a clean cloth to remove any remaining acid, then tighten the plugs. After this, lift the battery above the table and swing it strongly left and right. This is necessary to lift sediment from the bottom, because it is from this that you can determine the condition of the plates. Immediately after this, carefully pour the remaining electrolyte into the basin. If the electrolyte is clean and does not contain any solid fragments, then the plates are fine.

If there is a lot of fine sand or opaque suspension in the electrolyte, then the plates are slightly worn out, but are quite functional. If there are solid pieces larger than 1x1 millimeter in the electrolyte, the plates are partially destroyed. Try to determine from which holes the contaminated electrolyte spilled. If from one, then it makes sense to restore the battery. If there are two or more, then it will be cheaper.

Battery repair

Having determined from which hole the electrolyte with large fragments of plates spilled out, wipe the battery with a clean rag to remove any remaining acid. To restore functionality you will need:

First of all, it is necessary to determine the boundaries of the damaged can. Carefully inspect the battery cover where the terminals and filler holes are located. In most cases, it shows transverse partitions that separate the battery banks. Having determined where the walls are located, step back 1 mm from them inside the jar and draw a line.

Using a hacksaw or grinder, cut the battery cover along these lines. This will allow you to see the boundaries of the side walls. Having identified them, step back 1 mm, draw lines and use a cutting blade for a hacksaw or grinder to cut through the battery cover.

Content

During the use of a mobile device, the battery will definitely consume its resource and “grow old”. This manifests itself in a rapid decrease in charge and slow charging. Sometimes the device simply does not turn on after turning off and does not respond to button presses. This is a characteristic and common phenomenon for lithium batteries that are used in this moment in all smartphones. Can be purchased new source charge, but if you want to save money, there are options for self-reanimation of the battery.

How does a telephone battery work?

Most gadgets have a battery function. There are several types of batteries for phones:

• Ni-Cd – nickel-cadmium;
• Ni-Mh – nickel metal hydride;
• Li-Ion – lithium-ion.

NiCd batteries have the largest charge capacity; they are easy to manufacture, store and operate. Often used to power medical equipment, radios, high-power instruments and professional video cameras. NiMh batteries generate more heat during charging, requires use complex algorithm to determine the full charge. For this reason, most of these batteries have an internal temperature sensor. NiMh takes a long time to charge (it takes twice as long to replenish the NiCd charge), but their capacity is much greater.

Li-Ion batteries, when recalculated per kilogram of weight, are 2 times higher than NiCd. For this reason lithium ion batteries are now used in all phones, laptops, where time is important except battery life also the weight of the product. The design of the battery itself is very simple: two graphite sheets of lithium and cobalt oxide, which are lubricated with electrolyte and rolled into a roll.

Why is the battery draining?

After a year or a year and a half, smartphone owners begin to notice a decrease in the performance of the device; the charge quickly runs out. This can happen for several reasons, some of them can be solved programmatically (disabling unnecessary functions, wi-fi, cleaning viruses), while others can only be technically corrected by restoring the battery capacity. The following factors are popular reasons why the battery drains.

The vast majority of smartphones run on operating system Android, which is prone to crashes due to its complexity and open source code, OS optimization is at a low level. Several dozen programs run automatically in the background; even in standby mode (with the screen off), they continue to “eat up” the charge and lead to a rapid decrease in battery capacity. Many of these background programs are not needed by the average user and should be disabled.

• Viruses

The Android system is free, which is why it has become so popular, hackers could not ignore this and began to create malicious programs for it. The activity of such viruses leads to rapid decline phone battery charge. In addition, the performance of smartphones drops even with strong processors. The following signs (except for antiviruses) will help determine the presence of “pests”: the appearance of advertisements in the wrong places, an increase in the temperature of the gadget’s body, and system slowdown.

• Defective battery

Battery failure leads to rapid loss of energy. This occurs more often with prolonged use, usually after two years. This is an inevitable process of consuming equipment resources. Sometimes a decrease in the nominal capacity of a battery occurs due to contamination of the anode and cathode. This leads to a slowdown in physical and chemical processes that affect the battery’s ability to release the accumulated charge. Using some methods, you can achieve the original battery value.

Battery capacity and expiration date

Recovery processes with constant use of the device will not be able to return one hundred percent to the same amount of voltage. Over time, the battery's power decreases, it wears out and becomes unusable. Li-Ion batteries have a shelf life of 2 years from the date of manufacture. During this period of time, from 20% to 35% of their power is lost. Restoring an old battery is not an easy task, so pay attention to the manufacturing date of the phone.

How to check your phone battery

For the test, you need a device called a voltmeter, which helps measure the voltage of the equipment. It is recommended to first visual inspection battery If the battery was in operation for a long time, then its structure could be subject to deformation, for example, swell. If liquid gets on the contacts, it will oxidize. These factors affect the battery capacity and reduce the specific value. To check the battery you need:

• remove the battery from the device;
• attach the positive contact of the voltmeter to the positive pole;
• do the same with the negative;
• in the settings, set the nominal value of the measured voltage.

The voltage that you received during the measurement will display the state of charge of the battery. To evaluate the indicator, you can use the following values:

• less than 1 V – the battery needs to be charged;
• about 2 V – the battery is charged, the capacity is average;
• 3.6-3.7 V – fully charged battery with high capacity.

Restoring your phone battery

If you wish, you can try to restore the “life” of the battery using some methods. Restoring a smartphone battery is a temporary measure; the device’s lifespan is not endless, so at some point the battery will still have to be replaced. Below are methods for increasing battery capacity that you can do yourself at home. Some will require additional tools and the ability to work with their hands. If you are new to this area, it is better not to restore it, but to buy a new battery.

Using a special charger

Restore Li-Ion battery You can use a multimeter and Imax V6. The latter device is easy to buy, it is well suited if you need to resuscitate the battery at home. First, we check the battery itself using a multimeter. Connect it, setting it to voltage measurement mode. If there is a deep discharge, the multimeter will show this in minimum value U in millivolts.

Sometimes the controller does not allow you to measure the actual amount of voltage. There are two terminals - plus and minus, which go directly from the battery to the controller. The voltage at the terminals is usually 2.6 V, but for lithium batteries this is not enough, to get the real voltage you need to charge the battery to 3.2 V. Then the multimeter will begin to reflect the real voltage. It is necessary to ground the negative wire, and connect the red wire to power, set high current not necessary.

Imax is convenient because it supports several modes that differ for different types Phone battery. Activate the appropriate mode (lithium-polymer or lithium-ion), set the voltage to 3.7 V, and the charge to 1 A. The voltage will begin to rise, indicating successful restoration of capacity. The indicator should reach 3.2 Volts and the battery will “sway”. Then you can insert it back into your tablet, phone, or fully charge it using your own device.

Restoring phone battery capacity from another battery

You will need any other 9 Volt battery, electrical tape, and a thin simple wire. This DIY phone battery restoration will be of interest to all electronics lovers. You can restore capacity using the following algorithm:

1. Connect the wires to the contacts of the battery that needs to be restored. Each pole needs its own.
2. You cannot connect plus and minus with the same wire, this will lead to a short circuit and you will no longer be able to restore the battery.
3. Secure the contacts with electrical tape, marking them with a + and - marker.
4. Connect the positive terminal to the “+” on the 9-volt battery, and the negative terminal in the same way.
5. On this side, also secure the contacts with electrical tape.
6. After some time, the battery should start to heat up.
7. When the battery becomes noticeably warm, you need to disconnect it from the “donor” and put it in the phone to check its operation.
8. After turning it on, immediately check the charge level and charge your mobile phone in standard mode.

Using a resistor and a “native” charger

This method is simple, you do not need any special devices or devices, you will only need your original charger. Phone battery repair will require the following:

• a resistor device with a minimum rating of 330 Ohms, a maximum of 1 kOhm;
• power source 5-12 V (phone charger is suitable).

To restore the battery you need to do the following: simple diagram connections: minus from the adapter to the minus of the battery, plus is output through a resistor to the plus. Then you need to apply power and the voltage on the battery will begin to increase. You should bring it up to 3 V, this will take 10 to 15 minutes. Then you can use the battery as usual.

Recovering your phone battery using a fan

You will definitely need a power supply with an output voltage of at least 12 V. Connect the corresponding one from the device to the negative connector of the fan, also connect the negative one and manually fix the wires on the battery. Connect the power supply to the outlet, the fan should start spinning, which indicates that current is being supplied. You should not hold the charge for a long time; 30 seconds are enough to reach the required U value. This will help “revive” the battery and charge it without problems from a regular outlet.

Battery resuscitation with cold

This option on how to restore a phone battery rarely works, but you can try because there is no risk of ruining it. It is necessary to place the battery in a plastic bag (foil or paper are not suitable) to prevent water from getting into the phone. To revive your phone battery, you need to put it in the refrigerator (freezer) for 12 hours. After cooling, let it warm up in the room, remember to wipe it dry. By freezing it is possible to restore a little capacity so that you can charge it through a regular outlet.

How to restore a lithium battery after a deep discharge

If the device is not used for a long time, a deep discharge may occur. The voltage drops to unacceptable levels, the device is completely turned off by the controller and it cannot be charged from the outlet. In this case, the battery can only be restored by unsoldering the protection system. Then power is carried out using a special device, for example, Turnigy Accucell 6. The device itself will monitor the battery recovery processes.

Using the “Type” button you can select the charge program. Click on the “Start” button, then for Li-ion – 3.5 V, for Li-pol – 3.7 V. The current should be set to 10% of the rated capacity of the battery. To do this, press the “+” and “-” buttons. When the value reaches 4.2V, the mode will change to “voltage stabilization”. The device will emit an audio signal when charging is complete, and the message “Full” will appear on the screen.

When the battery is swollen

When the battery degrades, physical deformation may begin. The swelling makes the device unusable, but you can try to repair it. You need to find a kind of cap on the battery, which is located under the sensor board. Next you will need a needle or nail. Pierce this cap; this must be done carefully, separating the upper part with the sensor board and contacts from the battery case. Wait until all the accumulated gas comes out of the housing, then replace the metal plate. To do this you need:

• place the battery on a flat surface;
• place a plate on top;
• it is easy to squeeze its body;
• when it is level, solder the sensor board back;
• Cover the puncture site with waterproof glue.

Fully charging and discharging your phone battery

This is the simplest, but ineffective way to restore battery capacity. You need to “drive” the battery several times until it is completely discharged, and then completely restore it. For this:

• download a resource-intensive utility (AnTuTu) or game and turn off the phone completely (until it turns off);
• connect the power and wait for 100% charging;
• repeat the previous steps 3-4 times.

Video

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The service life of a car battery is limited. When it fails, many people simply buy a new one. But almost every battery can be restored so that it can still serve.

1 Battery malfunctions - symptoms of the disease

A closed plastic container contains positive and negative plates. A solution of hydrochloric acid, called an electrolyte, is poured inside, forming a lead plates galvanic couple. The terminals are supplied with current from the charger or generator. When enough of it accumulates, the car battery becomes a source of electricity. It is spent on starting the engine, operating instruments and lighting.

The generator replenishes energy losses, but over time various reasons the accumulated reserve is not enough for normal engine starting. With proper use, there is a time factor: the plates age. Under certain conditions, you can restore the battery by breathing into it new life. There are several methods of resuscitation. To choose the most suitable one, we first determine the reason for the inoperability.

The most common cause of death is sulfation of lead electrodes. The discharge is accompanied by the formation of plaque on the plates. If critical discharges are not allowed, the crystals will dissolve during charging. But the reasons for sulfation are not only deep discharges. It is also caused by other circumstances: constant undercharging, long-term storage in a discharged state.

Sulfation is quite easy to determine visually. We unscrew the plugs and inspect the plates. A light white-brown coating indicates the presence of a process. Other signs, including for maintenance-free acid batteries:

• when charging it begins to boil very quickly;
• a fully charged battery does not turn the engine, it runs out in a few minutes from a regular light bulb;
• white coating on the body.

The second common malfunction is broken plates and their shedding. It is easily identified by the black color of battery acid. If a lot of gratings have fallen off, it is unlikely that such a voltage source will be revived.

Adjacent plates may short out. This occurs as a result of their deformation or shedding and the sludge formed at the bottom. A short circuit usually occurs in one of the sections. A clear sign Short circuit - when charging in that jar, the electrolyte does not boil or boils later, and the voltage indicator does not increase or increases very weakly.

Finally, acid electrolyte may freeze. This happens when a heavily discharged battery is stored in the cold. The ability to recover depends on the degree of frost damage. If the formed ice tore the plastic case, then the plates were probably warped and shorted, and after defrosting they will begin to crumble. If the body is intact, defrost it in a warm place and you can try to restore it.

We start any repair with cleaning. We remove dirt from the surface, rinse with a soda solution to neutralize the electrolyte, which is almost always present on the lid. Using fine sandpaper, clean the terminals from plaque. By the way, try how a car battery works with cleaned terminals. Often their oxidized surface does not allow them to charge normally and release electricity.

2 Simple desulfation - use a regular charger

If the battery is sulfated and the plates have not crumbled (the electrolyte is clean), then it can be restored using a simple charger. We need to break up the plaque on the plates. Serious literature recommends pulse charging, alternation with discharge, strict adherence to regimens. Doing this manually is quite difficult, and special charging device expensive.

In practice, everything can be done much simpler. We use the simplest memory with minor modifications. We discard the smoothing filters at the output of the step-down transformer. Instead, we install a diode rectifier. Each of the four diodes is rated for 10 A.

You will need a hydrometer to monitor the density of the electrolyte. We check it in all banks, recording the indicators. If there are 1.20 or lower, it's time to act. We look at the level: if it is insufficient, add electrolyte of standard density so that it covers the plates by 1 cm. Connect the charger, set the current to 10% of the capacity. If we have a 60 Ah battery, then 6 A, or less: 3–5 A.

On a simple memory without fixing parameters, the ammeter will first show a slight increase in current, then it will decrease, and the needle will freeze in a certain position. We monitor the process from time to time so as not to miss the beginning of boiling. After it, we reduce the current to 2 A, continue charging until it starts to boil again, and another 2 hours after that.

After finishing, we measure the density: it does not increase much. We leave the battery disconnected from the charger for the same amount of time that it was charged. We measure again and observe a slight increase in density. If it has not yet returned to normal, repeat the cycle. It takes a day for one, usually recovery occurs after 3-4, sometimes you will have to repeat 5-6 times.

Never add acid to a sulfated battery: it will only speed up the process and can lead to the death of the unit.

3 The second method is cyclic charge-discharge

Automatic chargers such as "Cedar" and similar are available for sale. During charging, they automatically turn off at the right time. We carry out preliminary full charge up to maximum possible level. Then we turn it on in training mode for 3-5 days. In parallel with the charger, we attach the light bulb from the turning light and press the corresponding button. The process goes like this: about a minute charging in progress, then 10 seconds of discharge. After training, we charge it completely.

Several schemes have been developed homemade devices, which, like factory ones, produce a short pulse charging current and conduct a small discharge in the gaps. The figure shows a diagram according to which it is not difficult to create such a device if you have knowledge of radio engineering.

We connect it to the terminals and observe the LEDs. A green glow indicates readiness for use, while yellow and red indicate the need for desulfation. We do it like this:

• We connect the device for a while until it is completely discharged (LED D1 goes out);
• connect the charger and charge;
• repeat desulfation until diodes D7, D8 light up green.

The charge-discharge process may have to be repeated many times. In particularly advanced cases, it takes a week or more. The peculiarity of the device is that it consumes only 20 mA, it can be connected to on-board network. It will constantly maintain the desired state of the battery without affecting the operation of the generator.

If there is no pulse charger, but we cannot make it ourselves, we try to use manual mode. We take a simple charger with fixed settings. We set it to 14 V and 0.8 A, leave it for 8–10 hours. The voltmeter will show increased parameters. Be sure to leave it to sit for a day and charge it again, but with a current of 2 A. The voltage and density will increase slightly.

We start the desulfation process. Connecting the light bulb high beam. In 6–8 hours we observe a voltage drop to 9 V, we don’t allow it any more - this is what we need. You'll have to check it with a voltmeter. We repeat the cycles:

• night – charge with a current of 0.8 A;
• costs a day;
• night again - charging current 2 A.

Depending on the degree of neglect, the process takes up to two weeks. A completely discharged battery is restored to 80%, which is enough to start the engine.

4 Changing the electrolyte - bringing short-circuited batteries back to life

If the liquid in the jars has acquired an unknown color: cloudy, black, it will have to be replaced. This happens in very old batteries that have not been used for a long time and when short circuit. In general, if a short circuit occurs due to warping of the gratings, then it can only be resuscitated through physical intervention.

On old batteries this was done simply: each bank was separate. The short circuit was opened and new plates were installed. That's it individual elements enclosed in a common building, and such intervention is difficult, but possible. We'll tell you how to do this later, but now how to change the electrolyte.

We determine a short circuit by the black color, as already mentioned, and by charging. All banks begin to emit gas, but this does not happen with the short-circuited one. Next, drain the electrolyte, pulling it out with a pear. You can do it from one container, or better yet from all of them - filling it with fresh electrolyte won’t hurt. Next, fill in distilled water, slightly shake the body and carefully drain. Do not turn over so that the sludge does not get stuck between the plates. Repeat until the water becomes clear.

In a bank with a short circuit we resort to a more radical method. We drill a small hole 4–5 mm in the bottom of the case, drain the electrolyte and rinse with distilled water. All the sludge goes away, nothing remains. We seal the hole with plastic using a soldering iron. If the plates are not warped, then it will be enough to change the electrolyte.

The further process goes like this:

1. Fill in electrolyte with a density of 1.28. You can pre-dissolve it in it two days before special additive for desulfation. Let it sit for a day to let the air out.
2. We charge with a current of 0.1 A until the density is completely restored, making sure that there is no violent boiling and strong heating of the case. If necessary, turn off and let cool. We charge up to 14–15 V.
3. We look at the hydrometer readings, reduce the current and leave for 2 hours. If during this time the density has not changed, stop charging.
4. We discharge with a current of 0.5 A to 10 Volts. If the indicator drops to this mark earlier than 8 hours, we repeat the cycle. If not, just charge it to nominal values.

And now about replacing the plates in a non-separable battery with your own hands. We cut the plastic around it from above. We disconnect the jumpers going to neighboring banks in any way: solder them or cut them. We take out the bag and rinse it well in water to remove any remaining acid. Now we are looking for where it shorts. We inspect the plates and dielectric. Task: discover the particle that connects two plates.

We found it - okay, let's remove it. First you should rinse, removing all the dirt, and put the bag back in place. We restore the jumpers, glue the cover using glue, epoxy resin or melt it with a soldering iron. Fill with electrolyte and charge. If the plates are warped, you can use them from another old battery, choosing the least damaged package.

All work should be carried out with gloves and in a room with sufficient ventilation, and preferably in the air: sulfuric acid and gases can cause harm to health.

5 Polar reversal - the last chance in a hopeless situation

If there is a strong voltage drop in one of the six containers, the poles change their value when charging. A chain reaction is provoked, which leads to the same consequences in neighboring banks. The reasons for this situation are:

• excessive sulfation that cannot be restored;
• incorrect connection of the battery to the charger, which does not have reverse polarity protection;
• dirt on the body, causing constant self-discharge;
• the discharge is not controlled, a strong discharge has occurred repeatedly;
• errors in the operation of the generator and other power supply and consumption devices.

The polarity reversal technique is considered barbaric, but resuscitation is impossible by other means. If it ends in failure, there is nothing to regret; anyway, the battery had one way - recycling.

First, we select the electrolyte from all the cans with a hydrometer and look at the indicators. We identify fully working, sick and dead. As a rule, there are few deaths: one or two. By and large, you should only restore capacity from them. But the solid body does not allow for disassembly. You can use the technique described above to get to the faulty can.

We will tell you how to reverse the polarity of all containers at home, without resorting to disassembly:

1. First, we discharge the old battery to zero by connecting some load, for example a car light bulb. We measure the voltage: if something remains, we close the terminals.
2. We connect a ballast resistor to the negative terminal of the charger. A 50 kOhm resistor will do. It will protect the plates from short circuits.
3. We connect the wires from the charger in reverse polarity. Positive - to the "minus" of the battery, negative - to the "plus".
4. We charge with a current of 10% of the capacity. The charge is collected quite quickly, but the case gets very hot.
5. We lower the current to 2 A and continue charging. Let it simmer at low current for 2 hours and turn it off.

We check the density: in normal containers it decreases, in dead ones it increases. Next we carry out a strong discharge by closing the terminals. Connect to the charger, observing the correct polarity. We charge according to the above scheme. To restore, it is recommended to reverse the polarity twice.

You should not resort to polarity reversal when the following signs of malfunction are present:

• in banks there is black electrolyte;
• short circuit;
• insufficient level of density.

First, we apply repair methods for a specific case, and if it does not help, we apply polarity reversal.