What should a charged battery read

If your battery tests return less-than-ideal results, contact Honda of Slidell for further investigation. If you need battery service in Slidell, Picayune, or St. Tammany Parish, schedule your appointment now! By submitting your information, you agree to the sharing of your information between Honda Motor America and its retailers. Look for this Save icon. Look for this link on your favorites: Save. Contact Us We would love to hear from you!

Please fill out this form and we will get in touch with you shortly. Email Phone. I understand I do not have to consent as a condition of purchase or to receive any services. Cracks, splits, and holes will not cause a battery to stop working, but for safety reasons the battery should be labeled unsafe to use.

With wet-cell flooded batteries, water levels must be maintained. If they are low, usually refilling them with distilled water will help. But, if the cells within the battery have been exposed to air for a long time, it can cause a problem. When the plates within each cell are exposed to oxygen it can rapidly dry the paste that surrounds the lead plates. When the paste has dried it creates a barrier that prevents the chemical reaction within the battery.

This can also cause the sulfation that has already occurred to harden leading to a sulfated battery which is the number one cause of early battery failure. We strongly recommend checking the water levels prior to charging a wet cell battery since charging a dry battery will burn it up.

If your battery has plenty of fluid in the cells, but the color is dark, or brownish, this is also an indication of a bad battery. Even if one cell is brown, it is rendered useless and therefore the entire battery is, too.

Time to replace your battery! The voltage of a battery is a good way to determine the state of charge. Here's a handy table with the breakdown:. Sulfation is the natural byproduct when the battery discharges. Naturally, re-charging the battery will reverse the sulfation crystals and turn it back into electrolyte, ready to produce power again. This covers the surface area of the plates, removing the chemicals needed to produce power. Sulfation decreases the potential to reach a full charge, and it self-discharges the battery quicker than normal.

Charging a sulfated battery is like trying to wash your hands while wearing gloves. At this point, charging alone will not restore the battery to a healthy condition. The majority of replacement battery purchases occur when the original battery has reached this point.

Your local automotive shop is more than able to load test your battery, but it's quite easy to do at home and all you need is a digital voltmeter. For any load test to be accurate, the battery must be fully charged and left to sit 12 hours before load testing the battery. A recently charged battery will hold a residual charge from the charger, so letting the battery sit for 12 hours will release that residual charge and give you a more accurate sense on how the battery will perform under normal circumstances.

To the test A healthy 12 volt battery should maintain a voltage range from 9. For starting batteries we don't expect you to run the starter for 30 seconds, so if you see the voltage meter drop within the voltage range and it sounded like a good strong start, then you probably just had a discharged battery.

However, if under the starting load the voltage drops below 9. For deep cycle application if the battery holds under load for a few seconds then voltage starts to steadily drop this would indicate a problem with the battery. If the voltage instantly drops to 0 volts, that is also a problem. We call this the open cell. On a new battery, this can be a result of manufacturing flaws, but it also may be caused by sulfate crystal buildup.

A common occurrence with open cell batteries is that under the intense heat of the load, one or more of the weld pieces connecting the cells together is coming loose and separating. This will cut the current, and voltage will drop. When the battery cools off, the pieces will touch, barely giving a complete connection.

This gives you a false voltage reading. Batteries with open cells may read fully charged in idle, but they fail under a load test every time. Once a battery reaches this point, there is no going back. The best thing to do is recycle the thing. How to tell if a battery is bad or good: These 3 steps will help you test and determine if your battery is truly bad or getting there.

Sometimes it's obvious if there is a failure, but other times it's not. Flooded batteries make it possible to simply look inside the cells and determine if the battery has a physical defect. But for sealed AGM and Gel batteries, it requires testing. The only tools you really need are a battery charger and a digital voltmeter. If your battery experiences any of the symptoms described in the steps above, then maybe it's time to replace the battery.

Look no further. We've got a wide selection of powersports batteries for your motorcycle , ATV , scooter , jet ski , or snowmobile. Whether you need a starting battery or a deep cycle battery, we have the stuff. And all of our replacement batteries come with warranties to ensure that you won't have any of these problems with your new battery. Find Your Battery. Almost everyday, we receive calls and comments about batteries that simply "won't hold a charge" any more.

Now, a battery isn't like a water bottle. Also, electricity doesn't "leak" like water can. What we're dealing with here is a plastic box that encases a delicate balance of chemicals which are ready to interact with each other to produce electricity when the load is applied. If your battery is having trouble producing electricity, chances are, it's a chemical issue. There are some sure ways you can tell if your battery is bad by simply taking a good look.

There are a few things to inspect, such as: a broken terminal, bulge or bump in the case, crack or rupture of the case, excessive leaking, and discoloration. Broken or loose terminals are dangerous, and can cause a short circuit. When a battery short circuits, all of the power is unloaded in an instant. That produces a lot of heat, and sometimes even causes the battery to explode no joke.

Physical openings in the case are caused by mishandling. Cracks, splits, and holes will not prevent a battery from working properly, but for safety reasons the battery should be labeled unsafe to use.

With wet-cel flooded batteries, water levels have to be maintained. If they are low, usually re-filling them with distilled water will help.

But if the battery has been dry for a long time, it would have rapidly caused sulfation to build on the plates in the cells. Sulfation is the number 1 cause of early battery failure. Plus, charging a dry battery will burn it up.

Time to replace! If your battery is reading 0 volts, chances are the battery experienced a short circuit. If the battery cannot reach higher than If the battery is fully charged according to the battery charger but the voltage is Sulfation is the natural byproduct when the battery discharged.

Naturally, charging the battery back up will reverse the sulfation crystals and turn it back into electrolyte, ready to produce power again. But if a battery has sat, uncharged, and drained for extended periods of time, the sulfation will increase and harden onto the plates. This covers the surface area available for power. It decreases the potential to fully charge, and it self-discharges the battery quicker.

It's not very effective. If your battery cannot even reach a full charge, consider it bad. Mechanic and automotive shops are more than able to load test your battery for you. But It's quite easy to do at home. All you need is a digital voltmeter. For any load test to be accurate, the battery must be at fully charge.

For our example, let's test a motorcycle battery. Expose the battery in your bike so that you have access to the terminals. Do not disconnect the battery because you will attempt to start the bike. Hold the prongs of your voltmeter to the correct terminals on the battery. Now, push the starter button, and watch what the voltage drops to.

It doesn't matter if the bike starts or not, what you're looking for is a voltage reading. A healthy 12 volt motorcycle battery should maintain a range from 9. If the battery begins to hold and then steadily declines, there is a problem.

If the voltage drops to 0 volts, there is a problem. We call this, the open cell. This is typically a result of poor manufacturing at the factory, but it can be caused by sulfate crystal buildup as well. Under the intense heat of the load, one or more of the weld pieces connecting the cells is coming loose and separating.

This gives you a false indication of a true voltage reading. Batteries with open cells may read fully charged in idle, but they fail under a load test. These 3 steps will help you determine if your battery is bad or not. When the battery is fully charged and in the idle state, that is the best time to get a voltage reading if you want to see its actual state of charge. However, you have to keep in mind that forgetting the rest voltage.

The battery should also be rested for at least four hours. This is to give it enough time to cool down, allowing the accumulated surface charge to dissipate within its electrolyte gradually. Suppose you are going to take a closer look based on open-cell and load voltage. The confusions with regards to the state of charge of a battery and its voltage are due to these fluctuations in voltage.

It also suggests that the state of charge of a cell can be reflected on its rest or open-cell voltage because it is the state of the battery with no loads, and the surface charge has dissipated. The state of charge also reflects how much capacity the battery has within it, giving users an idea when the battery needs to be recharged. There are several ways to determine the state of charge of a battery, and each of these methods uses distinct devices or tools. For a flooded lead-acid power cell, the most accurate way of determining its state of charge is by carrying out a specific gravity test.

However, for other types like AGM, gel, and sealed lead-acid batteries, the test is not applicable. That is why voltage is used to determine the state of charge for these kinds of batteries. However, you have to keep in mind that due to the fluctuations, voltage is not considered to be a fundamental basis for the state of charge. With that said, it is best to use the battery voltage change as a reference for the changing condition of the battery, which can be considered its relative charge state.