[AT] Batteries charged backwards.

[Henry Miller]

It just occurred to me to ask,what would be the harm if you removed the current marking and painted opposite ones on? Is it any worse for the battery? Will the terminals be in the wrong spot for the cables to reach? Something else I can't think of?


I'm no battery expert, but I can't think of anything else wrong with that plan and it avoids another deep discharge.

-- 
  Henry Miller
  hank at millerfarm.com

On Wed, Feb 12, 2020, at 8:43 AM, Cecil Bearden wrote:
> I have tried rinsing out batteries and replacing the electrolyte and 
> recharging.  Most of the time I have found it is not worth the price of 
> replacement clothes that look like swiss cheese after they are washed...
> Completely discharging the battery is the most difficult problem at this 
> time...  I would have thought that direct connection of a 12V headlight 
> bulb would have run it down...
> Cecil
> 
> On 2/12/2020 8:00 AM, szabelski at wildblue.net wrote:
> > Cecil,
> >
> > I agree with completely discharging the batteries and then putting the batteries in parallel one at a time with a good 12V battery. The batteries will try to equalize when in parallel.  When you drain the battery, take the load off and let the battery sit for a while, then put the load back on and drain some more.
> >
> > You should use a battery charger that has a trickle charge feature. This puts a full charge into the battery at first, then drops down to a small charge to top the battery off. You may have to do this several times and should leave the charger on for at least one full day. Don’t rush the job.
> >
> > You can also check that each cell is good by taking a reading between each cell. A bad cell will indicate a lower charge then the others. Do this with every recharge attempt and note if you’re making any progress.
> >
> > Don’t know if you’ve ever gone on-line to look for videos on bringing dead batteries back to life, but their are some that show how to drain a battery, rinse it out, then refill and recharge. They appear to work out quite well, but I can’t swear by them since I’ve never done anything like this myself.
> >
> > Good luck!
> >
> > Carl
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Thomas Martin <tmartin at xtra.co.nz>
> > To: Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> > Sent: Wed, 12 Feb 2020 00:24:36 -0500 (EST)
> > Subject: Re: [AT] Batteries charged backwards.
> >
> > Hi Cecil
> > I  consulted a very good friend on the other-side of the isle.
> > Tony is auto-electrician, of vast car, truck & tractor experience.
> > He says you MUST discharge the batteries, separately with a bulb.
> > They need to completely discharged. No measurable voltage.
> > Then one battery at a time needs to be placed in parallel with another
> > fully charged 12v battery, they then need to be connected to a 12v
> > charger...
> >
> > Tom
> >
> >> On 12 February 2020 at 15:31 Cecil Bearden <crbearden at copper.net> wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>> I had 2 group 31 batteries out of the tractor that were completely
> >>> dead.  I hooked them up in series and connected my 24Vcharger to them
> >>> as It was handy and I wanted to charge both.  After a couple of days I
> >>> checked them and found that I had hooked the charger backwards.  I
> >>> hooked a couple of incandescent headlights to drain the battery, but
> >>> after 3 days they won't light up the headlights, but they still have a
> >>> lot of spark when shorted with cables..  A guy at my battery shop said
> >>> I should hook up a 6volt light to them and use that to run them
> >>> down....  At $100/ea, I need to try to save these...
> >>> Cecil
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