Diagnosis of the car battery. Maintenance and repair of car batteries

One of the most common problems of Russian car owners in the winter is the car's battery. There can be many options, but a verdict is always one. The battery should be diagnosed and decided what can be done with it. There are already more options. The device can simply be changed to a new one, or you can return it to a usable state.

In this article, we will consider options for diagnosing batteries, how to return to life, and how to do it yourself. Also, let's take a look at general information about the device and operation of the battery and the types of their performance.

General information

To better determine the cause of the problem, knowledge of the battery device and the principles of its operation are useful. As part of any battery, there are 6 pairs of oppositely charged plates. So-called galvanic pairs can both accumulate electric charge, and give it away. When the car starts, the peak discharge of the battery required for the starter to operate is in progress. In sub-zero temperatures, the start-up process is the main test for the battery.

During the movement of the vehicle, the on-board network receives power from the generator, and all surpluses go to charge the battery. With all serviceable elements, the charge-discharge process works in the optimal mode. But with increased load, when the driving lights are switched on, the heater and windshield wipers are working, the generator supply may not be enough. In this case, the battery will be discharged. Diagnosis of the car battery in any case is necessary. About her options - a little later.

And how many amperes are there in the car battery? To characterize the battery is more important information about how many amperes / hours it will work. This figure ranges from 50 to 100. But specifically the amount of ampere produced by the battery will depend on the load resistance.

Design

The nominal voltage of the battery is known to be 12 volts. This corresponds to 2 volts for each of the 6 galvanic pairs connected in series. Between themselves, pairs of oppositely charged plates are separated by insulating partitions. The diagram of the car battery is shown in the figure below.

The battery itself is structurally made in the form of a parallelepiped, in which blocks of plates are placed, filled with electrolyte. The upper part is represented by a cover with the "plus" and "minus" contacts removed. Depending on the type of battery in the lid, there may be access to the possibility of adding distilled water or a corrective electrolyte.

For trucks with a supply voltage of an on-board network of 24 volts, two batteries of 12 volts each are provided. The starting current here is considerable and the capacity of the batteries is significantly different from that for cars. Hence the increased dimensions of the products. The selection of the battery by car requires knowledge of the required battery characteristics for a particular car.

Battery Diagnostic Options

Diagnosis of the car battery is possible in several ways. You can do something with your own hands, without even calling on the service. So, let's consider in more detail. Detection of battery failures can be broken down into several stages:

• Check the level of electrolyte in each block or, according to the national, "in the bank";
• Checking the density of electrolyte;
• Determination of the level of electric charge.

The third stage can be produced in various ways, or rather, using a variety of diagnostic equipment.

Checking the electrolyte level

The car battery check starts with checking the electrolyte level. This is done in a simple visual way. First, access to the inner part with plates opens. In different batteries this is realized in various ways. Most often in the top cover a special cap is removed, which can be common for all 6 "cans", or maybe separate. Visually, the electrolyte should completely cover the plates of the battery. To determine the exact level, you can use a simple glass tube. The tube is lowered into the battery, after which the upper hole is pressed with a finger, and it comes out. Here the level can be easily measured with a ruler.

Normal is the electrolyte column above the plates at 12-15 mm. If the liquid is less, it must be added. And if the electrolyte level is above 15 mm, this is also bad. Excess will need to be removed with a syringe or the same "diagnostic" glass rod. And what if there are maintenance-free batteries? Diagnostics of malfunctions in such cases is limited to testers.

Checking the electrolyte density

To check the density of the electrolyte use a hydrometer. This is a special device for determining the density. It is a glass flask with a pear from one end and a tip from the other. Inside there is a movable level. The electrolyte is measured in the following way. The tip of the hydrometer is immersed in the accumulator and with the help of a pear the electrolyte is collected in a flask. Depending on the density, the level of the hydrometer is located in a unique way. The normal density of the electrolyte varies from 1.24 to 1.29 g / cm ³ . Here, the maximum density corresponds to the winter period, and the minimum - to the summer.

Any diagnosis of the car battery begins with a visual inspection. The density of the electrolyte can also be assessed externally. If the color of the liquid is dusky or has red hues, then, most likely, the battery plates began to deteriorate - such a device is not subject to recovery. The electrolyte must be transparent.

Determining the battery charge level

You can determine the level of battery charging in several ways. Depending on the equipment used, the following checks are made:

• Using a multimeter;
• By means of a load fork;
• With the help of special equipment.

The simplest and most accessible of them is the use of a multimeter or voltmeter. Measurements must be made on the battery disconnected from the car and at least an hour after the car was muffled. This is important - for greater accuracy. The nominal voltage rating on a working battery is 12.5-13 volts. In this case, the upper value corresponds to the fully charged one, and the lower value corresponds to the half-discharged value.

To determine the voltage under load, the battery is again connected to the car and checked on the running car. At the same time, the voltage index should not be lower than 13.5 volts. The spread of measurements should lie within the limits of 13.5-14 volts. If the voltage on the voltmeter is less than 13.5, then it is worthwhile to think about the efficiency of the car generator.

Using the load fork

Diagnostics of the charge of the battery with the help of a load fork is quite simple, taking up a minimum of time. For greater accuracy, it is better to measure the battery when the battery is disconnected or removed from the car. First, the nominal voltage is measured, and then the load is given for 5 seconds. During this time, the voltage naturally decreases. A good indicator is a decrease in the parameter to 10 volts. If after 5 seconds under load the battery shows less than 10 volts, there is obvious malfunction.

A variety of diagnostic equipment

In addition to standard testers and load forks, for the battery there are a variety of devices for battery diagnostics. In addition to the functions of the multimeter, such devices measure the starting current for a cold engine, the capacity of each individual "can", the charging capacity of the battery and allow the entire engine start-up system to be diagnosed. Such diagnostic devices include a MICRO-768A tester. The product is convenient both in operation and in carrying in a compact case.

Reasons for battery failure

There are not so many reasons that a car's battery requires special handling or even replacement. How to make battery diagnostics quickly and efficiently? First, you need to identify external damage and internal problems. External factors include physical damage to the shell, as well as strong oxidation of external contacts. The first ones are treated with plastic patches or by a complete replacement of the product. Contacts are simply cleaned with fine emery paper, and then lubricated with contact grease.

Internal battery problems can also be of a different nature. Among the most famous problems:

• Sulfation of plates AKB;
• Closing of plates;
• Shedding of plates;
• Boiling of electrolyte;
• Drop in electrolyte density.

The last point in severe frosts can lead to complete failure of the entire product. This is due to the freezing of low-density electrolyte and damage to the "cans" of the battery due to the expansion of the freezing composition.

Methods of battery recovery

There are several options for helping with the recovery of the car battery. The simplest version is available to anyone who has an ordinary charger, this is several charge-discharge cycles. Important points in this case are as follows:

• Before charging, it is necessary to check the electrolyte level in the battery and, if there is a shortage, to add distilled water;
• Charging should start with a small current, approximately 1-2A;
• You can discharge the battery with an ordinary incandescent lamp, but you should not allow a discharge of less than 10.5A.

Good results are provided by special chargers with pulse mode and desulphation function. Diagnosis and recovery of batteries in this case is the simplest. Connected to the device, and after a certain time, took the finished result. Everything works in automatic mode. If this does not work, the option remains with replacing the battery. In doing so, do not forget about the selection of the battery by car.

The downside of this recovery is only one - the cost of an impulse charger. The market price of a good desulfator starts from 10 thousand rubles. That is, buying a new battery will be much cheaper.

Use of a special solution

It is much more difficult to "treat" the battery if the plates are closed. Diagnosis of the car battery, of course, could be wrong. However, if a short-circuit has occurred, in some cases a simple flushing assists. After all, it might have been possible to close the sludge at the bottom of the "banks". Washing of the battery is carried out with both distilled water and special solutions, such as solution Trilon B. By the way, it can also be used to desulphate the battery. This is done as follows:

• With the help of a spitz the electrolyte is pumped out;
• Trilon B is poured, so that the plates are completely covered by it;
• The battery is left for about an hour, with a fairly violent boiling reaction going on and all sulfates are dissolved;
• Using a syringe, everything merges and is washed several times with distilled water;
• After rinsing, the finished electrolyte is poured into the accumulator and charging is performed.

Among the drawbacks of such washing is the threat of destruction of the plates of old batteries. And when washing it is also easy to close the plates between pieces of lead. Accuracy in working with batteries should be very high.

For fans of experiments

For conventional serviced batteries, there are more extreme recovery methods. For example, to clean plates from sulphates, simple cleaning is done by removing each plate. This should be done very carefully due to the high fragility of the products. If the upper battery cover does not imply this approach, brute force and tools are used. The main thing is that after such a process of taking out the plates, all the holes obtained should be closed until the previous tightness is obtained.

If there is a black sediment in the "bank" of the battery or if pieces of lead are seen from the crumbling plate, it is better not to restore such a battery, but immediately replace it with a new one.

Prevention of malfunctions

Many problems that arise in the process of battery operation are solved at the stage of maintenance and prevention. Simply following several rules will prolong the operation of the battery and remove many future issues. First of all, it is regularly worth checking the level and density of the electrolyte. In case of shortage, you need to top up the distilled water, and in case of insufficient density, put the battery on charge. In severe frost, the density of the battery is better to maintain at 1.4 g / cm ³ . And if there is no confidence in good density, it is better to remove and put the battery in a warm room.