On Fri, 17 Feb 2006 11:41:05 -0600, wrote:

On Fri, 17 Feb 2006 15:48:34 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:


wrote in message
. ..
You can buy a battery tester at Walmart or an auto parts store for
about $5 or less. You suck up some of the liquid and they little
balls float to tell you the condition.

Except that most barreries are seal today.

I have never yet gotten one thats sealed. Some say they are, but the
caps still come off. They just make them so they are not as easy to
get off.

They make them like that so they will look like "maintenance-free"
batteries. Back when everyone wanted Maintenance Free. ONce you
find the right point to pry, there as easy to get off as any 3-cell
cap.

I have noticed less of that in the last few years too. That
was a stupid idea to start with. Just like oilless motors, another
stupid idea.

A lot of oilless motors have oil impregnated bearings. When the
bearing heats up a little, oil emerges from it, and iiuc is
sufficient. When the motor stops, the oil soaks back into the bearing.

AIUI, that's a very good idea.

Or for a more reliable test,
just take the battery to some place that sells batteries and have them
test it for you. Usually free, but be sure to WATCH THEM or they may
just try to sell you a new batt. You could have a bad alternator too,
and that can also be tested at a place like that. Autozone does all
that testing if you have one nearby.

Be sure the belt is tight also. I've seen people replace batteries and
alternators when all they needed was to have the belt tensioned properly.

Very good point.

Yes, a good point.
To the OP, if your car has a amp gauge or volt gauge, be sure its
showing on the PLUS side (charging) If its says volts, it should read
around 13 to 14 when the car is running. If you got a light, you cant

He could use a regular external meter also. Try it at various engine
speeds, although it should be just about the same at all of them.

tell much unless it lights. (Sometimes the gauges also say CHARGING or
BATTERY instead of the other words.

If you are having the cold snap we are having in the midwest, you will
soon find out if that battery works. They are talking 30 below tonite.

Wow! Are you in the midwest that is east of the Mississippi, or the
one that is west of it? (There are two, for some reason.)

Damn I hate cold weather.


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