m Ransley wrote:
I was wrong each cell would be 1.35v, , its 8 cell and full charge is
10.8v. 9.6 is actualy discharged

Yeah, you need a pretty good meter to determine state of charge.
However, a sudden drop to below 9.6 is a pretty certain indication of a
shorted cell.

This guy has a pretty good graph of voltage as the cell discharges.
Much of the time it will be reading about 1.2 volts but once it hits the
"knee" it drops fast. Discharge to that point should be avoided because
it can result in reverse current through any weak cells.

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~antoon/hobby/techbat.htm