Battery won't charge and was warm while charging

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trevormlb

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Melbourne Beach, Fl
My battery fluid was low so I filled it up with distilled water and put it on the charger. When I looked at it the next day it had not charged up and was warm to the touch. Can I fix it or am I just going to start a fire?
 
Get ya an Everstart from Walmart, the big Yellow one.. I have never had any problem with these...I have 2 running 24 volt and a smaller crank battery in my Ranger 519, and one sits in my aluminum boat, as well as a small tractor battery for the electric start on the outboard.
 
Gotta disagree... I had nothing but problems with Walmart batteries. Kept up on the fluids, and still had two die on me and refuse to take a charge... even with a newfangled microprocessor charger.


And now I hear they won't replace them if they fail, so I'd be looking else where. The price isn't all that good to give up a warranty.
 
dyeguy1212 said:
Gotta disagree... I had nothing but problems with Walmart batteries. Kept up on the fluids, and still had two die on me and refuse to take a charge... even with a newfangled microprocessor charger.


And now I hear they won't replace them if they fail, so I'd be looking else where. The price isn't all that good to give up a warranty.


Interesting...I'll keep that in mind.. I might just splurge and go Optima in the Ranger when the time comes..
 
sounds like the cells have gone bad (after time they will no longer bond attoms)

id highly recomend a dry mat sealed marine battery.

also make sure you 2a trickle charge it
 
What kind of charger do you have?
Some chargers wont stop charging once the battery is completely charged, they continue to charge and will in fact ruin the battery. The battery starts to lose its charge and gets warm, it will continue to lose charge until you remove the charger. At this point more than likely your battery is toast and you have fried at least one of the cells.

I highly recommend you research your particular battery charger. Find the model number and google it. I toasted a couple lawn mower batties and one truck battery before I discovered the error of my ways. I spent the money on a new Schumacher Ship/Shore charger. It will charge small batteries, medium, and large batteries. Will switch from charge mode to trickle whent eh battery reaches 100%. I bought mine on sale for $30. I think regular price is $60. Well wortht eh money compared to three new batteries. I have been using it for over a year now, I charge 4 batteries on a regular basis (deeps cycle, 2 mower, and a truck battery), no problems since I bought it.
 
Hanr3 said:
What kind of charger do you have?
Some chargers wont stop charging once the battery is completely charged, they continue to charge and will in fact ruin the battery. The battery starts to lose its charge and gets warm, it will continue to lose charge until you remove the charger. At this point more than likely your battery is toast and you have fried at least one of the cells.

I highly recommend you research your particular battery charger. Find the model number and google it. I toasted a couple lawn mower batties and one truck battery before I discovered the error of my ways. I spent the money on a new Schumacher Ship/Shore charger. It will charge small batteries, medium, and large batteries. Will switch from charge mode to trickle whent eh battery reaches 100%. I bought mine on sale for $30. I think regular price is $60. Well wortht eh money compared to three new batteries. I have been using it for over a year now, I charge 4 batteries on a regular basis (deeps cycle, 2 mower, and a truck battery), no problems since I bought it.

Man I keep hearing success stories about these, but mine has never switched to trickle charge on its own.. drives me nuts. Shoulda returned it when I had the chance... :roll:
 
trevormlb said:
My battery fluid was low so I filled it up with distilled water and put it on the charger. When I looked at it the next day it had not charged up and was warm to the touch. Can I fix it or am I just going to start a fire?

Once the water level gets below the top of the plates they short and won't take a charge.

If you are losing that much water then you are overcharging the battery and causing it to boil over. I don't care what brand of wet cell you buy, an overcharge and boil over will kill it once the plates are exposed. The gel cell batteries like the Optima's don't have this problem as much which is why they have a good rep (And an high cost)

Walmart doesn't make batteries, they buy them from a manufacturer who makes them for several brands including Interstate. 90% of all wet cell batteries are made by one of five companies. Same for your alkaline batteries, most of them are made by one of three companies. The 'Brand Name Game' is simply a way of separating Suckers from their money. (Thomson Consumer buying the RCA and GE names in the '90's and putting them on junk electronics is a good example of this, Nike is another) My last series 27 Deep Cycle from Walmart lasted me 6 hard seasons for 60 bucks. 10 bucks a year is pretty hard to beat and it didn't go dead, it was just down to about 70-75% capacity and it just wasn't enough for the electronics package (Computer, fishfinder, stereo system, lights, etc.) I was running. I use a good 3 state charger and the only time I ever had to add water was after using a cheap 10 amp charger to charge it faster than the 1 1/2 amp 3 state charger I normally used. I got another for 62 bucks after trading in the old battery
 
best way to check if you have a bad cell is to buy a hydrometer. they are cheap and easy to use. in 30 years of tournament fishing i always checked the specfic gravity and kept check on the cells. they may even show they are charged but run down quickly. bad deal to have happen after spending a bunch of money for the tournament then break down. u should be able to get one at any auto store.
 
I have had a Schumacher Ship/Shore charger for 4 yrs now and it is sweet.... its fast and when it goes to trickle lil green light just blinks at me .....I leave it hooked up all the time been on charge for 3 days now....I check my cells once a month.... Had these batterys for 2 yrs now and I'm thinkin maybe I have had too add water twice....So the lil blinky trickle thingy must be a werkin :D ,,,,,,I am very happy with it.....................JIGGY
 

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