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[05omegav6]

I have an old GM battery as fitted to my recent acquisition.

I have topped up all the cells with distilled water, it took nearly half a litre, and have put it on charge. The charger has recharged it to the point where the charger switches to maintenance mode.

1. After resting the voltage is 12.63v.
2. The health indicator is nowhere to be seen.
3. The battery is weeping from the vents (presumably from being overfilled ).
4. Having been left on charge for 4-8 hours every day this week, the weeping is lessening, about a drop every 30mins.
5. No obvious fizzing or hissing from the battery, and it isn't getting warm.

At what point will it be safe to fit into the car? I presume that eventually all the excess electrolyte will be forced out by the charging process Don't really want to fit it to the car whilst dripping, as it will turn the battery tray to cheese in a matter of hours...
Will it suffice to keep it on a maintenance charge until it's stopped dripping?

[Vamps]

Cheapskate, go an buy a new one, why take the risk of being stranded.........

[VXL V6]

Have you got a small syringe so you could retrieve some of the electrolyte from each of the cells (although removing it from any one will take the level down as it's not segmented IIRC)

To be honest I tried to revive one of my old ones in the same way (even popped some Bataid tablets in as well) but found it wasn't good enough for daily use... Plenty good enough for running a couple of LED lamps in the shed with a solar panel attached to keep it topped up though 

[05omegav6]

It seemed pretty segmented when I topped it up

The car it's going in is currently un Motd so not doing much, but batteries typically last two days if not driven, so have current drain issues to investigate as well, as no point putting a new battery on it until that's sorted

[Kevin Wood]

I wouldn't remove electrolyte, as this will weaken the solution.

Once you've stopped charging it it should stop venting electrolyte.

[05omegav6]

I wouldn't remove electrolyte, as this will weaken the solution.

Once you've stopped charging it it should stop venting electrolyte.

Isn't the fact that it is still venting electrolyte a sign that it is still overfilled

[Kevin Wood]

Depends. You might have just got a little electrolyte in the trap that sits under the vent hole.

How close is the electrolyte to the top of the battery? <Hindsight>You only really need to top it up until it has covered all the plates</Hindsight>

[05omegav6]

Depends. You might have just got a little electrolyte in the trap that sits under the vent hole.

How close is the electrolyte to the top of the battery? <Hindsight>You only really need to top it up until it has covered all the plates</Hindsight>

Just below the caps

[zirk]

Assuming theres no tell tale makers, it needs to be just over the plates, about 6 to 10mm over. As for the charging try an old fashion charger without intelligence, or a good 13.8 volt DC power supply than can deliver around 6 amps, then charge it through a bulb, 55 watts or so, slowly untill the battery  reaches the Power Supply voltage. After charging, maybe a few times, leave battery some where cold for a day or two, before testing.

[Sir Tigger KC]

Depends. You might have just got a little electrolyte in the trap that sits under the vent hole.

How close is the electrolyte to the top of the battery? <Hindsight>You only really need to top it up until it has covered all the plates</Hindsight>

Just below the caps

Doh!