Brazil Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 I've been away for 6 weeks, before I left I disconnected the positive side of my Optima red top battery, when I connected it this morning it was dead. How is this possible with only the negative side connected? I've asked a mechanic and they said that my battery most be wasted, but it's a new battery. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedrosixfour Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 Yeah, the battery is flat. I've never EVER heard of a battery doing THAT before. AFAIK the world will now stop turning. Get yourself to a monastery and start praying for redemption because you don't have much time. Or, and this is just crazy talk, charge the bloody thing and see how it holds up. It may not have been fully charged up before you left it lying. If it keeps starting your car after a couple of days use then the world is probably safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagman Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 Sulfation Lead-acid batteries lose the ability to hold a charge when discharged for too long due to sulfation, the crystallization of lead sulfate. They generate electricity through a double sulfate chemical reaction. Lead and Lead(IV) Oxide, which are the active materials on the battery's plates, react with sulfuric acid in the electrolyte to form lead sulfate. The lead sulfate first forms in a finely divided, amorphous state, and easily reverts to lead, lead oxide and sulfuric acid when the battery recharges. As batteries cycle through numerous discharge and charges, the lead sulfate slowly converts to a stable crystalline form that no longer dissolves on recharging. Thus, not all the lead is returned to the battery plates, and the amount of usable active material necessary for electricity generation declines over time. Sulfation occurs in all lead-acid batteries during normal operation. It clogs the grids, impedes recharging and ultimately expands, cracking the plates and destroying the battery. In addition, the sulfate portion (of the lead sulfate) is not returned to the electrolyte as sulfuric acid. The large crystals physically block the electrolyte from entering the pores of the plates. Sulfation can be avoided if the battery is fully recharged immediately after a discharge cycle.[11] Sulfation also affects the charging cycle, resulting in longer charging times, less efficient and incomplete charging, and higher battery temperatures. The process can often be at least partially prevented and/or reversed by a desulfation technique called pulse conditioning, in which short but powerful current surges are repeatedly sent through the damaged battery. Over time, this procedure tends to break down and dissolve the sulfate crystals, restoring some capacity.[12] Higher temperature speeds both desulfation and sulfation, although too much heat damages the battery by accelerating corrosion. As above is the most likely issue. Strangely the batteries in the 60s were better ,and they were mostly Dynamo charging systems , I had a 1963 mkII jag , still with original battery , it was left 6 months and fired up without problems. It seems that modern batteries are just rubbish construction , probably some money making going on ,,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brazil Posted December 1, 2010 Author Share Posted December 1, 2010 Thank's guys... My search for the battery leak continues...! :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmoreta Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 Yeah, the battery is flat. I've never EVER heard of a battery doing THAT before. AFAIK the world will now stop turning. Get yourself to a monastery and start praying for redemption because you don't have much time. Or, and this is just crazy talk, charge the bloody thing and see how it holds up. It may not have been fully charged up before you left it lying. If it keeps starting your car after a couple of days use then the world is probably safe. jajajaja that's a christmas spirit!!! Brazil - I know your pain, bought an Optima yellow battery and same situation...in theory should be one of the best, will stay charged for years bla bla bla....boght a battery charger to keep it full problem solved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brazil Posted December 4, 2010 Author Share Posted December 4, 2010 Ok guys at the end the problem was the garage sold me a dud Optima battery, they've replaced it with a new one and so far it's sparking nice and strong. What a relief...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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