How can you tell if a battery is about to kick the bucket?

[Richard Hayden]

The best way to test batteries is to charge them up fully and measure the
voltage, preferable with a good digital multimeter. (Be sure to check the water
first) Then disconnect them and wait 6 hours or better yet 24 hours, then
measure the voltage again. If the battery is good it should be at 12.6 or 12.7.
A good source for this info is [url]www.amplepower.com<[/url]http://www.amplepower.com/> or
the Maintenance manual available from
[url]www.trojanbattery.com<[/url]http://www.trojanbattery.com/>. Either is a good source
for the info even if you have some other battery.

Dick Hayden - '87 PT 38 - Lk Stevens, WA
----- Original Message -----
From: transit360
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 9:47 AM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] How can you tell if a battery is about to kick the
bucket?


I have two identical buses. One bus has steady voltage almost
always and the other varies from about 14.5 volts to 12.5 volts. I
can't figure out where the voltage draw is going. It almost acts like
some as large as an electric cooling fan is coming on, but these buses
have hydraulic fans. And the other bus never shows syptoms like this.
So I'm wondering...is one of my batteries about to die? I've
heard the lead plates inside can "almost" touch, and cause problems
since they're almost a dead cell, so is there any way I can test these
batteries or do I just have to wait 'til they drop a cell?

Steve
Two '98 Q-buses






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