Testing
The Battery Life Saver Electronic Device
This page
is a technical page. You should have some experience as a mechanic and
in handling batteries before you attempt to apply the data on this
page.
If you don't have the
experience, ask a friend who does to help you, or as a last resort,
take your car to a garage and have it done.
WARNING!
BATTERY ACID IS VERY
DANGEROUS IF MISHANDLED. ALWAYS WEAR SAFETY GOGGLES WHEN WORKING WITH
BATTERY ACID. ALWAYS WASH UP WITH HOT SOAP AND WATER WHEN YOU ARE DONE.
IF YOU SPILL ANY BATTERY ACID ON YOUR CLOTHES, WASH THEM IMMEDIATELY
WITH HOT SOAPY WATER OR THEY WILL HAVE HOLES IN THEM THE NEXT DAY. BE
SURE TO BE IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA.
You will need the
following equipment to do the tests:
- An accurate digital voltmeter. You can get one from
Radio Shack. If you want the best get a Fluke.
- A battery hydrometer. This is a device for measuring
the specific gravity, i.e. the strength of the battery acid.
You should start the
test before using BLS for the first time.
- Measure and record
the battery voltage. It should measure approximately 12.7 volts. (This
is assuming you are starting with a functioning battery.)
- Measure and record
the specific gravity of each cell in the battery. (If you have a
maintenance free battery, you are out of luck, you can't do this test.)
The specific gravity of a new battery should be 1.300. If your battery
is two years old, the specific gravity may be around 1.150 - 1.200. A
battery in poor condition that is about to fail may be as low as 1.100.
- Record the date of
this test. Save the report for later reference.
- Every
14 days, repeat steps 1,2 and 3. You will see the specific gravity
gradually increase until it reaches that of a new battery.
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