How to do simple Car Battery Maintenance

How to maintain the battery in your car, perform these simple steps every year or two and you could save yourself a fortune, and prevent an unnecessary break down, this is also essential if your car is suffering from problems with the electrical power steering systems fitted to many modern cars
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[@kindclaw6605]

Thanks for the info I will try this on my old car to see if it will live again.

[@CBLounge2112]

Nice job, thanks for the help sir!!

[@buixote]

Some studs on the battery strap can be pretty tall. Good to have a *deep* 10mm socket for these.

[@PuntoHowto]

Thanks for the comment HID lamps on any 188 Punto are not allowed in the UK under the current MOT rules, the design of HID lights compared to normal bulbs also cause problems with the beam pattern on 2003-2006 mk2b puntos so its unlikely i'll be doing a how to on this one i'm sorry to say

[@PuntoHowto]

you are 'topping up' so up to the level indicator usually a max fill line or at the very least make sure the lead plates are covered

[@bobbyrio2628]

Saved me some $$$. Thanks Punto!

[@PuntoHowto]

Thanks Han

[@PuntoHowto]

although you are completely correct in what you say you should always test under load, for the sake of the video its much easier to demonstrate off load, also put a big load across it and you will soon see a voltage drop and someone will comment, put a small load and someone will complain its not enough. but a better demonstration would have been a before and after drop test.... but i don't own a drop tester

[@mascatrails661]

Thanks for sharing this video. The information is pretty timeless (well as long as we're still driving automobiles with lead-acid batteries)

[@vBDKv]

Only difference is, most batteries these days are sealed and maintenance free. You still have to wipe it down though sometimes.

[@Mchacz8008]

@@vBDKv Sealed Batteries are the exact same type as non-sealed ones. They seal them so, you have to buy a new one, instead of maintaing it. On some of them, you still can access the valves underneath a cover.

[@hansolo8263]

nice video

[@noorhussain5941]

Very good

[@j2d4oi]

wow, super clean instrument panel

[@PuntoHowto]

It is!?

[@martinmutugi2073]

Hey everyone, the best success that ive had was by using the Magic Mender Wizard (i found it on google) definately the most helpful info that I've followed.

[@danmac0]

Hi.. you didnt tell how much water should we put in. Thanks!

[@KX36]

I just measured the battery in circuit in my 8 year old Ford at 11.2V. It's ford branded so may well be the original battery. Took it out and measured again and it was 12.6V. I don't know if this is the difference between no-load and load testing. The car had been off for about 4 hours before doing this, so it shouldn't have been drawing much current. I had already bought a replacement battery which measured 12.45V out of circuit so I put that in and the lights seem to be brighter. I haven't measured it in the car but I expect it hasn't fallen as low as the original battery did. I don't know if the battery's internal resistance has increased as it's aged or something. I wonder if sloshing the liquid around has caused it to coat the plates a bit better and that's why the voltage has increased.. It does have access for topping up the cells, but I didn't notice that before replacing it. To be honest seeing it was probably 8 years old and reading 11.2V, I bought a replacement before doing much else. Any thoughts? I should note the original reason I was doing this was because my car occasionally struggles to start and twice in the last month it's stopped by itself shortly after starting with a battery warning light. We'll see how well the car works with the new battery.

[@PuntoHowto]

There are a couple of reasons, lead acid batteries have the ability to 'recover' because they are a chemical reaction between the acid and the lead, heat up a battery the reaction speeds up, freeze it and the reaction slows down, if you flatten a battery, and leave it connected to a load, it will remain flat, disconnect it and the chemical reaction continues allowing it to build up some power, which my be why you saw more power when disconnected then when connected, another reason is that, if a battey is very weak and being drained of some power by a load, there is a direct relation between watts amps and volts, so if your battery can only deliver a certain amount of power and the load is of a set resistance, the battery will supply the power to match the current draw in Amps but being weak this can cause the voltage to drop, as car batteries can deliver massive currents even when flat, I'd think it likely the recovery effect kicked in and when disconnected the battery mustered up a little more voltage. Drop testers used to assess weak batteries work on the second principal they put a set load across the terminals which will draw a certain current, then they look for a drop in voltage.

[@akbarshoed]

At 3:08 that charger says, "Made in England" nice!

[@PuntoHowto]

Its a pretty basic, old charger (still going strong even now) built back when we used to make things in the UK.

[@PuntoHowto]

any time

[@Reddylion]

👍

[@marinduque-theheartoftheph]

Does disconnecting the battery affect the ECU and its memory? Or does the ECU reset after several start-drive-engine off cycles? Btw, I agree with your reconditioning method,

[@PuntoHowto]

The ECU is set up with some standard parameters, if you disconnect the battery it will reset to the standard settings, which can mean some rough running or being less fuel efficient until it has re-learned the optimum settings for the car. It should not reset in normal use, just turning the engine on and off.

[@marinduque-theheartoftheph]

PuntoHowto: Thank you for the very helpful info, Sir.

[@sierra1s953]

@@marinduque-theheartoftheph to add on some models reset the immobilizer if u disconect the battery.. for my car iam to category that ecu resets to factory settings after a drive the ecu learns and copy again my drive style..

[@marinduque-theheartoftheph]

@@sierra1s953 Thanks! This valuable info bits are not only enlighthening but also reaasuring. 👍😊

[@JudahwardIV562]

My battery is fully charged [just dead cells] can I just add water as well? Please help I just subscribed 🙏🏿

[@PuntoHowto]

If you have dead cells there is probably little you can do to save the battery, probably the plates are internally shorted out

[@sierra1s953]

hi can we put baking soda with water first to clean the battery from inside and then add water to charge?

[@PuntoHowto]

sierra1 S i would say no, and that you will ruin the battery to do that

[@sierra1s953]

@@PuntoHowto thx so only water it is.

[@snhongo1]

Is it ok to put that water in the battery then just close it properly and put it in the car then let the alternator charge it?

[@PuntoHowto]

Yep, if the water is low but the battery is still starting the car and otherwise working ok, there is no harm in topping up the water in the battery and carrying on as normal. This will prevent problems with the battery in the future or make the battery last longer.

[@powerof5308]

Shouldnt you top up with sulfuric acid solution ??

[@PuntoHowto]

Technically no, the surfer in a battery becomes deposited on the plates, the water evaporates away, so the idea of putting the water in is to replace what has been lost and by charging the battery, you dissolve the Sulfur off the plates back into the water turning it into Sulphuric acid you can top up a little acid if you have the means to test the exact specific gravity of the battery solution and know how much you need to add, but you shouldn’t just pour acid in or you can upset the balance

[@mustafairaq6586]

How much or to what lvl of each cell we shall add pure water ?

[@PuntoHowto]

The plates in the cells need to be covered by water which should be visible in the holes

[@chenlee3240]

You for got to say unplug the charger then"disconnect the battery"

[@PuntoHowto]

Fairly common sense…. Makes refitting the battery really hard if it’s still plugged in, inside the house 🏠

[@dhaval1090]

8 years?? my battery is showing wear just in 2 years. its a 1.2 petrol punto.

[@cartierakin9977]

Will distilled water work

[@PuntoHowto]

Distilled water will work in a battery, for the purposes of this video the plan was to replace the acid which is a key ingredient in the reactions in the battery, by all means, you can top up the battery up with distilled water.

[@dannyumana143]

Battery over 8yrs old? Wow just by doing this....

[@PuntoHowto]

Danny Umana its finally died now at 10 years old

[@kvajeblostari]

+PuntoHowto mine dad have 12 year old battery on wv polo

[@gorangavric1796]

Hey hey, The best info that I have read was on Volt daddy (i found it on google) I bet its the most detailed info on batteries and this type of things that have found.

[@gogomumin64]

Is it still alive in 2019

[@PuntoHowto]

Good question, sadly not, I left the car sitting for a few weeks and when I come back to it the battery had completely died. So it did get a new battery in the end

[@rabee2040]

-12 i would be struggling too !!!

[@Appregator]

Maintenance free batteries should be banned for being a total deception.

[@PuntoHowto]

There are new types of battery used in stop start cars that really are not suitable for doing any home maintenance on