Improving Your Automobile

How to Restore an old Car Battery

17 August 2015

Addison Morris

If you have an older car that uses a lead-acid battery and the battery has failed (or is starting to play up), you may be able to restore it with very little financial investment on your part. These older batteries tend to lose water over time through evaporation, and since distilled water is crucial to their function, this can prematurely end their life. To restore your car battery to working condition, follow these steps:

Safety First!

Car batteries are dangerous pieces of equipment, so it is vitally important that you exercise proper safety procedures. Wear electrically-protective gloves while working with the battery, and make sure to wear a thick apron in case any battery acid splashes onto you. Wear protective goggles to protect your eyes – one stray drop of acid could lead to permanent blindness!

Wash the Battery

Remove and inspect the battery from the car. If you notice that there isn't any obvious damage on it, it is highly likely that you can restore it.

Wash the battery thoroughly with water and baking soda, using a soft brush to get rid of any dirt or debris that may be stuck to the battery. The baking soda will neutralise any battery acid that has leaked through the casing, making it safe to handle.

Remove the Cell Covers

With the battery washed, use a screwdriver to pry off the cell covers (the plastic panels located on the top of the battery). Taking the covers off will reveal the cells – there will be three adjacent round holes per cell.

Before you do anything, use a powerful vacuum cleaner to get rid of any dirt that might be near the cell, being very careful not to let any fall into the holes.

Fill the Cells with Distilled Water

When everything is nice and clean, you can start filling the cells with distilled water (it is crucial that you use distilled water, as the minerals present in regular water will facilitate corrosion inside the battery); use a small bottle with a nozzle to avoid messy pouring.

Fill the cells to just above the top of the plastic cover. With the cells full of water, the battery is now ready to be charged.

Charging the Battery

In the case of lead batteries, charging the battery requires desulphation (sulphation is the crystallisation of sulphuric acid inside the battery – your aim is to reverse this).

Hook up a high-quality desulphator to the battery, and let it run through as many cycles as needed (heavy sulphation will require multiple cycles).

Monitor the voltage throughout this process; once the voltage reaches between 13.5 and 14.5 volts, your battery is fully restored and ready to go. To learn more, contact a professional mechanic for more help and information.

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