Overcharged my battery
I think I already know the answer, but I would still like to hear from
someone who has had a similar experience.My cranking battery ran a little low yesterday because I was doing a bunch
of short hops during my tournament. Once I returned home I put my 30 yr. old
charger on it to freshen it up. Of course I forgot to remove the charger. 12
hours later the battery was pretty well cooked. It was warm to the touch. I have read that overcharging a battery is very hard on the battery. I think
I should bit the bullet and replace it. I also think I should buy a "smart
charger" for use in the future. It's a Bass Tracker Jet. The battery is 1 1/2 yrs. old. I don't want any
failures in the Delaware or Susquehanna Rivers. Any comments? |
Richard
Jul 12
2004
|
| Get a new battery, Wal Mart sells smart chargers for about 25.00. I just got |
alwaysfishking
Jul 12
|
| Replace but clean the battery compartment good before installing the new
battery. Invest in an onboard charger. Guess makes some good ones. Sarge |
Sarge
Jul 12
|
| Your battery may be fine. Charge it up and have it load tested by a local
shop. |
Eric
Jul 12
|
| Look at the sides of the battery if they are bulged out - replace it. If not
try it out under load. |
Illinois
Jul 12
|
| If it still had water in the cells might be fine. Take it to a garage
and have them put a load test on it to find out for sure. Can also put a
volt meter across the posts, should be 12.7 or so. Good luck.. sket |
sket
Jul 12
|
| I know it may still be usable and I appreciate the comments, but I also know
that "some" damage occurred. The price I would pay for a battery failure is
too high, especially on the river. I ordered a new Interstate Cranking battery and a portable waterproof 3
stage Guest charger. I just don't trust the old battery anymore. Thanks for everyone's input. |
Richard
Jul 12
|
| If you knew it was damaged, why did you ask? |
doS
Jul 12
|
| Because I wasn't sure. I wanted to hear other peoples opinions. "I think I already know the answer, but I would still like to hear from
someone who has had a similar experience." |
Richard
Jul 13
|
| Ain't hurt none. I hooked an automatic charger to a battery on a pontoon boat at a slip at the
marina expecting it to cut off when the battery was fully charged. I didn't
realize the battery was low on water. It wouldn't fully charge due to the low
water level and the charger wouldn't cut off because the battery wasn't
charged. I came back about a week later and could smell the battery from the
parking lot. I put water in it, charged it some more and used it for about
another year and sold the boat. Mark McCoy<br>
McCoy's Market Bumpus Mills, Tennessee<br>
http://www.mccoysmarket.com |
mmccoy01
Jul 13
|
| Unless the charger is really a POS, 12 hours should not kill the battery.
And batteries are always warm when charging. Results of all that energy you
are inserting and the chemical reactions. Get a $5 timer from Home-depot,
Lowes, Wal-mart, etc. Take off the one tab and then set the timer to run
for however long you want to charge before the off tab activates and
manually turn on the timer switch and forget about having to turn off the
charger. |
Calif
Jul 13
|
