What to Do When a Car Battery Fails?

[Lisa]

Battery failures and their solutions are as follows: 1. Sulfation of plates: For mildly sulfated batteries, a long-term low-current charging method can be used to eliminate the sulfation; for more severe sulfation, a desulfation charging method should be employed; batteries with extremely severe sulfation should be scrapped. 2. Active material shedding: For lead-acid batteries with shed active material, if the sediment is minimal, it can be cleaned and the battery can continue to be used; if the sediment is excessive, new plates and electrolyte should be replaced. 3. Plate grid corrosion: For batteries with minor corrosion, if there are impurities in the electrolyte, the electrolyte should be poured out, and the battery should be repeatedly rinsed with distilled water before adding new electrolyte and charging for reuse; for batteries with more severe corrosion, if the electrolyte density is too high, it should be adjusted to the specified value and the battery can continue to be used without charging; for batteries with severe corrosion, such as broken grids or large chunks of active material shedding, the plates should be replaced.