anybody know how to resurrect a dead motor cycle. apparent it sat
around too long. Voltage is about 8 volts open circuit. Won't take a
charge. Is it just trash?
Paul Lamar
I've been told to clamp it in a paint shaker for a few minutes. This
is supposed to break up the sulfate crystals....
JimR
That interesting. Thanks. I'll give it a try.
BTW I have not been running the RV4 lately so that scared me and I
took the batteries out to trickle charge them. They both appear to
be still OK.
Paul Lamar
I used to sell used industrial-sized uninterruptible power supplies,
and I got reasonably good at resurrecting expensive lead acid
batteries over the years. I use the same setup I use for repairing
electronics, taught to me by a friend who grew up repairing
televisions and radios in his uncle's repair shop.
To get the battery charging, you generally need decent voltage,
ideally several thousand volts. I've never had an industrial pulse
power charger, so instead I took a cheap extension cord and installed
a big ceramic diode in one leg, along with two alligator clips. I
connect the alligator clips to the battery, giving it rectified
pulses off the wall outlet. The power goes through the battery into
an old lamp with an incandescent light bulb. The bulb will glow when
the battery begins to charge, usually after several hours, and you
can switch to a bigger bulb if you're charging a bigger battery. As
an added benefit the bulb will limit the current, preventing your
battery from blowing up.
I've used this arrangement for resurrecting very small to very large
batteries, including car batteries and electric forklift batteries,
and the ones I kept have lasted for years afterward.
Dave Klingler
Can I ship you a couple of dead batteries?
Paul Lamar
To Dave Klinger, What is the spec for the large diode? The light
bulb and is it hooked up in series or parallel with the battery?
Tony Lam
I just use a 60W or 75W bulb on most 12V or 24V batteries, with a
diode that's essentially sized to the light bulb. The parts list
includes:
- a cheap lamp extension cord or a piece of zip cord with a socket on
one end and a plug on the other - an old table lamp or a light bulb
socket - a light bulb - a beefy (60W+) diode - two alligator clips
Regarding your DC power supply, I think the half-wave pulses help (to
charge batteries), but I have no solid evidence. You could try your
supply in series with a lamp. The lamp is an important element.
In the absence of a schematic, here's a picture. What's missing is
that the diode needs to be matched to the polarity of the battery
terminals. Otherwise, I think it's probably clear enough, although
not nearly so clear as if I had your SketchUp skills.
Dave Klingler
That diagram is a schematic, and it is clear enough except for one
missing detail, does the polarity of the diode matter?? I assume the
battery will be anything from a car battery to a motorcycle battery,
maybe the bulb wattage rating will be different for a smaller battery?
The battery and the diode are in series. I don't think it matters if the
diode and the battery are both on the live line, leaving the neutral
running directly from the bulb to the source wall plug.
One thing I am not the least concern, would be hooking up this set up,
since I am a electrician.I would definitely have the battery and diode
far away enough with a long enough cord and behind a wall in case any
of the components blow up, and I would be nearby monitoring it when it
is plugged in.
For those without enough electrical skills, I recommend you to look for
a battery pulse de-sulphate device. It is safer.
Tony Lam
YYZ