Self-discharge is a painfully familiar thing to most car owners, especially in the winter. If the battery is more than 3 years old, then if you do not start the car for a couple of days in a row, then it becomes impossible to start it, the battery is discharged and there is not enough power to start the starter.
There is a very simple way to refresh your battery yourself and extend its service life. The fact is that over time, wear products from the chemical reaction settle at the bottom of the battery, and the plates crumble. This is precisely one of the reasons for rapid self-discharge.
To remove all products from the bottom, you need to wash all battery compartments.
How to “refresh” your battery
Open the compartment covers.
Berm an unnecessary plastic basin (a metal one will not work). We pour the electrolyte into it. Notice how the liquid drains, not from the side, but parallel to the body.
Black traces of waste are visible in the electrolyte.
There is no need to pour it out, it will be filtered and poured back in.
Next, you need to wash all compartments. Pour distilled water into each.
We splash from side to side.
Drain the contents.
It can be seen that the water flows out blacker than black.
Repeat the washing procedure one or two more times.
Pour the previously drained electrolyte back through a funnel with a filter cloth. Of course it will be better if you filter the electrolyte in advance.
Then add distilled water to the level.
We charge the battery.
Close the compartment cover. Charging field, to check, I left the battery just standing for a day. Then he measured her voltage. There was practically no self-discharge.
We install it on the car.
We're trying to start it. Everything works great.
I drove well on this battery for another six months before I bought a new one, although I initially intended to do just that.
Bottom line
The method works about 50/50. Of course, someone will say that there is no need to suffer, but it is better to immediately buy a new battery. And, in principle, he will be right. Of course, if you have money, then it’s better to do so.
But I still decided to experiment and, as it turned out, it was not in vain.
In principle, after such washing, the battery can be used for a year, maybe more. Therefore, it's worth a try.
Safety precautions
Before doing any work with the battery, wear safety glasses, rubber gloves and special clothing.
The acid is very caustic, so do not neglect safety rules.
