Quick Question re: battery
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,840
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From: Come see me after class.
JT, all battery plates sulfate to a certain degree. It's nothing more than the electrolytes chemically reacting with the battery plates, when the battery loses some of its charge. If you have a decent battery (800CCA+), this is really nothing to worry about, because a sulfated plate will still carry that 800 amps, it may simply take a little longer to crank the engine (3sec vs. 1sec), as the battery/starter warms up a little.
If it ever gets to the point where you have a slow crank (or none at all), then your battery is already fried and the cheapest thing to do would be replacement.
But anyway, it sounds like you only want to prevent the battery from discharging, so that it doesn't sulfate. All you have to do is break the circuit - disconnect the ground, or disconnect the positive cable, or both. You can still leave the battery in the car.
Here's a little tip: Whip out your voltmeter and check the battery for surface discharge. First, disable the ignition by disconnecting the harness and/or pulling the fuse, then crank the engine for 10sec (it should NOT start) to remove a surface charge. Next, with the voltmeter, take a reading of surface discharge (positive lead to positive post, negative load to anywhere on the battery itself other than the negative post). If the meter reads any voltage whatsoever, you need to clean the battery. A lot of times, a dead battery is because of a dirty battery. That surface discharge will very slowly discharge your battery voltage - even if you have it disconnected and sealed in an air-tight container, in a constant 75
If it ever gets to the point where you have a slow crank (or none at all), then your battery is already fried and the cheapest thing to do would be replacement.
But anyway, it sounds like you only want to prevent the battery from discharging, so that it doesn't sulfate. All you have to do is break the circuit - disconnect the ground, or disconnect the positive cable, or both. You can still leave the battery in the car.
Here's a little tip: Whip out your voltmeter and check the battery for surface discharge. First, disable the ignition by disconnecting the harness and/or pulling the fuse, then crank the engine for 10sec (it should NOT start) to remove a surface charge. Next, with the voltmeter, take a reading of surface discharge (positive lead to positive post, negative load to anywhere on the battery itself other than the negative post). If the meter reads any voltage whatsoever, you need to clean the battery. A lot of times, a dead battery is because of a dirty battery. That surface discharge will very slowly discharge your battery voltage - even if you have it disconnected and sealed in an air-tight container, in a constant 75
