Are my six volts charged now??-gctid806275

[Garchar]

I posted my dead six volt battery issue a couple of days ago. They (4) batteries were discharged down to 5.6. After a couple of days of a 2 amp charge each six volt battery is now at 6.3 volts. My question is should I wait a few days to see if the charge holds and what should the high and low volt reading be ? If they maintain 6.0 in three days are they ok or should they be replaced? Garchar

[Pcpete]

IMO, if they hold for several days you are probably okay. The next test is to see how quickly they dump the charge. I have had it happen where I charged mine, they held for a few days then when I put a load on them they dropped real fast. Did I mention that I hate battery and charging issues?

[Guest]

I would venture to say if there only @ 6.3 volts they are going to take a dump fast, my new 12 volts are holding a voltage charge of 14 volts, the same batteries that are 5 years old are holding a 13 volt charge, try putting a load on them and see where there at, I aquaired a boat that had 2 batteries that sat for 2 years, they had very little life, put them on a charger and they came up to 12.5 volts, put a test load on them and they quickly dropped to 11 volts, that's not to say that's what going to happen in your case, but I believe they should have a little higher voltage than 6.3 volts,

[The_Other_Gary]

You really need a bigger charger for that size of battery bank, 2 amps is less than your fridge draws. fire up the engines and take a long drive

and I bet you will see a big improvement.

[dmcb]

I agree on the larger charger.

12.7 volts for a 12 volt battery is fully charged. That measurement as any voltage measurement should be made after batteries are at rest for several hours. That means no charge or discharge.

Anything else will give a false reading.

6.3 on a 6 volt battery is like 12.6 on a 12 volt battery. Close to fully charge but if you measured it with the charger on, you are not getting a good reading.

Buy or borrow a larger charger. Get them charged using the larger charger. 14 volts on a 12 volt battery isn't unusual just after charge but it means nothing.

Let the batteries sit for 4 or 5 hours at rest and then check the voltage. Wait another 12 to 24 hours with them at rest and see if they hold the charge. If, after a day or 2 they drop below 12.7 volts or 1/2 that if you are measuring a 6 volt battery, again at rest, I would replace them.

Doug

[2850Bounty]

"DEK" post=806279 wrote:
1....... I would venture to say if they're only @ 6.3 volts they are going to take a dump fast,

2...... my new 12 volts are holding a voltage charge of 14 volts, the same batteries that are 5 years old are holding a 13 volt charge,

[color]#000088 wrote:
1...... I think that Gary took individual 6 volt battery readings. In an "in series" scenario, 6.3 + 6.3 = 12.6 .

2..... As Doug says, a true reading will have been taken after the battery has been at rest for hours (no charging/no load)....... I would suggest 6 hours or so.

In any event, an actual load test is needed! [/color]

[Garchar]

T
..........

[Garchar]

The Other Gary, The battery charger has the ability to charge 6 volt or 12 volt and begin at 2 amps then increase to 10 volt charge. Thanks for response. Garchar