Motorcycle Repair: Too much battery water - what should I do?, wet cell battery, trickle charge

Question
Hi Mark,

thanks for your quick reply! It's much appreciated!

The battery charger was still red 12 hrs after I started charging the battery with the battery water levels corrected. It was bubbling more vigorously so I decided enough was enough and took the battery off the charger.

I hope the battery's alright though. That trickle charge was the first charge, and many sources have mentioned that the first charge is usually the most important.

Is there anything I can do to check the condition of the battery? I don't have a hydrometer unfortunately? I do, however, have a voltmeter.

Regards,

Shu

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Followup To
Question -
Hi,

I bought a traditional wet cell battery yesterday. The shop didn't install it into my bike but it set it up for me (added water etc). However, when I got home I realised they added too much battery water. It was filled to the brim!

When I trickle charged it last night (13.8V 1A) the battery water slowly bubbled out of the vent! 12 hrs later, the charger still doesn't indicate the battery's done (the LED light on it should turn green from red. It's still red)

I've since used a syringe to remove the excess battery water and bring the level of each cell down to the upper limit. I'm trickle charging it again. It's bubbling, and it's been 3 hrs or so and the red light's still on.

What else should I do? Is my battery shot?

thanks!

P.S. Is it normal for the battery to bubble while it's being charged? The bubbling i'm seeing is fairly vigorously, but not "explosive" like that of water at boiling point.
Answer -
Hi Shu,

Shame on the shop staff for not knowing about batteries. I wouldn't want them working on my MC.

Good looking out to you for knowing better and correcting the error.

You've extracted the excess electrolyte (sulpheric acid & water) from the battry cells. That's the remedy.

It's normal for electrolyte to "bubble" a bit during charging. It's actually overcharging when it "boils" as described.

Kinda like pop; the fizz (gasses) resulting from charging must be vented. When overfilled, the gasses vent with more fluid loss.

Overfilling changes the specific gravity of electrolyte. It also affects how the chemical process produces electricity within the battery.

I'd say the battery is ready even if the LED light remains red.

Respectfully,
Mark Shively  

Answer
Shu,

The battery should be fine. A bit of overcharging will not affect the battery's usefulness.

The initial charge is most important. Connecting a new battery and turning the ignition key may program the battery. It may never charge above that programmed rate of charge.

The difference of  having a battery with a capacity of 50-70% and 90-100% is the initial charge.

I would have confidence in using your new battery in any of my MC's (so to speak).

For the skinny on battery 4-1-1, visit "www.autoshop101.com" Once the site opens, select "Online Instruction" from the left menu. Select "Battery Basics" and "Battery Service" to learn more about testingand maintaining batteries. This is a very good resource in .PDF formatted files. You'll need Adobe Reader to view the files.

Respectfully,
Mark Shively