Motorcycle Repair: Too much battery water in the 12V battery - what should I do?, wet cell battery, cell phone battery

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
http://www.yuasabatteries.com/motor_battery.asp READ FIRST!
http://www.yuasabatteries.com/faqs.asp
http://www.yuasabatteries.com/maintenance.asp


Your battery was filled with sulphuric acid, not water. Bringing the level back to "normal" is a good idea. Be sure to dispose of the acid carefully!

The battery charger is energizing the lead-acid mixture to combine electrons to become a battery, so some bubbling is normal, even at very low levels of charge. They will bubble as soon as the acid is introduced to the lead cells, without a charger attached.

You didn't say how large the battery is, but an average charge cycle could last 8-24 hours. It is totally different than charging your nicad (or similar) cell phone battery!

Just let it charge at the normal rate until the green light comes on. Put it in a well ventilated area and let it charge overnight. There is a possibility that the battery could have been old and they take much longer to charge than newly produced ones.

If the battery doesn't become fully charged this weekend, then call the store and tell them the situation, including them adding excessive acid to the battery.

Bill Silver