The battery in your car is one example of a a wet acid battery -- possibly the best-known type of battery as of 2011. Car batteries provide the power to start the car and operate many of the features such as power windows, auto-lock doors and headlights. Before a wet acid battery can provide power, you must activate it. Though most wet acid batteries come pre-activated at the store, you can also activate a new battery yourself using electrolyte. Note that both maintenance-free and serviceable batteries are available; perform this process with a serviceable battery, which allows you to open the cells.
Open the cells of the new battery. Place the top/tops of the battery cells to the side, and note which well cap goes where.
Wear goggles and rubber gloves for protection. Wet acid cell batteries use sulfuric acid as the electrolyte. Contact with the skin can cause burns and severe injury; if the acid splashes out onto your skin, place your hand under the water in the sink for at least 20 minutes.
Fill each well or cell in the battery to just above the fill line with the electrolyte solution, heeding the markings for maximum and minimum levels in each well. Wash off the top of the battery carefully to avoid injury from spilled acid.
Check the amount of electrolyte in each cell of the battery using a hydrometer. Each cell should show a specific gravity of 1.265, indicating 100 percent electrolyte.
Replace the cell caps or covers on each cell, and hand-tighten them. (Do not overtighten the caps.)
Connect the low-amperage battery charger to the new battery, and charge it in a well-ventilated area. The charging process creates flammable gases -- a potentially severe fire hazard. Free the work area of any ignition sources while the battery charges.
