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YOUR RESEARCHBattery Acid Level
Leading reported evidence
Use tap water
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Read evidence and context
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I dont think you have to get too technical here, I have used tap water for years, so distilled is a step up and will be fine...
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Suggestion
Fill each cell with distilled water until it covers the plates and I would suggest you put a battery tender (not a charger) on it to keep the charge up.
Leading evidence: 'Use tap water' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Fill each cell' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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Suggestion
Fill each cell with distilled water until it covers the plates and I would suggest you put a battery tender (not a charger) on it to keep the charge up.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
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Suggestion
Don't just fill with distilled water and leave it.
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Suggestion
•Don't disconnect battery cables while the engine is running (your battery acts as a filter).
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Suggestion · Original poster
So I wanted to run the car today before it snows...
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Fill each cell
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Suggestion
Fill each cell with distilled water until it covers the plates and I would suggest you put a battery tender (not a charger) on it to keep the charge up.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
26 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
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Generation: 20261026T174436Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
Folks, I think I'm needing a new battery since it's 6 years old (2004 C4S). But the car only had 17k miles... Since the car is sleeping for the winter, I didn't want to buy a new battery. I'd rather wait until it comes out of hibernation.
So I pulled the battery out and looked at all the fluid levels. Looks like it's about 50-75% full.
I assume that's sulfuric acid in there.
So my question is, should I top that off? And with what? Distilled water or sulfuric acid? The goal is to prolong the battery life enough to survive the winter and into the spring.
Thanks in advance!
Fill each cell with distilled water until it covers the plates and I would suggest you put a battery tender (not a charger) on it to keep the charge up.
Don't just fill with distilled water and leave it. Have it in a charging state so that it mixes the water with the acid. Leave the caps off or just placed at an angle on the holes so that the solution breaths while charging is what I'd do. After its up to the full charge then I'd go ahead and snap the lids on.
The correct level is up to thebottom of the beginning of the holes throat so that the fluid just touches the plastic.
Thanks guys... Is there a difference between using distilled water vs. the actual sulfuric acid? I.e. - the local auto parts store sells the actual sulfuric acid.
I dont think you have to get too technical here, I have used tap water for years, so distilled is a step up and will be fine... having a 1/2 bottle of acid on the shelf doesnt interest me. Keep it simple.
So... you're wrong. I did this and it seems like it may have shorted out the entire battery. Of course, in "not easily readable print", I ended up seeing the "min/max" level line which I assume is the water line. I overfilled it. But I'm charging the battery back up now and am hoping for the best. All the excess water is coming out of the drain hose - by design. Crossing fingers at this point.
Note that the "water" that comes out is actualy acid. So put some container under the hose. Allso charge the battery in well ventilated space. When charged the battery creates hydrogen gas.
So should I have put "sulfuric acid" in instead of the water? They sell these acid kits for car batteries. But I was under the impression that acid is heavier than water and it's just water or water vapor that overflows at the top. The guy at the autoparts store suggested that I put battery acid in, but I'm not convinced about his capabilities so I'm considering more input and more research.
Optima Battery needs special instalation,modify the battery tray and hold down.This is much more difficult than adding water to a battery.
If you ad water (distilled or tap) you must charge the battery or the newly added water will freeze in winter destroying the battery.It needs to be charged and it's specific gravity raised to make it impervious to freezing
That water coming out IS Corrosive!! It does have acid in it. The vents are to let hydrogen gas out not the excess water/acid from you overfilling the battery.The water/acid level should never be near the top,it's usually 1" down from the top.
You need to be VERY CAREFUL fooling with batteries,they are very nasty things.
So I wanted to run the car today before it snows... The battery has been charging on an "automatic" charger... Cranked it...it's dead Jim... Looks like the cold weather and overfilling with the distilled water finally did it in. So I may have to suck it up and buy a new battery after all. Sucks that I have to do this BEFORE I store the car for the winter. I was hoping to wait until Spring...
I think thenew battery is better for just before storing and leaving a trickle charger on. While a car sits unused stored with nothing to stir the air and charging a battery you get fumes of the battery acid slowly emitted as far as I can figure. Ahhhhh not good if the battery is weak and charging while not used. Some guys prefer to leave the hood cracked making sure the light isn't on in there. One guy even thought its best to leave the hood cracked to remind him not to pull the car out with the battery tender attached. Yah it's happened.
Mabuhay Please read this.
http://www.batterystuff.com/tutorial_battery.html
excerpt:
"10. Battery Do's
•Think Safety First.
•Do read entire tutorial
•Do regular inspection and maintenance especially in hot weather.
•Do recharge batteries immediately after discharge.
•Do buy the highest RC reserve capacity or AH amp hour battery that will fit your configuration.
11. Battery Don'ts
•Don't forget safety first.
•Don't add new electrolyte (acid).
•Don't use unregulated high output battery chargers to charge batteries.
•Don't place your equipment and toys into storage without some type of device to keep the battery charged.
•Don't disconnect battery cables while the engine is running (your battery acts as a filter).
•Don't put off recharging batteries.
•Don't add tap water as it may contain minerals that will contaminate the electrolyte.
•Don't discharge a battery any deeper than you possibly have to.
•Don't let a battery get hot to the touch and boil violently when charging.
•Don't mix size and types of batteries."
