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Cleaning
Keep battery clean by wiping it with a damp cloth. Keep
all electrical connections dry and tight. If corrosion is
present, disconnect cables from battery and remove
corrosion with a wire brush. Clean battery and cables
with a solution of baking soda and water. Be careful that
cleaning solutions do not enter battery cells. When
cleaning is complete, flush battery and cables with clean
water and wipe with a dry cloth. After the battery cables
are reconnected, coat terminals with petroleum jelly or
other non-conductive grease.
Checking Electrolyte Level
Check the level of electrolyte before each start-up.
Remove filler caps and check to see that electrolyte
level is up to bottoms of filler holes. Refill as necessary
with distilled water or clean tap water. DO NOT add
fresh electrolyte! Be sure filler caps are tight.
Checking Specific Gravity
Use a battery hydrometer to check the specific gravity of
the electrolyte in each battery cell. While holding the
hydrometer vertical, read the number on the glass bulb
at the top of the electrolyte level. If the hydrometer used
does not have a correction table, use the one in
Figure 3-16. Determine specific gravity and electrolyte
temperature of battery cells. Locate temperature in
Figure 3-16 and adjust specific gravity by amount
shown. The battery is fully charged if the specific gravity
is 1.260 at an electrolyte temperature of 80° F (26.7° C).
The difference between specific gravities of each cell
should not exceed ± 0.01.
charged if the specific gravity is below 1.215 at an
electrolyte temperature of 80° F (26.7° C).
3-14 Scheduled Maintenance
The battery should be
Correction
°
°
C
F
71.1
160
+ .032
+ .030
65.6
150
+ .028
EXAMPLE NO. 1—
+ .026
Temperature below 80
60.0
140
+ .024
+ .022
Hydrometer Reading 1.250
54.4
130
+ .020
Acid Temperature 20
+ .018
Subtract .024 Specific Gravity
48.9
120
+ .016
Corrected Specific Gravity is 1.226
+ .014
43.3
110
+ .012
+ .010
37.8
100
+ .008
EXAMPLE NO. 2—
+ .006
32.2
90
+ .004
Temperature above 80
+ .002
Hydrometer Reading 1.235
26.7
80
0
-- .002
Acid Temperature 100
21.1
70
-- .004
Add
--. 006
Corrected Specific Gravity is
15.6
60
-- .008
1.243
-- .010
10
50
-- .012
-- .014
4.4
40
-- .016
-- .018
-- 1.1
30
-- .020
-- .022
-- 6.7
20
-- .024
-- .026
-- 12.2
10
-- .028
The temperature correction amounts to about .004 (4 " points" )
of specific gravity for each 10° F (5.5° C) change in temperature.
Figure 3-16. Specific Gravity Temperature
Correction
°
°
F (26.7
C)
°
F (-6.7
°
C)
°
°
F (26.7
C)
°
°
F (37.8
C)
.008
Specific
Gravity
TP-5393 9/93
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