Hydrometer - Bad Boy AMBUSH Owner's Manual

Read all of this manual to become thoroughly familiar with this vehicle. Pay particular attention to all Notices, Cautions, Warnings, and Dangers.
The second reason is to determine why a particular vehicle does not perform adequately. Performance problems may
result in a vehicle that runs slowly or in a vehicle that is unable to operate for the time required.
A new battery must mature before it will develop its maximum capacity. Maturing may take up to 100 charge/discharge
cycles. After the maturing phase, the older a battery gets, the lower the capacity. The only way to determine the capacity
of a battery is to perform a load test using a discharge machine following manufacturer's recommendations.
A cost effective way to identify a poorly performing battery is to use a hydrometer to identify a battery in a set with a
lower than normal specific gravity. Once the particular cell or cells that are the problem are identified, the suspect battery
can be removed and replaced. At this point there is nothing that can be done to salvage the battery; however, the indi-
vidual battery should be replaced with a good battery of the same brand, type and approximate age.

HYDROMETER

A hydrometer is used to test the state of charge of a battery
cell. This is performed by measuring the density of the elec-
trolyte, which is accomplished by measuring the specific
gravity of the electrolyte. The greater the concentration of
sulfuric acid, the more dense the electrolyte becomes. The
higher the density, the higher the state of charge.
To prevent battery explosion that could result in
severe personal injury or death, never insert a
metal thermometer into a battery. Use a hydrome-
ter with a built in thermometer that is designed for
testing batteries.
Specific gravity is the measurement of a liquid that is com-
pared to a baseline. The baseline is water which is assigned
a base number of 1.000. The concentration of sulfuric acid to
water in a new golf car battery is 1.280 which means that the
electrolyte weighs 1.280 times the weight of the same vol-
ume of water. A fully charged battery will test at 1.275 - 1.280 while a discharged battery will read in the 1.140 range.
Do not perform a hydrometer test on a battery that has just been watered. The battery must go through at least one charge and
discharge cycle in order to permit the water to adequately mix with the electrolyte.
The temperature of the electrolyte is important since the hydrometer reading must be corrected to 80° F (27° C). High
quality hydrometers are equipped with an internal thermometer that will measure the temperature of the electrolyte and
will include a conversion scale to correct the float reading. It is important to recognize that the electrolyte temperature is
significantly different from the ambient temperature if the vehicle has been operated.
MAINTENANCE
Bulb
Cylinder
Thermometer
Add to Float
Reading
Subtract
from Float
Reading
Hydrometer
Float
5
Weight
Page 5 - 15