Battery Open Circuit Voltage Test; Service Procedures Battery Charging - Chrysler 1998 Voyager Service Manual

8A - 6 BATTERY
DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING (Continued)

BATTERY OPEN CIRCUIT VOLTAGE TEST

An open circuit voltage no load test shows the
state of charge of a battery and whether it is ready
for a load test at 50 percent of the battery's cold
crank rating. Refer to Battery Load Test. If a battery
has open circuit voltage reading of 12.4 volts or
greater, and will not pass the load test, replace the
battery because it is defective. To test open circuit
voltage, perform the following operation.
(1) Remove both battery cables, negative cable
first. Battery top, cables and posts should be clean. If
green dot is not visible in indicator, charge the bat-
tery. Refer to Battery Charging Procedures.
(2) Connect a Volt/Ammeter/Load tester to the bat-
tery posts (Fig. 6). Rotate the load control knob of the
Carbon pile rheostat to apply a 300 amp load. Apply
this load for 15 seconds to remove the surface charge
from the battery, and return the control knob to off
(Fig. 7).
(3) Allow the battery to stabilize for 2 minutes,
and then verify the open circuit voltage (Fig. 9).
(4) This voltage reading will approximate the state
of charge of the battery. It will not reveal battery
cranking capacity. Refer to Battery Open Circuit
Voltage table.
Fig. 9 Testing Open Circuit Voltage
BATTERY OPEN CIRCUIT VOLTAGE
Open Circuit Volts
11.7 volts or less
12.0 volts
12.2 volts
12.4 volts
12.6 volts or more
SERVICE PROCEDURES
BATTERY CHARGING
WARNING:
HAS EXCESSIVELY LOW ELECTROLYTE LEVEL.
BATTERY
EXPLODE. EXPLOSIVE GASES FORM OVER THE
BATTERY. DO NOT SMOKE, USE FLAME, OR CRE-
ATE SPARKS NEAR BATTERY. DO NOT ASSIST
BOOST OR CHARGE A FROZEN BATTERY. BAT-
TERY CASING MAY FRACTURE. BATTERY ACID IS
POISON, AND MAY CAUSE SEVERE BURNS. BAT-
TERIES CONTAIN SULFURIC ACID. AVOID CON-
TACT WITH SKIN, EYES, OR CLOTHING. IN THE
EVENT OF CONTACT, FLUSH WITH WATER AND
CALL PHYSICIAN IMMEDIATELY. KEEP OUT OF
REACH OF CHILDREN.
CAUTION: Disconnect the battery NEGATIVE cable
first. (Fig. 4) before charging battery to avoid dam-
age to electrical systems. Do not exceed 16.0 volts
while charging battery. Refer to the instructions
supplied with charging equipment
NOTE: The battery cannot be refilled with water, it
must be replaced.
A battery is considered fully charged when it will
meet all the following requirements.
• It has an open circuit voltage charge of at least
12.4 volts.
• It passes the 15 second load test, refer to the
Load Test Temperature chart.
• The built in test indicator dot is GREEN (Fig.
1).
Battery electrolyte will bubble inside of battery
case while being charged properly. If the electrolyte
boils violently, or is discharged from the vent holes
while charging, immediately reduce charging rate or
turn off charger. Evaluate battery condition. Battery
damage may occur if charging is excessive.
Some battery chargers are equipped with polarity
Charge Per-
sensing devices to protect the charger or battery from
centage
being damaged if improperly connected. If the bat-
tery state of charge is too low for the polarity sensor
0%
to detect, the sensor must be bypassed for charger to
25%
operate. Refer to operating instructions provided
50%
with battery charger being used.
75%
CAUTION: Charge
100%
appears green. Do not overcharge.
It may be necessary to jiggle the battery or vehicle
to bring the green dot in the test indicator into view.
DO NOT CHARGE A BATTERY THAT
MAY SPARK INTERNALLY
battery until
NS
AND
test indicator