Dodge 2000 DURANGO Service Manual page 252

8A - 6 BATTERY
DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING (Continued)
WARNING:
• IF THE BATTERY SHOWS SIGNS OF FREEZ-
ING, LEAKING, LOOSE POSTS, OR LOW ELECTRO-
LYTE LEVEL, DO NOT TEST, ASSIST-BOOST, OR
CHARGE. THE BATTERY MAY ARC INTERNALLY
AND EXPLODE. PERSONAL INJURY AND/OR VEHI-
CLE DAMAGE MAY RESULT.
• EXPLOSIVE HYDROGEN GAS FORMS IN AND
AROUND THE BATTERY. DO NOT SMOKE, USE
FLAME, OR CREATE SPARKS NEAR THE BATTERY.
PERSONAL INJURY AND/OR VEHICLE DAMAGE
MAY RESULT.
• THE BATTERY CONTAINS SULFURIC ACID,
WHICH IS POISONOUS AND CAUSTIC. AVOID CON-
TACT WITH THE SKIN, EYES, OR CLOTHING. IN
THE EVENT OF CONTACT, FLUSH WITH WATER
AND CALL A PHYSICIAN IMMEDIATELY. KEEP OUT
OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN.
• IF THE BATTERY IS EQUIPPED WITH REMOV-
ABLE CELL CAPS, BE CERTAIN THAT EACH OF
THE CELL CAPS IS IN PLACE AND TIGHT BEFORE
THE BATTERY IS RETURNED TO SERVICE. PER-
SONAL INJURY AND/OR VEHICLE DAMAGE MAY
RESULT FROM LOOSE OR MISSING CELL CAPS.
The condition of a battery is determined by two cri-
teria:
1. State-Of-Charge
This can be determined by checking the specific grav-
ity of the battery electrolyte (built-in test indicator or
hydrometer test), or by checking the battery voltage
(open-circuit voltage test).
2. Cranking Capacity
This can be determined by performing a battery load
test, which measures the ability of the battery to
supply high-amperage current.
First, determine the battery state-of-charge. This
can be done in one of three ways. If the battery has a
built-in test indicator, view the test indicator to
determine the state-of-charge. If the battery has no
test indicator but does have removable cell caps, per-
form the hydrometer test to determine the state-of-
charge. If the battery cell caps are not removable or
a hydrometer is not available, perform the open-cir-
cuit voltage test to determine the state-of-charge.
The battery must be charged before proceeding
with a load test if:
• The battery built-in test indicator has a black or
dark color visible.
• The temperature corrected specific gravity of the
battery electrolyte is less than 1.235.
• The battery open-circuit voltage is less than 12.4
volts.
A battery that will not accept a charge is faulty,
and must be replaced. Further testing is not
required. A fully-charged battery must be load tested
to determine its cranking capacity. A battery that is
fully-charged but does not pass the load test is faulty,
and must be replaced.
NOTE: Completely discharged batteries may take
several hours to accept a charge. Refer to Battery
Charging in the index of this service manual for the
location of the proper battery charging procedures.
A battery is fully-charged when:
• All battery cells are gassing freely during charg-
ing.
• A green color is visible in the sight glass of the
battery built-in test indicator.
• Three corrected specific gravity tests, taken at
one-hour intervals, indicate no increase in the spe-
cific gravity of the battery electrolyte.
• Open-circuit voltage of the battery is 12.4 volts
or greater.
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