Fig. 214. Separators Worn Thin and Cut Through on Edges by Buckled Plates. Holes Worn Through by Bulged Active Material, Center One Shows Cell Was Dry Two Thirds of the Way Down.
4. When a battery has been used while the level of the Fig. 214. Separators Worn Thin and Cut Through on Edges by Buckled Plates. Holes Worn Through by Bulged Active Material. Center One Shows Cell Was Dry Two Thirds of the Way Down electrolyte has been below the tops of the plates, or the battery has been used in a discharged condition, and lead sulphate has deposited on the separators, Fig. 201.
5. When a battery has been over-heated by overcharging or other causes, and the hot acid has rotted, burned and carbonized the separators, Fig. 215.
6. When a battery has been damaged by the addition of acid and the separators have been rotted, Fig. 215.
7. Separators which are more than a year old should be replaced by new ones, whether plates are defective or not.
When you have put in new separators, and put the battery on charge, the specific gravity of the electrolyte may go down at first, instead of rising. This is because the separators may absorb some of the acid. If the battery was discharged when you put in the new separators, the lowering of the specific gravity might not take place, but in most cases the specific gravity will go down, or not change at all.
Find the Cause of Every Trouble
The foregoing rules must be studied carefully and be clearly tabulated in your mind to be able to tell what to put into commission again and what to discard as junk. It will take time to learn how to discriminate, but keep at it persistently and persevere, and as you pass judgment on this battery and that battery, ask yourself such questions as: What put this battery in this condition? Why are the negative plates granulated? Why are the positive plates buckled? What caused the positive plates to disintegrate? Why are the separators black? Why is the case rotten when less than a year old? Why did the sealing compound crack on top and cause the electrolyte to slop? Why did one of the terminal connectors get loose and make a slopper? Who is to blame for it, the car manufacturer, the manufacturer of the battery, or the owner of the car? Why did this battery have to be taken off the car, opened up and rebuilt at 5 months old, when the battery taken off a car just the day before had been on for 30 months and never had been charged off the car but once? There is a reason; find it. Locate the cause of the trouble if possible, remove the cause; your customer will appreciate it and tell his friends about it, and this will mean more business for you.