Battery - Description
DESCRIPTION
There are three different batteries available for this vehicle. Vehicles equipped with a diesel engine utilize a spiral wound plate designed battery with recombination technology. This is a maintenance-free battery that is capable of delivering more power than a conventional battery. This additional power is required by a diesel engine during cold cranking. Vehicles equipped with a gasoline engine utilize a conventional battery. Refer to the following information for detailed differences and descriptions of these batteries.
SPIRAL PLATE BATTERY - DIESEL ENGINE
Figure 1 MAINTENANCE-FREE DIESEL ENGINE BATTERY
By tightly winding layers of spiral grids and acid-permeated vitreous separators into cells, the battery has more power and service life than conventional batteries of the same size. The spiral plate battery is permanently sealed. Through gas recombination, hydrogen and oxygen within the battery are captured during normal charging and reunited to form the water within the electrolyte, eliminating the need to add distilled water. Therefore, these batteries have non-removable battery vent caps (Figure 1).
The acid inside a spiral plate battery is bound within the vitreous separators, ending the threat of acid leaks. This feature allows the battery to be installed in any position anywhere in the vehicle.
Spiral plate technology is the process by which the plates holding the active material in the battery are wound tightly in coils instead of hanging flat, like conventional batteries. This design has a lower internal resistance and also increases the active material surface area.
WARNING: Never exceed 14.4 volts when charging a spiral plate battery. Personal injury and/or battery damage may result.
Due to the maintenance-free design, distilled water cannot be added to this battery. Therefore, if more than 14.4 volts are used during the spiral plate battery charging process, water vapor can be exhausted through the pressure-sensitive battery vents and lost for good. This can permanently damage the spiral plate battery.
CONVENTIONAL BATTERY - GASOLINE ENGINE
Figure 2 BATTERY CELL CAP REMOVAL/INSTALLATION - LOW-MAINTENANCE GASOLINE ENGINE BATTERY - EXPORT
Low-maintenance batteries are used on export vehicles equipped with a gasoline engine, these batteries have removable battery cell caps (Figure 2). Water can be added to this battery. Under normal service, the composition of this battery reduces gassing and water loss at normal charge rates. However these batteries may require additional distilled water after years of service.
Maintenance-free batteries are standard factory-installed equipment on all domestic vehicles. Male post type terminals made of a soft lead material protrude from the top of the molded plastic battery case (Figure 3)to provide the means for connecting the battery to the vehicle electrical system. The battery positive terminal post is visibly larger in diameter than the negative terminal post, for easy identification. The letters POS and NEG are also molded into the top of the battery case adjacent to their respective positive and negative terminal posts for additional identification confirmation.
Figure 3 Maintenance-Free Battery - Domestic
This battery is designed to provide a safe, efficient and reliable means of storing electrical energy in a chemical form. This means of energy storage allows the battery to produce the electrical energy required to operate the engine starting system, as well as to operate many of the other vehicle accessory systems for limited durations while the engine and/or the charging system are not operating. The battery is made up of six individual cells that are connected in series. Each cell contains positively charged plate groups that are connected with lead straps to the positive terminal post, and negatively charged plate groups that are connected with lead straps to the negative terminal post. Each plate consists of a stiff mesh framework or grid coated with lead dioxide (positive plate) or sponge lead (negative plate). Insulators or plate separators made of a non-conductive material are inserted between the positive and negative plates to prevent them from contacting or shorting against one another. These dissimilar metal plates are submerged in a sulfuric acid and water solution called an electrolyte.
Some factory-installed batteries have a built-in test indicator (hydrometer). The color visible in the sight glass of the indicator will reveal the battery condition. The chemical composition of the metal coated plates within the low-maintenance battery used in export models reduces battery gassing and water loss at normal charge and discharge rates. Therefore, the battery should not require additional water in normal service. If the electrolyte level in this battery does become low, distilled water must be added. However, rapid loss of electrolyte can be caused by an overcharging condition. Be certain to diagnose the charging system after replenishing the water in the battery for a low electrolyte condition and before returning the vehicle to service.
The battery Group Size number, the Cold Cranking Amperage (CCA) rating, and the Reserve Capacity (RC) rating or Ampere-Hours (AH) rating can be found on the original equipment battery label. Be certain that a replacement battery has the correct Group Size number, as well as CCA, and RC or AH ratings that equal or exceed the original equipment specification for the vehicle being serviced.