How to restore a car battery with baking soda

How to restore a car battery with baking soda

Hello friends! Today I want to tell you another simple, effective way to extend the life of your old battery. We all know very well that a lead-acid battery is not an eternal thing. And even if you take good care of it, sooner or later it will still start to fail. The reason for this is sulfation of the plates, as a result of which the battery loses its capacity and is no longer able to perform the specified functions.
I would like to clarify that the method described below is only suitable for sulfated batteries. It is not suitable for batteries with closed or swollen cells, loose plates, etc.

Clear signs of plate sulfation


The most obvious sign is that the battery is not holding the load. That is, when measuring the voltage at the terminals, the voltmeter shows a fully charged battery, but when a load is connected, the voltage drops significantly.
The second sign is rapid self-discharge. For example, you haven’t used the car for 3 days. Come to the garage and try to start it.And the battery is so discharged that even the electronics do not show their values.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

All these phenomena do not occur immediately, but come gradually, usually after 3-5 years of battery operation.

Car battery restoration


The first step is to measure the initial voltage.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

Next, we will conduct a test with a load fork.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

I have long noticed an increase in self-discharge, so today it was generally discharged.
It would be a good idea to check the density of the electrolyte.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

Once the battery has been identified and the diagnosis has been made, we proceed to recovery.
Using a hydrometer, drain the electrolyte from above as much as possible. As you can see, its color is dark.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

Now we turn the battery over and drain the remainder into a bucket. This must be done especially carefully and the body must be rotated when draining so that the row of holes in the cans is horizontal. This must be done so that the outgoing streams of electrolyte do not short-circuit with each other.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

Well, here it is completely black with a lot of impurities.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

Now you need to find a capacity for the battery. I took the basin.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

Using running water, rinse all jars with plain water. Fill to the top.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

And we drain it.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

This will remove any remaining electrolyte and black deposits.
Next, take baking soda, you will need 400-500 grams.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

We dilute it with 5 liters of ordinary water in a canister. And mix well.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

Fill each compartment to the brim.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

Everything starts to boil. Add to the compartments where a lot of soda solution has spilled.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

Let's wait 15 minutes until the reaction is completely completed. And drain the solution.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

Next, thoroughly rinse all the jars with tap water again.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

Let it drain a little longer so that there is a minimum of excess water.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

I will refill the previously drained electrolyte - a new one is not needed. But for this it needs to be filtered.I use a synthetic cloth as a filter.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

I place it in a funnel.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

And gradually I filter all the previously drained electrolyte.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

Then I gradually pour it back into the jars.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

We wait until the bubbles come out, topping up if necessary. We wipe everything dry on top and close the lids.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

We measure the voltage. It is virtually unchanged.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

We charge for an hour.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

The battery is charging. The charging current is a witness to this. The tension rose.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

The load fork test proves this.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

Now we put the battery on a full charging cycle.
How to restore a car battery with baking soda

Over time, the battery charged and became fully operational.

A bit of process theory


There is no trick in this method, pure chemistry. The fact is that the sulfate located on the plates reacts with the soda solution and is etched away. That's all.
Of course, the method does not provide a 100% guarantee that the battery will come back to life, but you can still try.
We strongly recommend that you carry out all actions wearing protective glasses and gloves!
Bye everyone.

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Comments (19)
  1. Guest Victor
    #1 Guest Victor Guests July 7, 2018 09:41
    5
    Why not fill in a new electrolyte, since the old one is already dark, with impurities?
  2. Guest Igor
    #2 Guest Igor Guests 7 July 2018 17:47
    18
    This way you can only kill the battery. A dark electrolyte indicates shedding of the active mass of the positive plates and they can no longer be restored, especially using this method. The author has no knowledge at all in this area, and sulfation in modern batteries is now rare unless the battery sits idle for six months
    1. Vitaly
      #3 Vitaly Guests July 8, 2018 11:43
      9
      I completely agree with you, sulfation occurs as a result of a long period of non-use of the battery. I tried this desulfurization option in my youth, and it helps, provided the battery is not damaged. Otherwise, when you turn the battery over, you may end up with short-circuited banks. Well, about something else, if the battery has gone bad, collect the money, gentlemen...
    2. Guest Sergey
      #4 Guest Sergey Guests 11 July 2018 16:39
      15
      I have about 20 years of experience as a battery technician. I've never heard such nonsense before. If the battery is sulfated, then you will not drain the electrolyte from it, but water, there is no density there. And then after this procedure you will pour it there. You suggest destroying the remaining containers with soda. Soda and lead batteries are not compatible. You neutralize the acid. The most important parameter is density, if it is not there, there is no battery. I.e. No capacity. We must not miss the density and such unsuccessful procedures will not be required. I don’t recommend it, the effect will be negative
    3. Guest Vladimir
      #5 Guest Vladimir Guests November 20, 2018 10:34
      4
      Even if the battery is not used for a long time, it will not necessarily fail. The main thing is not to stand completely discharged. I don’t drive in winter, but the battery (TOPLA) is already seven years old. In the spring I discharged it by connecting a light bulb, and then charged it with low currents up to 3 A. It works like a charm.
  3. VyaKa
    #6 VyaKa Guests 7 July 2018 22:21
    10
    About soda - nonsense. After washing, fill in the distillate and charge at one-tenth of the normal charging current. The sulfite from the plates will be dissolved by the charging current. As a result, we get a “new” electrolyte that will have to be brought to working density.
    1. Ivan
      #7 Ivan Guests January 22, 2023 11:32
      0
      Naturally, rinse through the holes drilled from below, which are then soldered. All the sludge will not come out through the top, and turning it over is not particularly recommended.
  4. Roman Ivanovich Zadorozhny
    #8 Roman Ivanovich Zadorozhny Guests 8 July 2018 19:44
    4
    An absolutely useless idea. The result will always be close to 0 or so, including measurement error.
  5. Tolik
    #9 Tolik Guests July 9, 2018 08:25
    13
    But whoever wants it, let them do it. Buy a new one anyway. smile
  6. Guest Yuri
    #10 Guest Yuri Guests 9 July 2018 17:26
    3
    If my memory serves me correctly, it follows from chemistry lessons that acid and alkali (and soda is an alkali) are not compatible. One neutralizes the other, and sulfation is the formation of crystals of lead sulfate or something else on the active zone of the plates (no matter what, that’s not the point), but the point is that this sulfate can only be removed mechanically. So your method is pure crap.
    1. Sergey.
      #11 Sergey. Guests 11 July 2018 16:49
      3
      You are right, after baking soda you can immediately scrap the battery. Sulfation is the deposition of salt on the negative plates. After which there is a loss of density and, naturally, capacity. Deep sulfation leads to a short circuit between the negative and positive plates. And an electrolyte with impurities is the decay of the positive plates. Lead oxide, active mass. Has the color of rusty metal.
    2. moolte
      #12 moolte Guests 12 July 2018 12:11
      3
      don't click
  7. Ivan
    #13 Ivan Guests 13 July 2018 13:17
    4
    What nonsense. How can you rinse with tap water? Then let's forget about distillers.
  8. Guest Victor
    #14 Guest Victor Guests 28 July 2018 16:21
    2
    Nonsense from start to finish. Pour tap water into the jars, turn it upside down, pour in soda, fill in the old el.lit. After all these procedures, the still living ab should be disposed of.
  9. Guest Evgeniy
    #15 Guest Evgeniy Guests August 2, 2018 08:08
    8
    You cannot turn the battery over and drain the electrolyte; you can short-circuit the plates with the sediment or debris that forms during its operation. And the older the battery, the more debris there is. In Soviet times, when batteries were not available for sale, to restore the old one, each bank was drilled as low as possible so that drain the old electrolyte along with the debris as much as possible and without turning it over. And then they washed it from top to bottom with, I emphasize, distilled water. They sealed all the jars, filled in a new, I emphasize new electrolyte and charged with several charge-discharge cycles.
  10. Alexey
    #16 Alexey Guests 2 August 2018 22:20
    5
    About 35 years ago I had a Java 350 motorcycle. Its battery died. I couldn’t find it, but I wanted to ride. What to replace it with was complete stagnation in the country. In short, I poured out the electrolyte, drilled holes from the bottom and stupidly rinsed them under the tap with running water, soldered the holes and filled in new electrolyte. and lo and behold, everything worked, I later sold it with this battery. Another neighbor gave me a 90 amp battery from a Toyota, I washed it with distilled water, filled it with new electrolyte, charged it, and it worked for a long time until I sold the car.