Did I goof??? *LOL*

[Brett Dikeman]

At 8:56 AM -0800 1/20/04, Doug Johnson wrote:
>A couple of months ago I disconnected the battery in the '91 coupe q, so
>that my insurance company would consider it to be in long-term storage.
>
>This morning, after connecting the battery, when I open the door the horn
>goes off for a few seconds, and when I turn the key to the "On" position the
>horn blares continuously.
>
>PS - The engine will NOT turn over....

Um...what's the terminal voltage?  Did you have the battery on a 
battery maintainer?  If not, I guarantee it's dead, unless it's a 
spiral-wound SLA like an Optima.  Was it stored indoors, or out?  If 
outdoors, what kind of climate are you in?  It sounds like the 
battery's nearly dead.

Plate lead-acid batteries CANNOT be stored more than a month even 
under ideal conditions, without suffering damage.  They 
self-discharge, and under any circumstances than a full charge, they 
sulfate, which reduces active plate surface area.

I highly recommend the following site:
http://uuhome.de/william.darden/

It includes a chart showing state of charge based on temperature and 
voltage. Trust me- you'll be glad you sat down and spent 10-20 
minutes reading it.

Be careful- if the battery was outside and allowed to really 
discharge, the freezing point of the electrolyte raises up to about 7 
degrees, and YES, a frozen battery WILL explode if you try to charge 
it.

Check voltage, check electrolyte levels(and specific gravity, 
ideally), place on a low-current charger and WATCH IT.  If the plates 
are heavily sulfated, it will boil the electrolyte under the 
slightest charge, and that could cause the plates to break up and 
short out the cell.

Brett
-- 
----
"They that give up essential liberty to obtain temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin
http://www.users.cloud9.net/~brett/