Re: 5ktq...batt keeps dying!

[Dave Conner <conner@cfm.ohio-state.edu>]

From: "Pete, Sue, Adam Dieckerhoff" <skidiebutz@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: 5ktq...batt keeps dying!
Date: Wed, 28 Oct 1998 21:41:23 -0800

Someone wrote,
>
>I agree with Todd, der battery ist kaput.  Frequently when a battery is old
>and gets drained, it won't hold much of a charge for very long.  Replace the
>battery, and the problem should be solved.  However, something caused it to
>drain in the first place.

Batteries don't >just< get old...they can fail as in when one of the six
cells goes bad due to decay of the lead plates, or the plate separators.
The failure of one cell can be sudden and (I think) can also be
intermittent at first.  One way to test for a bad cell is with a Hygrometer
which is a glass tube with a float in it.  A battery with one bad cell can
still supply enough voltage for some things to work, but not for long.  

So there wasn't necessarily an electrical drain involved.

Dave Conner
Columbus, OH