Have I ruined my battery?

[1049Participant]

In preparation for taking my 11B to Versailles for a few days I put my ’56 on charge yesterday. But noticed this morning (23 hours later) that the Accumate trickle charger was set to 12v and not 6v .

An hour after disconnecting the charger the car started fine. Will I have wrecked the elements within the battery, meaning it won’t hold charge – thus go flat on the trip, or might I have got away with it? Is there anything I can do to check for damage before I go?

TIA

 

Julian

W Sussex

[ChrisParticipant]

Hi Julian – you’ve probably got away with it.

Load testing a battery is not easy and needs special gear – but if it starts the engine it should be ok on that score – especially being a 6V battery. Seeing if it holds charge just need time to see if it discharges.

Charging a battery needs higher voltage than the battery says on the label so they are tolerant of some over voltage.

Other opinions may vary!

Chris

[1049Participant]

Thanks Chris, and apologies for the delay in saying so! I have just returned from a 1,000 km trip to Versailles and back, and the 11B performed impeccably!

 

Julian

[Author]

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