CAN YOU FIX A DEAD CAR BATTERY? - How to rebuild a car battery DIY Fix a Dead Battery

Can you fix a dead car battery? Yes, you can, well sorta! In this video HOW TO REBUILD A CAR BATTERY for UNDER $5 BUCKS we see how some baking soda and Epson salts can fix a Dead Car Battery Fix and Revival of a Dead Battery.

This didn't work the first time for me when I tried to rebuild a car battery in my 1967 Porsche 912/911, it took a few tries before I found that it takes about 8 to 10 ounces of epson salts per liter of distilled water to get the right mix.

But fixing a dead car battery isn't hard to do, but the time it takes to recharge or rebuild a car battery it might be better just to buy a new battery. This process takes several days, and if you need your car sooner, then by all means just buy a new battery and maybe keep your core (old) battery as a back up and follow these steps to rebuild a car battery.

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[kingdomquest]

I did this some time ago to 3 batteries and only one came back but the one battery has worked for years and saved me about 130.00 to replace it.🙂

[oldschool]

Batteries die because the lead plates create a sulfate on the plates. Eventually the sulfates build up to the point that they no longer flow electrons . Cleaning may expose more of the lead and get the flow going again, but usually by this time the lead plates are pretty much used up, so even cleaning the sulfates and putting in new acid will not save it, it may have voltage but very low cranking amps. Another old trick was to overcharge the battery with a high amp charger which would cause the sulfates to flake off the plates, but this was only a temporary solution as well. When you've got no lead, your battery is dead.

[Zapheteroped]

So many times over the past half century I've sniveled about the desert heat in Tucson, especially the humid monsoon heat but then I remind myself - Hey, at least it isn't Phoenix!
Thanks for this video!

[kingolf]

For some of the comments who are quick to go to the shop and replace or repair, Please such DIY are for people who find themselves off grid, imagine you are in Alaska or some very rural African place, this can really help. And again some people even if they may be located in big cities they still don’t have money to replace a battery .

[aniea]

Yes baking soda works. Just did it. My battery died but brought back to life.

[jolujo]

Go with spending the money on an Optima battery. I had one in my 2000 Montero for 11 years plus. When I had to scrap the car after my daughter let the coolant go way low and blew out one head gasket. I took the battery out and it is still working perfectly 5 years later! $325.00 Well spent as I probably would have had to change batteries 4 or 5 times during that 16 year period.
ONE MAJOR BENEFIT ...gell pack batteries will not outgas or leak and cause rust in your classic Porsche 👌👍

[captnjack]

without load testing, the battery after doing the recondition 12 v means nothing.

[bwngkxu]

putting a load tester on it will show its performance, just because it reads over 13 volts doesn't mean it will hold current, and be a daily user

[currentresident]

I have just gotten one step closer to being the smartest man on Earth, Thanks for the video

[thomasodetinape]

This works, I had a car quest gold last 12 years doing this. In brutal cold to insane hot.

[BryanClark-gkie]

Back in the early 80's I worked for a used battery service' the owner had a contract with JCPenney's/Sears
Kmart to buy all their old batteries' we'd pour all the old acid water out and use a 50/50 mixture of white distilled cleaning vinegar to wash them out then rinse out and repeat' fill with new acid' place them on the charging tables' up to 200/250 batteries at a time' hook them up all together in parallel and charge them on 2 amps for 3 days' then let them sit for a week off charge' about 25% of them would not hold charge' the ones that did' we were selling them for $15.00/$20.00/$25.00
depending on appearance' some would last a couple of months some would last for years.
Slow charge is the key after cleaning and new acid.

[mr.iforgot]

Don't drop or rattle your battery too hard or the lead plates will dislodge and your fucked. You do want to slosh the baking soda/distilled water solution in the battery though, just not crazy hard. You know what I mean? Anyway this method worked fantastic with my battery. It's only 2 years old, but I don't use the vehicle very much. I did go to Harbor freight and buy a cheapo $10 trickle charger with the solar panel. I've heard good reviews on it, so I'll have to see. I payed $150+ for the stupid battery a couple years ago and it's already gone up to almost $200. This is January of 2024.

[tommak]

You got bigger problems than a battery, someone took your engine and replaced it with a spare tire.

[kelceygerman]

After dumping out the baking soda water you should have rinsed the battery a couple times with water to get all that out of battery, then before adding any of your Epson salt concoction used a specific gravity tester to test the strength of your concoction to ensure proper strength 1st before adding any of it to your battery. Filter your used electrolyte and pour equal amounts into each cell and top up with your concoction. After adding the proper strength solution to battery, then put charger on deep cycle battery setting if you have that setting. A smart charger may do the same thing by charging at different rates until fully charged over a 24 hour period or longer. I have seen batteries after trying to fix them that showed 12.8 volts but as soon as I went to turn the engine over the battery went to 7 volts and would not turn the engine over. This indicates that simply charging to 12.3 or above doesn't always translate to the battery being fixed, especially if the battery originally went dead while below freezing and as such froze up and broke some plates inside the battery. I usually use the specific gravity tester in each cell to see which cell is showing weak solution and which are showing normal, I will remove with a suction device like a fluid transfer pump or just the bubble device I am using which is the specific gravity tester, until the fluid is below the plates in that cell. At this point the strong concoction of Epson salts and water can be added just to the specific cells that are showing they are below normal on the tester. This saves a lot of time and most of the original electrolyte gets to stay in the battery. After this I put the covers on the cells and charge for minimum of 24 hours and with all of this there is no guarantees the battery will ever function like a new battery. Prevention is still the best way to look after a battery, remove either it or 1 terminal when not in use for extended periods of time, recharge every 3 months, do not store on a concrete floor but rather on a bench or wood of some kind.

[realflow]

Use sodium sulfate instead of epsom salt (Much gentler on the electrodes and does not heavily oxidize the positive plates when charging And it's even more conductive too)
And it also has much higher output current than magnesium sulfate.
Alum sulfate will also work as well. but its not the best choice.
Just add about a tablespoon worth into each cell (Not too much!)
This will raise the conductivity of the electrolyte if its weak. and also aid in forming the electrodes gently. re-forming the lead sulfates into lead and lead oxides. without over-oxidizing the positive plate like the magnesium sulfate/espom salt would

I have had nothing but bad experience with magnesium sulfate and several tests ive done. it is simply too aggressive and attacks the positive electrode quite strongly. (it is fast at forming the lead oxides. but it will increase corrosion)

No need to use any baking soda either or removing or replacing the electrolyte..
Just charge the battery with the sodium sulfate added to it for a long time at a low current and allow the voltage to rise to whatever it takes to accept that low current (Charge at about C1/100)
Until the voltage is about 14-16v. Then the battery can be put on a normal charger and held in absorption (14.4-14.8v) for several additional hours. until the current has stabilized at a low value.
Watch for heating of the battery. Take a measurement regularly if it starts warming up at any point. let it sit for several hours to cool completely.
Regularly check the voltage and current as well. just to be sure theres no shorted cells or anything unusual happening

You can also add about 1/8 teaspoon of boric acid or borax to each cell. as an additional additive. it creates a protective boron layer on the electrodes. specifically the negative. resistant to sulfation.

if all else fails and you cannot revive the original sulfuric acid out of the lead sulfate stored in the plates. (Cannot raise the specific gravity)

Only then may it be time to try replacing the electrolyte with an alternative such as alum. sodium sulfate. mixture. or baking soda

(Possible electrolyte alternative could be washing soda or sodium carbonate. as it is the strongest alkaline electrolyte ive found that can still form the lead oxide in the plates. creating an almost super-capacitor like battery performance. Very tough and hard to kill. can be charged and discharged thousands of times with no damage. Deep discharge is completely harmless)
You will get a significantly lower voltage though. between 8-11v so there is a drawback for going completely alkaline-for the electrolyte. PH will be roughly 10-11 if fully converted to alkaline.

[cosmo]

I believe the salt water was supposed to be poured out and rinse the battery out once again with clean distilled water. Then refill the battery with sulfuric acid from one of your local parts store. Then it would have worked.

[hoffmandave]

Yes a load test will check to see if you can pull a load. Easier yet. Let battery sit overnight and recheck voltage. If voltage drops it’s not going to work. But a load test is better. But if you don’t have a tester check voltage and recheck 24-30 hrs later. If it drops from 12.6- 12.0 it’s not going to work . Nice video . But remember to load test it as well or sit and watch for voltage drop.

[bufford]

I keep a battery tender on my old truck battery and lawn tractor when sitting for extended periods of time. Works great.

[vinegum]

I just saw a clip with a doctor recommending drinking the same to purify your stomach....
1 Litre distilled water, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp sea salt. Divide in 4 and drink every 2'nd hour...
Makes sense 😂
Tip: The distilled water is polluted when poring it in a "bucket" like that...

[gerlandkent]

I've got 50 12 volt battery's that I'm now rebuilding thank, you