Ok, here's a strange situation I have come across in my journies in reconditioning.
I have come across some aviontic battery cells that are several years old. However, after sitting for quite some time with little fluid, each of the smaller cells tested at .9volt to 1.3volt. The larger cells mostly were in the .5 - .9 range. So, I figured I'd try to recondition them for use in my 1600Watt UPS.
So I connect the cells up so that I can charge them using a standard 12Volt charger (the cells come in a steel case setup for a 24Volt system). I had to first use a dump wall charger to pull them high enough so the battery charger would see enough voltage and actually turn on.
Along with the battery charger, I also have a voltmeter in parrallel so that I can disconnect the charger and test drain down of the packs.
Well, here's the weird situation. I had noticed that when I had bumped the cells, there was a spark from one of the connections. So I checked all the screws and found where it was loose. I disconnected the battery charger, but the voltmeter was still connected. I unscrewed the two screws holding down the one lug that had a bad connection. I glanced down at the voltmeter, and it was showing about a volt worth of charge. Mind you, the cells are now physically disconnected about 1/2 way down the series chain.
So, as baffeling as this is, I took pictures of the oddity. http://tinyurl.com/ppnb9e6
As you can see in these photos, there is voltage being read while the lug is disconnected. As a curiosity, I moved the one half of the pack away from the other. Still a voltage reading, albiet a bit lower. Moved farther away, still reading. To show that it was the packs it was reading from, I disconnected the voltmeter and it dropped to 0.00 shown in the second to last pic. Then I reconnected and moved the 1/2-pack closer and the voltage reading showed up again.
So, what kind of craziness is this?!?! I'm confused about this strange tail of odd power flow through thin air without any induction coils.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Korishan
I have come across some aviontic battery cells that are several years old. However, after sitting for quite some time with little fluid, each of the smaller cells tested at .9volt to 1.3volt. The larger cells mostly were in the .5 - .9 range. So, I figured I'd try to recondition them for use in my 1600Watt UPS.
So I connect the cells up so that I can charge them using a standard 12Volt charger (the cells come in a steel case setup for a 24Volt system). I had to first use a dump wall charger to pull them high enough so the battery charger would see enough voltage and actually turn on.
Along with the battery charger, I also have a voltmeter in parrallel so that I can disconnect the charger and test drain down of the packs.
Well, here's the weird situation. I had noticed that when I had bumped the cells, there was a spark from one of the connections. So I checked all the screws and found where it was loose. I disconnected the battery charger, but the voltmeter was still connected. I unscrewed the two screws holding down the one lug that had a bad connection. I glanced down at the voltmeter, and it was showing about a volt worth of charge. Mind you, the cells are now physically disconnected about 1/2 way down the series chain.
So, as baffeling as this is, I took pictures of the oddity. http://tinyurl.com/ppnb9e6
As you can see in these photos, there is voltage being read while the lug is disconnected. As a curiosity, I moved the one half of the pack away from the other. Still a voltage reading, albiet a bit lower. Moved farther away, still reading. To show that it was the packs it was reading from, I disconnected the voltmeter and it dropped to 0.00 shown in the second to last pic. Then I reconnected and moved the 1/2-pack closer and the voltage reading showed up again.
So, what kind of craziness is this?!?! I'm confused about this strange tail of odd power flow through thin air without any induction coils.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Korishan
