The electrolyte consists of sulfuric acid diluted with distilled water. Very high temperatures or a faulty voltage regulator can cause water in the battery cells to evaporate. The electrolyte level should be checked when charging the battery.
Add only distilled water to old batteries, as tap and boiled water contain salts and other minerals that damage the battery.
20,000 km, 12 months
SEQUENCE OF WORKS
1. The electrolyte level must reach at least the "MIN" mark on the battery case and at the same time completely cover the top of the lead plates.
2. When the electrolyte level drops, add distilled water to the corresponding jars up to the "MAX" mark. Unscrew the plugs from the battery jars. Some batteries are equipped with special plugs.
3. Add distilled water to a normally charged battery up to the upper mark ("MAX") or 15 mm above the upper edge of the lead plates.
4. Add distilled water to a deeply discharged battery until it just covers the top of the plates. When charging the battery, the electrolyte level will increase significantly. If necessary, add distilled water to the upper mark after charging.
5. The amount of water added must be dosed very precisely, otherwise the battery jars will be overfilled. Never fill water above the upper mark - the electrolyte will leak out from under the plugs or side ventilation holes, which will cause corrosion and the formation of salt crystals on the surface of the battery and the adjacent space. After disconnecting the contact "31" of the battery, carefully remove the salt crystals with a brush with metal bristles and rinse with a sufficient amount of water.
Caring for battery terminals
Use warm water and soda to wash away oxide crystals from the battery terminals or treat them with Neutralon (Varta).
Apply protective grease Ft 40 v 1 (Bosch) to the top of the battery terminals and the outer surface of the cable tips. The inner surfaces of the cable tips and the contact surface of the battery terminals must not be lubricated, otherwise the contact between the cable tips and the terminals may be disrupted.
TECHNICAL DICTIONARY
Measuring voltage, electric current and resistance
An electrician is not the only one who can help you determine the correct operation of your Fiesta's various electrical devices: there are a number of measuring devices available that you can use to check the operation of your electrical devices yourself.
Control lamp (with needle contact) -
is a lamp with permanently connected wires and a connecting contact in the form of a needle, which pierces the insulation of the wire being tested. The crocodile clip of the second wire of the lamp is connected to contact "31" of the battery or to the unpainted metal of the car body or power unit - "ground". First of all, the lamp informs whether voltage is supplied to the wire being tested at all. The brightness of its glow can be used to roughly estimate the voltage value.
Warning.
Test lights consume a lot of power, so they are not suitable for checking electronic components (e.g. engine management system). In this case, you need to use an LED tester.
LED tester.
Depending on the design, the probes show direct and alternating voltage from 6 to 700 V. The presence of voltage is indicated by the LED lighting up.
Universal measuring instrument.
Fig. 15.4. Connection diagrams of a universal measuring device for measuring current (A), voltage (V) and resistance (Ohm)
It can be used to measure voltage, electric current (direct and alternating) and resistance (Fig. 15.4). As a rule, internal batteries are used to supply current to these devices.
Voltage measurement.
To measure the battery voltage with a multimeter, connect the black wire marked "–" to terminal "31" of the battery (negative terminal) or to "ground". Connect the red wire of the measuring device marked "+" to terminal "30" of the battery (positive terminal) or to the wire being measured. If the measuring device shows approximately 10.4 V, this means that there is one faulty cell in the battery. Therefore, check the battery voltage while cranking the engine: a measurement result of 5 V (±0.5 V) means that the battery is discharged.
Measuring electric current.
Moving charges create an electric current, which is characterized by the current strength in amperes. The magnitude of the current flowing in an electric circuit is measured by an ammeter or tester switched on in the current measurement mode. To measure the current, the electric circuit is disconnected (broken) and the ammeter is connected between the disconnected wires. As a rule, it is sufficient to disconnect the single-contact connector from the consumer of electrical energy and connect the ammeter between the connector contact and the consumer contact.
Warning.
The measuring device or the device fuse will burn out if the measured current is significantly higher than the selected measurement range. It is best to switch the ammeter to measure high currents at the beginning of the measurement and, if the pointer deviates by a small angle, switch the device to a smaller measurement range.
Measuring resistance.
Resistance can be determined based on the measured values of current and voltage, as well as directly with an ohmmeter. A universal measuring device in resistance measurement mode can check the integrity of a wire or a switch for electric current flow. If the current flows without obstruction, the device will show 0 Ohm. If the wire is broken or the switch is faulty, the measuring device will show
(infinity). In addition, the universal measuring device can be used to measure the internal resistance of electrical components.