Do I have the oldest OEM 12V battery (261104W)

Today I took out my 12V battery to add some water (yes it's a "no maintenance" but I did it anyway).

The battery is a "GS - Nippon Denso Denchi" and is fully black and opaque. The date code is 261104W, which I take to be 26 Nov 2004.

Since my car was sold new in Feb 2005 I figure this date would make sense if it's the original battery. I'd often wondered if the previous owner had ever changed the battery and now I know the answer (they hadn't).

So I guess I might have one of the older surviving OEM batteries. So far it seems to be hanging in there ok. The in car "no load" voltage measured via the service menu is 12.3 volts but surprisingly the true no load voltage when removed from the car was 12.6 volts (these are "resting voltages" - measured several hours minimum after car has been turned off).

BTW. I filled with distilled water until the acid level was a little bit (about 1/4" to 3/8") over the top of the plates. I left plenty of space between the top of the acid and filler caps. Before adding the water, four of the six cells were dry at the top of the plates. I hope it works out ok.

 

Yes sorry, I saw the white mat and not the plates. I just assumed that the plates would come to about the top of the mats but that may not be the case.

In this case, how far above the level of the mats do you think we really need to go (with the demineralized water)? I guess that functionally, any amount above the mat no matter how small, would be enough to keep it wetted and therefore the battery operating optimally. In practice I think we just need the level a little bit higher, purely so that it has a bit of capacity for future water loss. Do you think 1/4" above the mats sounds reasonable?

 

I think you might be right Patrick, it does seems to defeat the point of having the absorbent glass mat (which is the lack of free flowing acid) by flooding it.

The thing that confuses me however is that some of my cells (2 out of 6) already had electrolyte levels above the mat. Several other posters have reported this as well. The more cautious members have been careful not to fill above the level of the highest existing cell. I however was not so cautious and took mine all to about 1/4" above the mat. Now I'm not so certain that this was a wise move. .

Oh well we'll see how it turns out. In hindsight, one other thing that might be be an issue if the level is too high (in addition to the extra free acid in the case of a mishap) is the obstruction of intra-cell venting of gas. Obviously we need to have the level lower than the external vent, I don't think anyone here would be silly enough to go that high with it. But just thinking about this now, we really don't know exactly were the intra-cell venting is, so there could be a possibility of blocking that with the acid. I'm guessing that the result of this would probably be either forcing off of the caps or forcing acid our through the vent tube, both of which would be undesirable.

I'll keep an eye on my battery for the next few weeks and see if anything undesirable happens. If it does, oh well I must be about due for a new one anyway.

 

It's interesting to see I'm not the only one to have one last over seven years guys.

Now I'm gonna try for eight, if I didn't kill it by adding too much water already. :embarassed:

 

Just wondering why you need to return it to the dealer? Is it just for disposal or did they offer you some type of "trade-in".

Anyway, it is sealed, but the "seal" is basically just a gum label and a little piece of plastic that is easily removed. So it's easy enough to take a look if you really want to, but if you don't want to mess with it then obviously that's your call.

 

Just an update. I rechecked the battery today after doing about 600km since the battery top off. There was no sign of electrolyte being forced out through the vent or anything nasty. The channel with the fill plugs was still dry (as it should be).

The levels seemed a little lower than when I filled it so perhaps it took a while to fully absorb down into the mat. I don't think I've really lost any significant amount. All the mats are still fully covered with the acid, but most are probably only a few mm's over. I don't think the added water is going to cause any harm.

BTW. Just had to edit some earlier information. My battery is marked "GS Nippon Denchi", (not Nippon Denso as I said previously).

The battery also had the code S46B24R. Does anyone know what that signifies, is it the model number?

 

Ok I see, it's like an enforced recycling.

Actually metals prices are getting high enough that it's making incentive for recycling pretty good anyway. I've always disposed of my old car batteries responsibly anyway, but last time a took a few to be recycled they gave me good money for them. No regulations or anything, but if the recyclers are willing to pay money for it then why wouldn't a person do the right thing.