Battery Charger Says Car Battery Has Open Cell But Not Until The Battery Is Charged
Posted in Car Batteries | Asked on Apr 12, 2010
I purchased a car battery charger to trickle charge my battery whenever I’m forgetful and don’t unplug the heater that goes into my lighter outlet. Anyhow the battery is very good, always starts, even in -15F weather. When I charge it though, I’ll leave the charger on 2 amps and I usually check it after 2 hours and check the charge and then 2 hours later I go check it again and it always give error F03 which is “Internal Open Cell / Sulfated Condition”. The charge gauge reads 14.5v (my battery is a standard 12v) and my charger is designed for 12v only. Why does it charge, and then finally give the error?
There are One Answer for "Battery Charger Says Car Battery Has Open Cell But Not Until The Battery Is Charged"
The 14.5 is normal. Most 12V batteries are considered discharged at 12 volts. 13.2-13.8 is normal. Your charger is putting out 14.5 and is normal.
As for the failure, it detects that the battery loses voltage when it shuts off. This MAY be due to the extreme cold. Otherwise I would say you very well may have a bad cell but it is not completely shorted yet.