Battery water overfill

[V3i HoN6]

I hope there is no similar thread about his as Im already try to search for it.

Just after I let my friend refill my car's battery, i found out that he actually overfill with distilled water. Although its not full but its already over the sugesstion level (which is below the vent caps if Im not mistaken).

What is done is done, no point blaming him.
I just want to know what can be done to compensate the mistake. Can i use some old cloth to soak the water out?

And although i know its not good to overfill the battery with water, but someone can actually tell me the reason behind this? And what possible damage will do to the battery and even worst, the car?

So far, my car still able to start like normal even at cold night. But, how bad and how fast it will damage the battery? The battery its 3 year old now.

Thanks.

 

[kyheng]

If you have vent cap on your battery, nothing much will happen, the most it will spoilt your paint nearby your battery. Anyway your battery is almost time. You can know it when you start your car. Do you face some problem when starting the car?

 

[V3i HoN6]

Despite that its been used for 3-4 years , it still working great.
Only one attempt needed to crank up every morning, or at a cold raining day.

How can i make sure the condition of the battery?
Like how much the sulfate-and-who-know-what values, volts or amps, the recharge mechanism working or not.

 

[kyheng]

From the starting crank you will know how good is the battery, my battery used for 2years and 10months, before I change it, I face difficulity to start it, crank value low. So from here we can know that it cannot store any power more even with alternator still ok. To check I will use the way I mentioned on the car starting, another is press your horn when the cars is not started yet. As I'm a lazy man to test the voltage or whatever, this is the best ways.

 

[roy27]

another way to test yr car battery.....press yr power window up n down.....if it goes slow then yr battery started 2 kongkiau oredi.....

 

[[s]UpErNoVa]

wah! 3 years oredi ah ur battery? time to change oredi lo bro.. can fail anytime le.. :omg_smile:

 

[vantageX]

Use a clean straw to remove the extra battery water. A cloth will just introduce sediments to the battery. Nothing much will happen really except as mentioned above your paint round the battery area might be damaged.

This 2-3year must change thing seems to be a common belief in this country and I think it stems from just a poor understanding of batteries or because a mechanic somewhere is trying to make an extra buck.

I've used batteries for 4-5 years before changing and I change them usually as a preventive measure. Never had a battery fail on me yet. The reason? I think proper maintenance is the key here. Always keep your battery water level at the recommended level, don't use battery water that has been opened already and stored for a few weeks/months. Clean the terminals of the battery and the cable terminals everytime you service your car. Clean the exterior of the battery when there's oil on it or whatever to prevent it from over heating.

Make sure you use the correct battery when you change. A small battery in a car which was designed for a bigger battery will definitely be overworked.

 

[kyheng]

Well, not to say common belief actually, as the battery starts to give not enough power to start car. This is the worst part. If manual always can push then use 1st gear to start, but not auto. Sometimes use a wrong size battery also will contribute to this. Some people will be lucky when the battery can last for few years and some are not. Sometimes even all the preventive measure you state have done and the battery still fail. maybe the battery use cheap material to make it or some earth fault on the car. Alot of factors will contribute on this, known and unknown.

 

[vantageX]

Usually its 2nd gear to start.

Well, guess I'm really lucky eh? Hehe...but then again I guess it goes back to where you purchase your battery from. What brands do you trust and so on. If you're gonna by some XYZ brand then I guess it won't last that long. And if there's an earth fault on your car you should be having lot bigger problems than a failing battery. A car fire would be number 1 on your list if you're having an earth problem.