hat developed positives, and will drop during the test, ending
at 1.95 volts or less. The negative Cadmium readings will start at
0.23 volt or higher, up to 0.30, and will rise gradually, more
suddenly toward the end if the plates are old, ending anywhere above
0.35 and up to 0.6 to 0.7 for poor negatives.

Short Circuited Cells: In cases of short circuited cells, the voltage
of the cell will be almost down to zero. The Cadmium readings would
therefore be nearly zero also for both positives and negatives. Such a
battery should be opened for inspection and repairs.

Testing a Battery on Charge

The Battery should be charging at the finishing rate. (This i's
usually stamped on the battery box.) Dip the cadmium in the
electrolyte as before, and test the negatives by holding the plain
prod on the negative post of the cell. See Fig. 119. Test the
positives in a similar manner. See Fig. 120. The cell voltage should
also be measured. If the positives are fully charged, the positive
cadmium reading will be such that the pointer will move to the red
line marked "Pos. Charged." See Fig. 125. If you are using an ordinary
voltmeter, the meter will give a reading of from 2.35 to 2.42 volts.
The negatives are then tested in a similar manner. The
negative-cadmium reading on an ordinary voltmeter will be from .175 to
.2 to the left of the "0" line; that is, the reading is a reversed
one. If you are using the special ABM voltmeter, the pointer will move
to the red line marked "Neg. Charged." See Fig. 123. The cell voltage
should be the sum of the positive-cadmium and the negative cadmium
readings.

If the voltage of each cell will not come up to 2.5 to 2.7 volts on
charge, or if the specific gravity will not rise to 1.280 or over,
make the cadmium tests to determine whether both sets of plates, or
one of them, give readings indicating that they are fully charged. If
the positives will not give a reading of at least 2.35 volts, or if
the negatives will not give a reversed reading of at least 0.1 volt,
these plates lack capacity.

In case of a battery on charge, if the negatives do not give a minus
Cadmium reading, they may be lacking in capacity, but, on the other
hand, a minus negative Cadmium reading does not prove that the
negatives are up to hill capacity. A starting ability discharge test
(page 267) is the only means of telling whether a battery is up to
capacity.

Improperly treated separators will cause poor negative-C