l most certainly be pleased with your service and will feel that
if you take such pains with the outside of his battery you will
certainly treat the inside with the same care when repairs are
necessary. The light coat of paint costs very little for one battery,
but may bring you many dollars worth of work.

Level of Electrolyte. During charge the electrolyte will expand, and
will generally flow out on the covers. This need not be wiped off
until the end of the charge. When the electrolyte has cooled after the
battery is taken off charge, it must be about 1/2 inch above the
plates. While the electrolyte is still warm it will stand higher than
this, but it should not be lowered by drawing off some of it, as this
will probably cause it to be below the tops of the plates and
separators when it cools.

TROUBLES

If all goes well, the charging process will take place as described in
the preceding paragraphs. It frequently happens, however, that all
does not go well, and troubles arise. Such troubles generally consist
of the following:

Specific gravity will not rise to 1.280. This may be due to the plates
not taking a full charge, or to water having been used to replace
electrolyte which has been spilled. To determine which of these
conditions exist, make cadmium test (see page 174) on the positives
and negatives, also measure the voltage of each cell. If these tests
indicate that the plates are fully charged (cell voltage 2.5 to 2.7,
Positive-Cadmium 2.4 volts, Negative-Cadmium minus 0.15 to 0.20
volts), you will know that there is not enough acid in the
electrolyte. The thing to do then is to dump out the old electrolyte,
refill with 1.300 electrolyte and continue the charge until the
specific gravity becomes constant. Some adjustment may then have to be
made by drawing off some of the electrolyte with a hydrometer and
adding water to lower the gravity, or 1.400 acid to bring it up.
Remember that specific gravity readings tell you nothing about the
plates, unless it is known that the electrolyte contains the correct
proportions of water and acid. The cadmium test is the test which
tells you directly whether or not the plates are charged and in
charging a battery the aim is to charge the plates, and not merely to
bring the specific gravity to 1.280.

If the specific gravity will not rise to 1.280 and cadmium tests show
that the plates will not take a full charge, then the battery is, of
course, defective in some w