Dealer told me my battery failed the load test. Its an 03 Audi A4 1.8T, but it seems to start fine, it struggled a little during the frigid winter last winter but always started. How do I know if the dealer is just trying to pull a fast one passed me?

Chances are the dealer is telling you the truth and the battery will end up leaving you somewhere you don’t want to be. To do a quick easy load test, hook up a volt meter to the battery observe the voltage should be around 12.7V if it’s around 13 or so due to the car recently running turn on the headlights for about 5 seconds and that should take care of the “surface charge” you should be closer to 12.7V now. Okay, now turn on your high beams this is your “load” observe the voltage if it’s below “9.6V” your battery is weak below spec, replace it. Or, you can bring your car to autozone or advance auto parts and they will do the more accurate test for free. Good Luck!

How to save the battery on a battery wireless mouse with no power button? I have a Microsoft 5000 mouse and I usually leave my PC on 24/7. Will this be constantly killing the battery, or is the battery barely used with the mouse is in idle state?

Take the batteries out when your sleeping

Will my rechargable batteries recharge while it is inside my digital camera and the digital camera is plugged into my computer?

They are regular AA batteries and I have a Canon digital camera. I'm on vacation and want to know if the rechargable batteries that are in the camera will recharge while I plug it in to my computer and turn it on? I don't have a multimeter or anything.

Check the owner manual or the Canon site!

A car has a very wide array of parts and components that makes the operation of the vehicle possible. All of these components have to be cared for to ensure that the car will run smoothly and also so as to avoid car breakdowns or even accidents.

But some car parts or components are paid less attention than other parts. One of these is the car battery - no matter what battery it is, it needs proper care and maintenance to make sure that it will not be a cause of a car malfunction. That is why CarMax Inc., the country’s biggest retailer of used cars has issued their tips to motorists on how to take care of their batteries.

Juan Crespo, the ASE Master Technician for CarMax, stated that while the battery is one of the most important parts in an automobile, it has the reputation of being one of the many highly abused but seldom maintained parts of a car. “Usually, no attention is paid to the battery unless it is suspected of causing a problem”, Crespo added. He also pointed out that the most prevalent problems encountered with batteries are low voltage or low charge.

In response to this, and to help motorists prolong the life of their batteries, the technicians at CarMax have come up with few pieces of advice to keep batteries from causing problem to car owners.

When working with batteries, technicians recommend that safety should be considered first. Thus they encourage anyone working with batteries to wear proper eye, hand, and clothing protection. This is because of the chemicals used on batteries are quite corrosive in nature.

Maintaining the proper condition of a battery starts with the way it is installed; battery cables should be connected tightly to the battery’s terminals and should be free from corrosion. In case that corrosion is already setting in, car owners should let qualified technicians clean the battery terminals for them. Correct installation of the battery means that it should be firmly secured to its mounting brackets. It should be held in a steady position since a running engine causes vibration and this vibration can cause the battery to shift. Added vibration due to road conditions can also move the battery around and can cause damage to its housing or to the components inside.

For those who opt for batteries which are not “maintenance free”, they should regularly check the level of battery fluid and add distilled water if there is less fluid than there ought to be. While those batteries that seem to have no fluid left at all should be replaced since the apparent absence of battery fluid means that the battery is approaching uselessness. Keeping the battery clean is also one key to lengthen the service of a car battery. Motorists are encouraged to keep the battery case clean since accumulated dirt can conduct electricity which means that it can discharge a battery.

Cleaning the battery case can be done easily with a nylon bristle brush and a solution of baking soda dissolved in warm water. Once the battery case is already brushed and cleaned by the solution, it can be rinsed with just plain water.

Choosing a battery also spells the difference in some cases avoiding premature deterioration of the battery. Since they come in different sizes, it is essential to pick the battery just right for your car. You can check out your car owner’s manual to find the specifications you would need to find a new battery.

Keeping in mind that the battery is an important part of the car, it should be treated properly. It does not only provide starting power but also gives power to other accessories of the car like a Volvo fog light.

Hybrid vehicles are now either being developed or already in the lineup of several car manufacturers. This revolution is brought to American shores by Japanese car manufacturers like Toyota and Honda. The Toyota Prius has become a favorite for the American buyers who are concerned with the conservation of the environment as well as the ever increasing prices of gasoline.

The success of Japanese car manufacturers has challenged different car manufacturers to develop their own hybrid-electric vehicles - or in the case of Volvo, a vehicle that runs on an alternative fuel. Different designs and concepts have surfaced in the race to produce energy efficient vehicles. These include plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles, and electric vehicles.

The past two years has seen the development of vehicles that not only depends on its engine for power but also on electric motors. What an electric motor needs do is to provide power for the car in a long span of time. It should be a good power storage box or a battery.

This is where Lithium Technology Corporation steps in. The company provides rechargeable batteries for any conceivable use. And the company is moving forward to help the automotive industry in providing quality batteries that can be used on electric cars whether to a fully electric vehicle or a hybrid-electric vehicle. The batteries being offered by the company are lithium ion ones which stores the same amount of energy to that of a metal-hydride battery but weigh less.

The company has shown what their batteries can do by teaming up with Innosys Engineering to convert a mass produced car with a gasoline engine to an electric car. The team started out with a four-seater Daihatsu Cuore and converted it to be run from the power stored by lithium-ion batteries and a three-phase asynchronous electric motor. The battery used to power the vehicle has a capacity of 250 kWh and can power the car to a range of approximately 180-200 kilometers depending on driving conditions. The car can reach speeds of up to 100 kilometer per hour. The performance of the converted electric car is at par to that of the previously announced Chevrolet Volt from General Motors that will be produced and sold to the public by 2010.

The availability of such technology is a great boost to the efforts of car manufacturers to produce cars that will be less dependent on fossil fuels. The only problem being encountered is the cost of production of such batteries and the convenience for the drivers especially the concern about recharging the battery. But with collaborations on the part of Lithium Technology Corporation and the car industry could mean a development of ways to bring down the cost of production of such components. Partnerships between car manufacturers and the global provider of large format rechargeable power solutions could mean that, in the near future, majority of the cars in our roads will be energy efficient and produce less or no emissions at all.

The batteries being produced by Lithium Technology Corporation can be recharged by an engine as in the case of hybrid-electric vehicles. They can also be charged via a standard AC electrical socket for plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles. The company has developed a range of high quality batteries like the brake components that can be found at Active Brakes Direct. These batteries are produced with electronic controls or battery management systems that harnesses the battery’s full potential.

Aside from batteries that can be used by electric cars, the Lithium Technology Corporation also produces batteries for other technological gizmos like laptop computers and the likes.

You'd think that they'd try to avoid the irony and make a battery tester plug in. lol.

I was wondering if someone could tell me how to change the battery on a Firex smoke detector? The smoke detectors seem to be wired to the house with a backup battery in case the power goes out.

It's not as simple as just pulling out the old battery and popping in the new one. There's a plastic mold or case(with one red wire, one black wire, and one yellow wire) covering where the battery is held. So, basically I need to somehow remove this before I can get to the battery. Can anyone tell me the safe way to do this?

I'm not trying to get electrocuted here Any help would be appreciated.

It's still that simple, that case as you call it, just pops out, the wires are connected together, and will pop off the end, don't worry about it. Put the new one in the same way. A screw driver may have to be used, they get tight after a few years.

Do the batteries charge everytime there hooked up to a powered amp? I Havnt played my Robot les paul in like a month n a half and the batteries seem low. I took the back off to see the batteries an it looks like they cant be replaced. Whats going on with this?

Robot guitar charges with somekind of patented batteries that looks that they are “rechargable”..

http://mrwoozie.com/

which internet site would also give me this information? NEC, NFPA, how stuff works??

Either wire will do just fine. But if you want to conform to the standard, com (aka, negative, ground, return, …) is your black lead.

New to this system. I recently bought a gas powered generator for outdoor use—wanting to use it sparingly, I would like to purchase a battery and inverter that will provide necessary power for my low-watt tools and appliances—with the generator being used to charge the battery when it runs out, and power more watt-heavy equipment—like my power tools.

I am looking for battery/inverter options and the wiring that would go with them to 1) charge the battery, and 2) connect the battery to the inverter.

Thanks in advance!

This sort of installation would work well with solar or wind battery chargers. The gas powered generator could be used to power a battery as needed.
I have some information on one of my web pages which may help.
http://members.rennlist.org/warren/wind.html