Odd Battery Issue

[Buzz Kanter]

Earlier today I pulled a 12 volt battery out of my 1931 Indian 101 Scout to adjust a part I couldn't reach with the battery in place. And I was surprised by what I found.

I try to keep the batteries in my bikes properly maintained and fully charged. When mounted I could see the outside cell was full and I would plug in a BatteryTender every few weeks to keep it charged.

When I pulled the battery I discovered the one outside cell was overfilled and the other 5 were almost totally dry. What would cause one cell to stay full and the other 5 to dry right out?

I could understand it if all 6 were very low, but not 5 out of 6. Any ideas?

[HarleyCruiser]

Not a battery expert, but over charging a battery will boil the water out. Don’t know why one would stay full though.
Was the full one on the down side?
What kind if battery charger do you have?
A 31 Indian with 12v?

[HarleyCruiser]

Any chance it was discharged and froze up, got cracked?

[Buzz Kanter]

Originally Posted by HarleyCruiser

Not a battery expert, but over charging a battery will boil the water out. Don’t know why one would stay full though.
Was the full one on the down side?
What kind if battery charger do you have?
A 31 Indian with 12v?

I had it on a BatteryTender, on and off every few months. Yes, I converted it to 12 volts so I could actually use the lights at night. And no the battery never froze. Still scratching my head over this one.

[shovelmike]

It has been my experience that as a cell begins to go bad it will consume a lot of water, why only one cell stayed healthy..who knows. At any rate, the upper portion of the plates which were dry for quite a spell, have been permanently damaged and the battery will never have its full capacity. If it were mine I would try to find a sealed battery that size to replace it.

[MR.MF]

That cell could have been bad all along ie not charging, and the others had to work that much harder boiling them off first ? it is strange, and this is only a theory that sort of made sense.