> Hello, > > I've just become the proud owner of a 1984 VW Rabbit convertible that > was converted to EV in 1998 using a Mike Brown kit. The car was > working up to a month ago, when the owner said it just stopped > in the middle of the road. The battery pack is original, and the owner > said he was getting about 10 miles out of it. > > The battery pack is not in the best of shape. There is a lot of "stuff" > (i.e. while chalky stuff and blue foamy stuff), around the batteries. > There is also some rusting/corrosion on the brackets used to mount > the batteries. > > My plan is to first clean everything up. I've read that one should use > 1 lb. of baking soda to 1 gal. of water for cleaning the batteries and > terminals. After cleaning do I just wash off the solution with water? > I just put in a new driveway, and don't want to stain it. Will this > stuff damage my concrete? > > My next step is to fill all the batteries and charge them up. > > Next, I'll check the charge on each battery per the instructions on > http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/dcfaq.htm > > If everything looks ok, and the car still doesn't work, I'll start looking > for other problems. > > Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. > > Thanks, > > ....Ken
Ken, I don't think the baking soda and battery acid will be a problem on the drive, but if there is any corrosion the dissolved iron WILL stain the concrete a very nice rust color! Did this a couple of weeks ago at a friend's house, not the way to keep friends. Mike Pengelly Phoenix, AZ '90 Mustang EV [EMAIL PROTECTED]
