An Insight into Internal Battery Shorts

One of the most crucial problems one might face concerning battery usage is the internal battery short. Internal battery shorts are highly dangerous for voltage levels. Thus, it is essential to have some basic knowledge about these internal battery shorts.

The fundamental cause for internal shorts is mostly related to overheating. Overheating leads to the melting and losing of separators in a battery. This is why it is highly advised to keep a check on the batteries’ health regularly. Battery load testers are an incredible tool for these.

Moving further, we will discuss the different types of internal battery shorts, and what are its main causes.

Types of Internal Battery Short

Internal battery short can be categorized into three major kinds: soft short, lead group, and mechanical failure.

•         Soft Short

One of the most popular types of internal battery short is soft short. Soft short is not very convenient to recognize because the battery seems to work fine after a short. This type of internal battery short most frequently occurs in starter batteries. The most evident indication of this shorting condition is that the charge wipes off.

•         Mechanical Failure

The causes of mechanical failure short include battery plates getting loose or touching each other, or the occurrence of excessive vibrations and shocks. Mechanical failure shorts have disastrous consequences such as high discharge of current and overheating.

•         Lead drop

This internal battery short mostly occurs early in battery life. The leading cause of the lead drop is the welded wires that connect the plates in a battery. In order to detect any issues in their early phases or examine the battery, you can use a battery load tester. 

Now that we are familiar with the types of internal battery shorts, let us look into the causes of the battery shorts.

What Causes Battery Shorts?

To understand the internal battery shorts completely, it is essential to know what exactly causes these three common battery shorts. External factors such as defects on the packaging of the battery cell might add up to cause an internal battery short.

Some other common causes of internal battery shorts are as follows:

•         Sloppy manufacturing

Sloppy manufacturing refers to a situation where several plates in a battery touch each other. Consequently, there is a high chance that internal battery shorts might occur. Battery replacement is recommended in these cases.

•         Expansion and Contraction of Plates

As Arbin Instruments mentions, contraction and expansion of plates might lead to the growth of sulfite crystals. Hence, it is significant to keep track of your battery health regularly. This would help you in identifying the failures as soon as possible and thus; it is more likely that the problem can be solved at its earliest.

What does it take to maintain your battery in its finest condition? How to prolong your battery’s life? The answer lies within the maintenance practices. With careful maintenance, you can make sure there are little to no internal shorts and the battery’s life is significantly extended.

Furthermore, charging your batteries to the recommended level and ensuring the right working temperature for the batteries are other beneficial practices that you should adopt. Making use of load testers is highly encouraged so that any damages can be detected and solved. Moreover, damaged batteries should be replaced immediately.