A used car battery - when handled - I hear the “sloshing” or “slashing” sound. The fluid inside is moving around.
Does this mean:
Shop had a tool to measure cranking ampere (?) - it showed 8.4 or 84. Shop said 6 would be bad. For comparison the same device gave 10.5 on a brand new battery.
Thoughts?
I don’t know what they measured. Mine are 600 or 700 cold cranking amps. When the reading gets down to 90% or so, I buy a new battery. Volts should be close to 13. Sorry Nevada but my lawn mower battery is 275 amps. I suppose if it needed water it could splash around but that would mean that it wasn’t cared for much.
Did you not ask the shop these questions ? Battery repair ?
If this is the vehicle that may go to east coast someday just put a new battery in it.
There are warnings on the battery; contains sulfuric acid, do not tip, etc. Shaking a battery is not a valid test.
Why not inspect the fluid level? If the fluid level is abnormally low, the battery may have a defect. There are chemicals added to the battery plates that prevent “boiling” and the need to add water. When I find a battery with a very low fluid level, it is usually caused by a shorted cell.
Cranking amperage drawn by starter motors are approximately 100 amps, 84 amps is normal.
Out of curiosity, how hard did you shake the battery to hear the electrolyte slosh ?
I have never heard electrolyte slosh, fro little lawnmower batteries to big six and twelve volt car batteries.