Is my alternator fine?

[old_mopar_guy]

Wow. Do they have exposed cell connectors also?

[shanonia]

I have never seen those except in old photos, but removable caps (used to be 6, now more often 2 wide ones) have been very common until the last few years - a desirable feature because you can measure each of the 6 cells’ charge before and after charging a battery. That gives a level of detailed info that is missed when taking measurements from only the + and - terminals.

[Tester]

@shanonia

a desirable feature because you can measure each of the 6 cells’ charge before and after charging a battery.

Mechanics now use battery conductance testers to do the same thing in a very short period of time.

https://cf.linnbenton.edu/eit/auto/krolicp/upload/conductance_test.pdf

Tester

[asemaster]

@shanonia

prefer batteries that have removeable caps because I can measure the state of charge in each cell. I regret that that design is on the way out.

30+ years in this business and I’ve never understood that. Either a battery is good or it’s not. What good does it do to know if one cell is bad? It’s not like you can replace one cell.

[old_mopar_guy]

Or, for that matter, knowing if a battery died due to calcification or one dead cell?