Most of the time, yes. In some rare cases it can revive dead batteries for a short time – but this would depend on the condition of the battery’s innards and the reason it’s sick or dying.
Let’s say you had a battery pack in your electric car, and after 3 years or so you notice your range-per-charge isn’t what it used to be. Can you simply “revive” your pack to it’s former glory? In most cases no you can’t.
This is because battery rejuvenation or reconditioning relies on “de-sulphating” the plates inside the battery. In English, this means adding a chemical into the battery, then applying a high frequency pulse. In theory this breaks down the nasty sulphate crystals that have formed inside the battery, revealing sparkling like-new battery plates again.
The problem with this, is that most batteries do not die from sulphation occurring on the internal plates (despite what battery reconditioning kit websites might claim). Some batteries may get sick, yes, but most do not die from sulphation. In reality most batteries actually slowly die natural deaths from internal plate collapse or slow plate disintegration.
Trying to recondition an old pack that has naturally disintegrated internally may give you the temporary impression of a fresh pack with high amperage loads possible for a short time, which is ideal for giving car-starting batteries a little extra life – but for electric car batteries you’re wasting your time.
This is because electric cars require constant, high-amperage demands from their batteries. Car-starting batteries only require a quick burst for a couple of seconds. Therefore using reconditioning kits on electric car (deep cycle) batteries will typically prove to be a waste of time – and money.
In most cases, if your batteries are sick after a long & healthy life it’s due to the plates being thin, warped, shorted, collapsed, disintegrated, or just plain faulty and no amount of magic chemicals and positive thinking are going to bring it back.
Be wary of internet sites selling these miracle fixes. Many electric vehicle conversion ebooks actively sell these bogus battery rejuvenation methods as a viable way to achieve like-new, long-life batteries.
Don’t believe the hype; I certainly make no such claims in any of my ebooks. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
As you may have heard me mention before, there are a lot of ways to cut down on conversion costs but batteries are the one area I advise to invest in carefully and wisely.
In short, once your lead acid battery pack is nearing it’s full 3+ year life cycle, your time & money is better invested recycling them, allowing you to buy a fresh new pack.
