Traction battery service, starting with a free condition check

Why batteries are our specialism

With electric forklifts, a large share of what comes in as a machine fault traces back to the battery. The truck loses pull, no longer lasts the shift, or needs the charger by mid-afternoon. The machine itself is fine.

That is an expensive mix-up. A traction battery easily represents a third to half of the value of a used electric forklift. Replace the truck while the battery was the problem and you throw away a good machine. Buy a complete new battery while three cells are dead and you pay several times what was needed.

The free condition check

We come by and measure the battery through. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing.

• Specific gravity per cell. With a hydrometer we measure the electrolyte density in every single cell. It tells how far a cell is truly charged and whether it still holds capacity.
• Voltage per cell. Each cell separately, at rest and where possible under load. One lagging cell drags the whole battery down; a battery is never better than its weakest link.
• Fluid level and general state. Corrosion on the poles, condition of the connectors, tray, cables and plug.
• Charging behaviour. How the charger treats this battery. A worn or wrongly set charger destroys a good battery in six months.

You receive a written report with the readings per cell, an assessment of remaining condition and a recommendation. Numbers, not a sales story. You can act on it yourself, even if you decide to do nothing or have the work done elsewhere.

Cell replacement instead of a new battery

A traction battery consists of single 2-volt cells; a 48-volt battery has twenty-four. They rarely wear evenly: usually a few give up early, for instance because they run warmer or are structurally discharged deeper. If it is a handful, we replace only those cells, at a fraction of a new battery, and the battery runs for years again. The condition is that the remaining cells are still sound, and exactly that difference is what the check shows.

Refurbishment

If the battery as a whole is tired but not finished, refurbishment is an option: we clean the tray and connectors, resolve corrosion, renew cabling and plugs, top up the electrolyte and run a controlled equalising charge to bring the cells back in line. Then we measure again. A refurbished battery rarely reaches the capacity of new, but often regains enough to run a full shift, which for a machine you want to run out for a few more years is exactly what is needed.

Making it last: what your team can do

Most traction batteries die of use, not of age. Three habits make the biggest difference.

Do not discharge deep. Routinely driving until empty costs lifespan. A battery that rarely goes below twenty percent lasts markedly longer than one emptied daily.

Charge fully, not in between. Half an hour on the charger over lunch feels practical but harms a wet lead-acid battery. Let the cycle finish.

Watch the water level. Too little distilled water is the most common cause of early failure we see, and the easiest to prevent. Worth a line in the shift handover, especially with international crews where such habits differ per country.

Battery checks are part of our maintenance contracts as standard, precisely because they decide the cost per operating hour.

Chargers and replacement batteries too

We also look at the charger itself. A charger with the wrong characteristic or a worn output damages every battery it touches, and you only see it when it is too late. We supply and fit replacement traction batteries, and we take your old battery for recycling; lead is valuable and does not belong in waste.

Not sure whether it is the battery or the truck? Call the breakdown service and we sort it out together on the phone.