I know that this is the farthest thing from BH topics (or is it?), but after having discovered a dead battery in My RAV4 this morning, I decided to take battery in to get checked. They said it was fine according to their fancy little machine, it just needed recharging. I have a great little battery charger that I have owned for years that will charge a max of 30 amps for about 5 minutes. This battery first was taking 20 amps. Wow, that is a bunch. After 2 hrs of the charger switching on and off, it has dropped to 16 amps or so. Two things bother me. One is that I see nor hear any bubbles being made from the cells or smell the gas that it would normally produce. Secondly, the sensitive needle on the battery charger 'bumps' a tiny bit every so often for no reason that I can think of. I know that some of you guys are into cars, and I bet that you have a few ideas. Yes, I took the battery out of the car, and yes, I have cleaned the post with baking soda/water, using a brass brush. What might I be missing?
Lastly, the battery is probably 3-4 years old, and has a cold crank rating of 800 CCA. Right now it is at 500 CCA.