Can you restore a car battery with baking soda?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ธ.ค. 2024
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In today's episode - a useful rather than crazy experiment.
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If you have multiple batteries, check to see which one is the best and still has all the cells connected. Desulfate that battery and drain the acid from the others. Remove water from the acid (look up how to). Then empty good battery. mix a 30% acid to 70% distilled water and fill up battery. Then charge with a good charger. This is your best option to fixing a battery besides completely rebuilding.
This is the best explanation I’ve seen yet. What you call ‘desulfating’, I guess, is what’s an epsom salt wash is for in lead acid batteries. Remember to rinse well. Thanks for such simple and clear directions.
@@shanepowers7566 years ago I did the epsom salt wash+rinse, had better success just dropping an aspirin down each cell and waiting a day to charge it. an old guy suggested it and SOB it worked great!
Desulfate is a process that electrically removes sulfates that collect on battery cells. You can buy fairly cheap battery chargers that have this mode. It sends small electric pulses threw the battery and knocks the sulfates off the plate. This is why I say to do this first. When you drain out the battery it will wash most of this out with it. I’ve never had luck with epsom salt. I think it helps clean it but it kills the acid.
I remember hearing about this years ago, but didn't understood what they were doing now it all makes sense, thanks for sharing:)
@@modelnutty6503 Your battery was prolly like "Not tonight, I have a headache.." and the aspirin was the fix. This is interesting, I wonder if the salicylic acid in the aspirin is the hero here.
Need to desulfate the battery so it can be restored. There's a very simple circuit that I saw online and made before with just a capacitor and bridge diode and what it does is charge the battery with a very low amp, high AC voltage. It desulfates the battery, dissolves all accumulated sulfates from the plates. This takes a few days to properly restore the battery to its original state
The way that works is that the high AC "charging" voltage causes the battery plates to vibrate and dislodge any sulfates. You would still have to remove the sulphates from the battery solution if they're wet cells.
@@Stoney3K no need to remove the sulfates manually. If the acid is good enough, sulfates are going to dissolve in the electrolyte. It really needs patience and time.
Yeah man I tried this exact trick with a battery a couple of years ago and it works just the same it would start the car it only lasted about 4 months it died again but if you're in a pinch that extra 4 months you can save up enough for a new battery
In Romania we have words who can be adapted in English like that: the lazy man runs more, the stingy man damages more. So, buy another good battery rather than remain somewhere in a hot field or cold mountains.
I love that you always try to motivate the viewers to do the experiments themself. I am so tired of this american "NEVER TRY THIS AT HOME, YOU WILL DIE" mentality. People of today are soo scared to do anything themself because of this crap. Remember that the greatest inventions were often done by people experimenting at home!
Its because of the lawyers.
We are so sue happy now that it has become an outright scam.
i mean, people dry pets in microwaves
@@Timsturbs you mean i can't dry my hamster in the microwave? TH-cam said it was ok and 5min would completely dry it off.
Yeah the whole problem is liability like he said you have to say don't try this because people are looking for a quick buck off someone else's hard earned money. If someone can sue a business for spilling a hot cup of coffee on themselves in a drivethru because it didn't say it was hot you know we're in trouble.
Just remember anywhere you see a warning label it's because someone has done it...
this idea is great in a situation where someone cannot afford a new battery. experimentation like this is educating for people that like to experiment . very good in an emergency kudos to you guys.
Эти ,,идеи ,, были стандартом при обслуживание аккумуляторов на тех станциях во времена СССР. Промыл от налёта сульфата потом дисцилированой водой и залил новый электролит. Всё!!
I would have assumed that the baking soda would of just neutralized the acid, if you added more acid instead of water it probably would have worked even better
Are you sure they only put water in it and not electrolyte?
@@mondude9754 yeah I think there was some electrolyte as well since he did raise a bottle of what he called electrolyte why do that if he did not mean to add some to the battery🤔
The main thing that the baking soda did was help dissolve the sulfates that formed on the surface of the battery plates. That's usually what kills a battery. The other thing that kills the batteries is having sulfates form and dissolve too many times and it causes the lead/calcium paste that is packed onto the lead grids to crumble apart and dissolve into the acid itself. If the lead/calcium paste is still intact and they clean the sulfates off the surface of them, then in theory it should be able to restore the battery after rinsing it out and adding more electrolyte to it.
My first thought was adding baking soda to a battery isn't going to improve it. If anything it's going to neutralize the acid and destroy it even farther. I guess the fizzy reaction might have dislodged some sulfates. At least he added fresh electrolyte or it probably would have been worse with no acid left.
Things to consider before messing around and wasting time: If the battery rests at around 10.5-10.8V after you remove the charger, recycle the battery. It has a shorted cell and it will NEVER recover no matter what you do. If the battery is below 10v for a significant amount of time (over a year) , recycle it. It will never be good enough and you will waste your time. There are desulfator circuits and smart chargers that implement this method, however they are for a very light sulfation and it takes a lot of time to desulfate.
This one was a great video. Desulfating batteries is always a patience and time consuming process. Putting them in the charger for a few hours it's just not going to cut it. If you left the battery overnight on a smart charger, they will probably start the car after a few spins. Problem is the voltage drops that low when cranking so there's not enough power left for the the ignition system to function properly(oversimplified) even in carburetor engines. If you have an EFI engine it's even worse because the voltage deeps so low that the ECU cannot function properly. If you could be so kind to do another video (if you have the time) and do the following:
1) Drain the acid into a container and filter it through some plastic cone filter (like the ones for paint) since the plain paper ones will dissolve and clog prematurely,
2) Fill the battery with distilled or deionized water and let it sit for day or two,
3) Purge the water out and refill with the old acid, and top it up with distilled water
4) Put the battery on dumb charger and let it charge overnight in medium amps, if it bubbles a lot reduce the current
5) Check the specific gravity (Special cheap tool with a bulb) of the electrolyte and and if lower add electrolyte (sulfuring acid solution 1,27 specific gravity). If its too high dilute with distilled water.
6) Switch to a smart charger and leave for a couple of days
7) Voila you can squeeze and couple of years out of the battery.
Finally, the rule of the thumb in lead acids is the following, when the battery is charged all the sulfuric acid is in the electrolyte and the lead on the plates, and vice versa for a discharged one (oversimplified). In order to recover a battery fully to its original state after discharge, it will have to be under charging for the same amount it took it to discharge. For example: you left if for a week, you charge it for a week under the same rate. The last one is not practical , that's why car batteries fail early.
Source: 10+ years experience repairing lead acids for vehicles (Cars, forklifts, etc)
The great thing about lead-acid and AGM batteries is that they are 100% recyclable and it's a proven legacy product.
Can't say that about lithium ion or other exotic batteries. Yes, Lithium ion batteries are much more powerful but, recycling is difficult and expensive and the technology is still full of problems (like catching fire).
When charging it produces hydrogen and oxygen
@@sharpshooter147 It generates noticable amounts only when charging with high current.
they are recyclable but it is one of the most polluting industries on earth. second thing is that most people dont know that lead acid batteries can explode and catch on fire too. ive had one blow up in my face, seen a few catch on fire and stopped tons from blowing up. its not lead acid is good lithium bad they both have shitty sides and are both dangerous
The fire problem is countered by using lithium iron phosphate batteries still very powerful and they don't catch on fire and they are easier to recycle.
@@mrturner69 Good points.
PRO TIP: You might want to reconsider how much you'll gain by doing this, depending on where you want to work on it. Last time I tried anything with a car battery, I ruined all my good clothes and the laminated floor. The acid is weak enough that you won't feel it on your skin right away or see things tear up right away, but still strong enough to destroy everything permanently.
I ended up with damage worth the price of several new batteries and the same still dead battery. Now I just buy a new one every time.
Where i used to work we handled new batteries from time to time. If i carried them like both hands infront of me leaning on my stomach, i would get small holes in the shirt because of the leftover acid droplets at the exterior. Like 1-2mm holes.
I agree. It destroys clothes and in the end doesnt have long lasting results. Better off getting a new one
One should always take the precaution of draining the battery acid at your neighbor's house - just to be safe.
You did most of the process correctly, but you forgot to add acid back in.
Baking soda neutralizes the acid. It can't magically appear out of nowhere. It needs to be added back into the battery.
As long as the plates aren't too damaged, it's possible to restore most of the capacity of the battery. You might get a couple more years out if it.
I used to sell air cooled VW beetles during the gas crunch. Rebuild the engine, go over everything else and because 6 volt batteries were expensive, I'd empty them of electrolyte, fill them with water and shake the battery. Drain it again and turn it upside down on cement blocks and flush each cell with a garden hose. When the water ran clear, I'd let it drain upside down for an hour, fill with new electrolyte and charge at 5 amps for 24 hours. I installed the battery in the car and the customer never failed to get at least 9 months from the battery before it needed to be replaced. Cost in materials was about $3.
I'm not a into safety, but do have a "healthy" respect for gloves and glasses around rando batteries. Crank it up!
Breathe in those reactions too! It'll clear your lungs!
I understand baking soda soaks into pads and the plates inside. And you can't get it all out of battery. If baking soda is left inside it nuetralizes the acid, which you don't want. Best to not do baking soda and just try charging battery with arc welder set at 60 amps after topping it off with distilled and charge 5 minutes then off 10 minutes repeat 5 times. It should revive battery and desulphate plates without adding baking soda that might damage plates.
If battery is really sulphated you might have to wash flush out battery insides with distilled water after dumping acid. Then refill with new acid and water.
I'm pretty sure its very hard to get all the baking soda out of inside plates so I wouldn't recommend doing that.
I've had success dropping one aspirin down each cell and topping off the water. a battery that charged to 50% and stopped, a day later it charged right up to 85% then another hour to 90%, then 2 more hours to hit 100%. had no problems with that battery near two years and sold it with the vehicle.
No you can't. Trust me, tried many times on motorcycle acid batteries... Also you really need to wear some protection equipment during these tests...
for a little motorcycle or lawnmower battery, try 1/4 aspirin down each cell, give it a day before trying to charge it. full size battery a whole aspirin down each cell.
Pretty easy to predict what happens on this one when baking soda is commonly used to neutralize acids.
One is supposed to charge a car battery at least for 24 hours to make sure all the cells are fully charged. This is because in the beginning the charging current is anywhere from 4 to 10 amps depending on the charger, but the charging current will drop gradually until the battery is fully charged. You can shock charge a car battery using over 100 amps for short period of time, but that charge is only preserved for short period of time and the battery will die within seconds.
True. I've seen people who leave their lights on or something and when jump started, they think the battery will charge in just a few minutes. It will give it a surface charge but it may take hours, even days, to deep charge a battery by just running the car. The best way to do that is to put a charger on it and let it run overnight at the least. A day or longer is even better.
If you are successful at this point run the batteries through a few cycles for best results. Don't expect long term use though.
@Ronald De Jong Very true. The thing is the way the plates are. If they are falling apart then there's no hope for long. If it's just debris at the bottom then they will last longer once cleaned.
@Ronald De Jong completely agree. I got 5months out of one of my deep cycles. I have more that I plan to revamp before I setup my panels at our new place. They all hold 11.9 volts resting so I should be able to bring them back pretty good.
Well, this wasn't the most exciting episode ever, but still useful and we learned some information that had practical implications in the real world (unlike 98.75% of Vlad's "scientific" experiments) 😆
Did you notice that when first starting the car the rpm would go down a little then keep going? this loading of the battery is warming it up . if you charge it again with HIGH amps to make the cells boil momenteraly it should get better(100-400 amps or use a 24 volt charger you could even use a DC welder but be carefull, so it begins to boil then rest for 15 minuts to cool down then repeat about 5 times, you dont want them to dry out just give them a good kick).
i am a battery dealer retailer in india for past 20 years, there is no science in such experiments, dead battery is a dead battery nothing can be done, if time is a luxury can try eposm salt, baking soda , edta etc etc , nothing works , lead oxide inside battery degrades with time, best thing ( not advisable ) to do is drain the electrolyte fully and fill with distilled water and charge for 12hours, residual suphates will leave the electrodes inside , then drain the weak electrolyte after charging, then add H2SO4 sulphuric acid with 1.250 gravity, this might increase the battery life for few months, structural damage inside battery due to corrosion - nothing can be done
Safety glasses
very professional my friend
Good old baking soda and vinegar tricks. I've see others battery hack using epsom salt.
If the battery plates are good you must drain the acid, fill with distilled water, and attempt to force the lead sulphate to reverse back into solution by charging at a high voltage. After doing this you must again drain the water and refill with acid to the proper level.
Pain in the ass, usually doesn’t work amazing, because you get lead sulphate crystals, but it’s the only way.
The problem is the reaction of the acid with lead forming pbs04 and you must reverse that reaction and try the acid back into solution to recover battery capacity.
No chemical added will fix a sulfated battery
From totally not working to somehow working for one day and then die again.
Lada cranking
TH-cam Captions: [laughter]
You should make a diy electric Lada car that would be great entertainment thank you dude
You are a very good TH-camr. ❤
Here in the US, battery prices have gone up and up over the last 3 years. This info could save a person $150.00, or so. Thanks.
yeah even junkyard batteries are like $40 now. I bet the new ones are made of shit and will fail in 4 years.
Most new cheaper batteries worldwide are made with bottom tier recycled lead plates, already pre-sulfated. If you have the money, look for ones with 'virgin lead'.
@@the_kombinatorlithuania here, new Kyoto battery failed in 3 months, cant hold a. Charge for longer than 2 days
Don't try this at home, try it at your friend's house instead, assuming they're still your friend after the last set of experiments... :P
Hey my name's Jordan Rider I'm from England and I love your videos there great entertainment thank you
Maybe y’all could take an engine apart and put it outside for a while then put it back together with rusty parts. Then you could see how long it would run.
LOL, those crucial machined surfaces couldn't seal or slide enough to get the engine started!
I guess a rusty metal experiment could be for Vlad to spray salt water, or something stronger, on the Lada's rear leaf springs. Get them really rusty to the point where the scale rust has almost penetrated through. Take the Lada down a bumpy road and see how long it takes before they break!
@@BlackPill-pu4vi or go to a saltwater boat ramp on any weekend and watch the rusty trailer running gear break when people trailer their boats for the first time of the season. Lol
11:35 the dizzy isn't connected to the coil there.
I was just about to comment this, the car won't start without that. 🙃
yep, I noticed, and they do this to see how the battery handles the load to start an engine
Would have been curious to see what simply draining the old electrolyte and adding new stuff would have done. I highly doubt that the baking soda actually did anything.
Практически ничего, пластины обволокли сульфатный налёт что не позволяет входить в редакцию с электролитом, промывка расширяет площадь реакции
The reaction your seeing is not because that cell was bad. It's natural for baking soda on battery acid. I have done this, you cannot revive a crumbling plate. If a battery sits resting at 11v you may be able to clean it out this way due to debris sitting at the bottom shorting out that cell. I got another 4-5 months out of it before it went fully out. Mine were being used for off grid power.
How long will they last sitting on a shelf before they go dead after the battery is charged and would it keep a charge
I'm not sure because he doesn't outright say it but, when done flushing with distilled water, what did he fill them up with exactly.
For me its common sense to fill it with a mix of acid and distilled water. Maybe its so obvious for him to do so that he didn't mention it.
Would a lead acid (calcium or not) even function with only distilled water ?
Distilled water is a pretty bad conductor so results would be under what we expect if we filled them with a regular mix.
If the batteries are already fully discharged then the action of charging them will release sulfuric acid into the water, so it might not be necessary to add very much additional acid.
In a discharged state, both a lead-acid battery's plates are PbSO4. As it charges, the cathode releases sulfate ions to become metallic lead, and the anode releases sulfate ions and takes up oxygen to form PbO2, which leaves H+ ions in solution. The H+ and SO4 ions released into solution become sulfuric acid, so as the battery charges the acidity of the electrolyte increases.
@@DielectricVideos I've been enlightened, thanks :)
very interesting ! the baking soda dissolves the sulphate which damages the batteries (blocks the charge and the discharge).. just a pity that you do not show more closely the result of the disassembled blue battery.
When I was a mechanic I had to empty an old battery, flush into it with our Karcher (not at full pression) then put new electrolyte and surprisingly see it working again. I put this battery on a tractor and it run it for 2 years. Can you try this?
8:51 actually using a hammer and sickle
I've had a lot of luck by draining the battery and replacing the sulphuric acid from the hardware store. Only works with lead acid batteries and with the right concentration though.
Wait you can buy sulfric acid over the counter 😯, wow!
Old school guys do that for long term storage. Drain and store it in a glass container and put it back when you're ready to use the battery again
@@dogwalker666 In the US? Sure, up to 70%, I think? Or 30%. Not sure. You can buy hydrochloric at a hardware store, too. It's labeled as muriatic acid and comes in about a 30% concentration. Nitric acid is hard to get, though. That shit's nasty. You can still get it without any special licensing, but it's nowhere near as common because it doesn't have many common uses by the average person. The only thing I can think of is some small scale gold refining processes that use it
Yes nitric acid is nasty I worked at an anodizing company And we used nitric acid for pasavation of stainless steel You could put it on regular steel And it would start reacting with orange smoke In a god awful smell It was delivered in a large stainless steel drum All the other acids we use or in plastic drums Sulfuric was the common acid that we used Sulfuric was the common acid that we used for aluminium
This does work. However, the battery wont last for a long time. This would only be a temporary fix. The battery plates have been ate up by the battery acid. All the gunk has settled to bottom of the battery shorting out the cells. That's why the battery is referred to as having a dead cell.
Magnesium sulphate
Epsom salt’s works like a treat.
Hello, how did you prepare and use the Epson salt?
Need to measure the CCA before and after ❤
That Lada isn't going to start without a king lead
Epsom salt / Magnesium sulphate works
all it is doing is washing out the old lead that fell of the plates. but if done right It will work like a new battery. but it is hard to get all the water out !!! And I did it without baking soda which kills the acid !!! I turn a riding mower battery from 300cca to 500cca when I was done !!! it took 15 washes to clean the loose lead out. And that battery is till going 5 yrs later. I still have it it's down to 250cca about now !!! but still starts cars and my riding mowers !!!
Does the "pour wine into the batter" thing help as an emergency jump start?
Disodium EDTA is what you want. not baking soda.
i did the baking soda($1) method today..... without epsom salt.... let it sit a while ... gave it a shake now and then until the bubbling stops completely..... then i rinsed with clean water couple times till water comes out clean...... then i added fresh distilled water($1.50) and then fresh battery acid($3) ...... before i started the volt reading was 11V and after i was finished adding the liquids the multimeter showed 12V without even charging ..... its on the charger now on 2Amps .... gonna let it charge few hours and check whether the car will start this time .. . hope so
its the next day now after doing the baking soda.... charging batttery inside house for 5 hours ..... car cranked slow but started..... i drove around a bit ..... after that car started everytime..... my conclusion is that the baking soda works, and you must add fresh battery acid and distilled water.......my other conclusion is that the alternator charges differently than a house charger, even better..... i think ita about the Amp output of alternator thats higher
Baking soda cleans coroded battery terminals very well
Right the voltage may come back but not the amp hour capacity never come back close to 100%
I also call that a successful test!👌😂👍but them batteries looks like they’re from the 50s! Lol
Indestructible Lada!;-)
Now do this same experiment with sulfuric acid. Bet the results would be much different and not spiked with unneeded sodium cations!
9.6 volts under load is minimum battery voltage
I'm rilly likeing that load cheaker haven't seen one like that before man
Just watched the fix battery ,have you tried the arc welder method??
You use the current from a welder to desulphicate a car battery.
107% success rate! : )
Now this I have done before. You really don't want to use baking soda as it is a chemical; base and will neutralize the sulfuric acid that is used in a battery. To restore a battery, use Distilled water to flush the battery and rinse it out. This will need to be done to all of the gunk in the battery is gone (or almost gone). Then refill the battery with new sulfuric acid. To charge the battery, you will need to hook it in parallel with a charged battery so it will take a charge This is due to the fact that most chargers will not activate if the battery is below 9 volts.
I've never done the baking soda method. From what I've read tho, the baking soda removes the sulfation from the battery plates since it neutralizes it. Once it is gone, then you rinse it out, distilled water would likely be best, and then refill with sulfuric acid. As you point out, you may need to parallel a battery at first to trick the newer smart chargers.
Me, I built a open source desulfator. It takes time but it does eventually work. Thing is, I don't have to empty the battery or anything. You can only do that if you have another battery to use while desulfating the weak battery tho. This also allows me to maintain a healthy battery whenever I can.
I tend to go to town once a week. To keep my battery healthy, once a month or so I disconnect a battery cable and hook up a desulfator and trickle charger. It does its thing until the next week when I go to town. I keep a trickle charger on my car when I'm not going anywhere for a couple days or more as well. Sitting for a week with key-less entry and other things that run even when the key off tends to make the battery drain a bit.
I've also read but not sure of this, a battery that stays well charged doesn't sulfate near as fast.
Could you make a video about reviving dead battery BUT with using invertor smelter (this guy gives cca 18.5V)?? I've seen tons of videos.. it's simple you just fill it up with d.water (but NOT all the way to the top!) and give it 20-50Amps for about 3-4 hrs whilst checking the temp.. if the temp goes high, you let it cool and repeat.. 😉
"sexy ladies..." "...thailand"
I dunno how to tell you this boys, but...
Please use some PPE!
@TheEasternQPersonal Protection Equipment - In this case face and eye protection. Acid can blind and burn your face etc.
Ive seen them used a welder to restore the battery
Don't leave them outside in the winter.
That method works but it doesn’t really. As the Soda will neutralize anything that is acidic by rule, on top of lightly cleaning the oxidation on the lead plates. Meaning you will very likely clean it up just enough to help remove some of the shorts, improving voltage and capacity. But there is also no way to completely remove every little bit of soda even if you rinse the heck out of it, unless you comply disassemble and clean each plate individually. Meaning over a short period of a couple weeks to a couple months, without a complete disassembly when cleaning,, the tiny amount of residual soda will eventually neutralize the new electrolyte that was added. So really unless you are competent in assembly and have new plates and electrolytes, the soda method isn’t worth it.
Put the coil wire on and it will probably start
I have seen removing the caps and using a big change that has a 200 amp plus start function and running it for like 15 minutes at a time a couple of times with plenty of time for it to cool off Iit seemed to work for me
Yeah. I do that a lot. It's not a 100% success but it will make a crappy battery better. It doesn't fix dead cells though.
have one I was going to try to clean because there is like no bubbling on 2 cells so I'm not sure if some lead is broken off and is shorting them but I'm not sure I want to mess with the acid
Love you guys
so throw baking soda and water in there then flush it with distilled water but what do you refill it with when you are charging it?
Fresh battery acid?
@@Stoney3K they have that? where does one get it?
My dog handling acid battery with no gloves on but a screwdriver 🤣🖤
I'm about to try this on my Mustang's car battery that keeps dying because I hardly drive it.
I can smell those batteries from here 😆
Aren't they creating a bunch of hydrogen sulfide by doing this?!
Very interesting, I don't think I'll bother tho
Ruskys don't use eye protection at all
Reviving battery use epsom salt and water
Yes what were the batteries refilled with?
That next drift taxi sick
Hi. What did u use to fill batteries after cleaning the plates? New acid?
It's actually just distilled water in a battery. The act of charging is what makes it acidic.
Im surprised those batteries kept the starter cranking for interesting amount of times
These battery's are cheap as chips and readily available better repair li-ion cells without fire 🔥😂
Baking soda? That's one I've never heard. I've seen Epsom salts used to renew old batteries.
*Barking soda* works well on dogs too.
*KARK IT,* spammer!
what about epsom salt in distilled water, does that bring a dead battery back to life if the battery is on the charger for 24 hours? i have seen videos but not sure i believe them, the people say the distilled water needs to be warm and super saturated to the point it can not hold any more epsom salt.
They are using hand AND eye protection!!
what else than lead and lead oxide would you have in there
baking soda + metal = reaction, like co2 out
Sorry battery was flat. But I'm here now
Too much trouble for a dodgy battery when a new one cost 80 dollars and last another 5 to 10 years
I always thought baking soda stops battery acid from eating whatever its on...
Wonder if you can take lemon juice and revive it this way
Try with a dc welder..
So cool!
Am I the only one who noticed that the coil plug wire wasn't connected to the top of the distributor? That's probably why it wouldn't start
They didn't want it to start so that's why it is disconnected. I noticed it too. A starter is a good way to test a battery.
Do we have an update on the bus build?
Am I the only one wondering about a collab with the Pakistani guys who rebuild trucks?
That is good to know, 😁👍
I don't know how I would react if their language translation program started using a different voice.