[dereckbc]

State Of Charge meters are fairly useless in real applications because the only way for a SOC to be usefull in this application is after the batteries have been at rest for 4 to 6 hours. That is why your votage rises after it has sit for a while or over night.

Now there is a way to make it uselful in real time, but it involves a lot of work and data recording by using a hydrometer and thermometer, and taking voltage readings during various stages of the discharge cycle.