This paper investigates the problems and deficiencies with present valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) battery float charge techniques. The requirements and goals of float charge are identified, and a mechanism for assessing the achievement of these goals is provided. An electrical equivalent model of a VRLA cell's float charge operational region is developed. This model replicates both the steady-state and transient responses of a float charging VRLA cell. Based on the response of each electrode within a cell to an applied stimulus, a simple test-and-analysis procedure is developed. This procedure extracts reference-electrode-like polarization information from any conventional 2 V VRLA cell in float service., This test procedure is applied to the terminals of a standard cell, and does not require any physical modification to the cell.