Wait - STOP. Is this a 12 V car battery - as in a real car battery, with lead plates and liquid sulfuric acid? Meant for starting a car?
If it is, its very likely that battery is toast; possibly the plates are sulphated. The best thing you can do -first- is to put a real car battery charger/conditioner on it, and leave it on it for 24 hours. Then check the voltage; it should be around 14 volts. If it isn't, ditch the battery (take it to a place that will recycle it - you don't say where you are, but if you are in the USA, take it down to Checker/Oreilly/AutoZone and use it as a core) and buy a new one.
Don't continue to mess around with this one; it isn't worth it, and the way you are attempting to go about it might end up in a fire and/or injury...