Charging A Car Battery?

mikey72

s_b wrote: »

i strongly advise against this if you have an old type battery charger as they only have basically first world war bits in them and so the output is not smooth in electricery talk and can well damage components on your car
i learnt this 8 years ago when i blew an ecu on a punto

I've never had a problem.
I used to have an old battery charger, not smoothed at all, just a rough half wave rectifier, and had no problems.
All car electrics are load dump tested, so should cope with it.
Altough it is advised to disconnect the battery before charging.
I've moved onto an Aldi charger that is more intelligent now though.

s_b

All car electrics are load dump tested, so should cope with it.

famous last words,i see you dumped the half wave ,i couldnt remember the term this very afternoon
seriously no manufacturer worth his salt these days even recommends jump leads direct onto a battery so something from the trenches really needs to be consigned to the shed of antiquities

Bingo_Bill

Adams1 wrote: »

Hey.

Is there any complications in charging a car battery even if its not dead? I was given a AC wall charger where you connect it to a socket and clip on either end to a car battery to charge it and was wondering if its O.K to do this on a working battery?

I was hoping to take mine off and leave it over night to give it a full nights charge but a friend said it could be dangerous and mentioned "jump starting" and I pointed out to him that I'm not using jump leads from another car...

So just to clear this up... Can I or can I not use a AC wall charger to charge a semi-OK car battery? (instead of instant, it takes that one, sometimes two seconds to crank the car, and I want to restore its power.)

Thanks!

Absolutely safe as long as you disconnect one of the battery leads before you connect the charger (otherwise you can blow the alternator diodes0. If the battery starts to smell and make a bubbling noise after a short time of charging then your battery is on it's way out (plates sulphated). Remove from charge immediately if this happens.:)

Flyboy152

Adams1 wrote: »

Hey.

Is there any complications in charging a car battery even if its not dead? I was given a AC wall charger where you connect it to a socket and clip on either end to a car battery to charge it and was wondering if its O.K to do this on a working battery?

I was hoping to take mine off and leave it over night to give it a full nights charge but a friend said it could be dangerous and mentioned "jump starting" and I pointed out to him that I'm not using jump leads from another car...

So just to clear this up... Can I or can I not use a AC wall charger to charge a semi-OK car battery? (instead of instant, it takes that one, sometimes two seconds to crank the car, and I want to restore its power.)

Thanks!

Stereo code.

Adams1

Flyboy152 wrote: »

Stereo code.

Got that already The only reason I ask is, the same started to happen last year when I bought the car so I just dropped in a new battery and problem was solved. I listen to the CD player alot, mostly when the car is turned off whilst I wait, or even worse, forget to turn the god forsaken auto headlights off (Volvo) and it feels like the battery is flat at times so thats why I was wondering if I took off the battery and left it on charge on a wall charger over night, would it be safe?

Seems so

wealdroam

Adams1 wrote: »

...I was wondering if I took off the battery and left it on charge on a wall charger over night, would it be safe?

Yes..............

cyclonebri1

Remember if you do charge the battery on the car, to make the connections to the battery 1st, before you switch on the charger power to avoid any chance of sparks. And leave the bonnet up for ventilation, again just in case.

epninety

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Remember if you do charge the battery on the car, to make the connections to the battery 1st, before you switch on the charger power to avoid any chance of sparks.

That's not important... but switch OFF the charger before you DISCONNECT - no chance of igniting any hydrogen before you create it by charging the battery.

epninety

s_b wrote: »

famous last words,i see you dumped the half wave ,i couldnt remember the term this very afternoon
seriously no manufacturer worth his salt these days even recommends jump leads direct onto a battery so something from the trenches really needs to be consigned to the shed of antiquities

Jump leads shouldn't be connected directly to the battery to improve the amount of power delivered to the engine, and reduce the loading effect of a flat battery.

If you were trying to reduce spikes and surges to the vehicle electrics, then connecting the charger directly to the battery would be the better approach.

Nothing at all wrong with a correctly designed plain old-fashioned half- or full-wave rectifier battery charger. You do realise there is one in your alternator don't you - although a little smoother since there are more phases.

cyclonebri1

epninety wrote: »

That's not important... but switch OFF the charger before you DISCONNECT - no chance of igniting any hydrogen before you create it by charging the battery.

Yes it is important, dont forget the alternator has been busily working away to try and charge the same battery that is likely fubared, that also produces gas.
Yes I am giving cautious advice.

Gut feeling? !!!!!! op, buy a new battery and stop ferkin about, if dash light indicates charging, even more so.