electric/ride on toy 6v jeep battery issue - does not charge

techmob

my son has an electric feber ride on jeep and the battery is a 6v13ah.. cut along story short, this was bought 2nd hand a couple of years ago and has never been charged so either it was no good when we got it, although the car had power or the battery is now dead from not being charged, that is my guess

the battery charger light comes on, but it seems it does not charge the battery, would this indicate the battery being the problem?

i am looking for a replacement battery for it, but i cannot find any 6v13ah batteries, only 6v12ah, would that be suitable?

is there anyway i can test the battery or connections i have to see if they are ok/faulty, if so please explain in layman terms please

this is a pic of the same type of battery as mine

totalsolutions

Hi Just measure the voltage across the terminals, 6volts is good. Next you need to apply a load across the terminals a 6v lamp would be nice if you have one or a 12v lamp about 50watts and then recheck the battery voltage again about 6v is good anything less than about 4v it needs charging. When on charge the terminal voltage should rise to about 7 volts
A new battery may be required and the physical size is more important than looking for a 13ah type, the higher number here represents how long it works for before recharging. In your photo, the two pin charger looks foriegn, make sure yours is a 240vac unit.

techmob

cheers for that

so aslong as the physical size is ok.. i could go for a 6v 12ah... as they are the only ones i can find

cheers

maninthestreet

The AH (amp-hours) rating for a battery is logically equivalent to the size of a petrol tank on a car, i.e the bigger it is, the futher/longer you can go before you need to re-fuel (recharge the battery, in your case).

Jonesya

(Assuming it's a lead acid battery)
If you've got a choice of batteries go for one rated for cyclical duty as this will last longer in that type of application - not all lead acid batteries are designed for deep discharge.

Other thing to remember is that lead acid batteries are best kept charged, the batteries self-discharge over time and if left discharged the lead plates in the battery deteriorate and the battery loses capacity so re-charge it after use and if you're not using it then give it a top-up charge every couple of months to keep it in good condition. This may be why the original stopped working.

If poss recycle the old battery - if it's lead acid then you should be able to put it in the car battery recycling bin at the local tip.

techmob

cheers for the replies guys

i tried charging the battery for 16 hours and it barely lit a tiny bulb so was useless

i then bought a 6v 14ah battery and put the charger on it, and the light on the charger goes out when its connected to the battery?

so i thought it must be fully charged, i let my son use the car for about 20 mins on and off, then decided to charge it again

when i plug the charger in the wall the light comes on, but as soon as i connect the red and black charger cables the light goes out?

for experiment, which i know is not supposed to be done, i put the red and black charger connection ends together and the light goes out, the same as it does when you connect them to the battery terminals

does anyone know what is going on?

not sure if the light being on means its charging or the light going off means its full, but the old battery light remained lit red while charging it

Jonesya

So the light is on when nothing is connected to the charger but is off when you short the charger terminals or connect it to the discharged battery?

The light is most likely indicating current flow - when it's on there is no current flowing (which is what would happen once the battery was fully charged), when it's off there is current flowing (when charging the battery).

It's likely that the light went out when you first connected to the battery because the battery had discharged somewhat between now and when it was manufactured hence needed charging.

techmob

Jonesya wrote: »

So the light is on when nothing is connected to the charger but is off when you short the charger terminals or connect it to the discharged battery?

yep

The light is most likely indicating current flow - when it's on there is no current flowing (which is what would happen once the battery was fully charged), when it's off there is current flowing (when charging the battery).

if i connect a small bulb and some wire to the charger while the red light is on, it lights the bulb

It's likely that the light went out when you first connected to the battery because the battery had discharged somewhat between now and when it was manufactured hence needed charging.

The charger light remained lit, for the full 16 hours i tried to charge the dead batter, the new battery the light goes out instantly

and yes i am confused :rotfl:

Jonesya

techmob wrote: »

if i connect a small bulb and some wire to the charger while the red light is on, it lights the bulb

Did the charger light go out or get dimmer?

molerat

One of these Feber chargers confused me a while back. The light is out when charging but comes on when the battery is fully charged (it will start from dim then creep to bright).

They are not really intelligent, the light remained on with the faulty battery because no current was passing meaning the battery was as full as it could get.

techmob

Did the charger light go out or get dimmer?

the light remained on, while connecting a bulb or my old battery

One of these Feber chargers confused me a while back. The light is out when charging but comes on when the battery is fully charged (it will start from dim then creep to bright).

They are not really intelligent, the light remained on with the faulty battery because no current was passing meaning the battery was as full as it could get

i have put it in charge now and will keep charging it until the light comes on!

so when you get a new battery it needs charging? how long do they need to be charged for?

i let my son use it for about 20 mins, without me charging it, hope that hasn't abused the lifespan of this battery

hopefully you are both right

thanks