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With winter coming up I'm tempted to give a car battery a little overnight charging boost to help it over any cold spell. Can I do this while the battery is still connected to the car (and all the car's electronics) or do I have to disconnect it first?
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Trickle charging a lead acid battery is very beneficial as it tends to equalise any differences between the cells. A battery is usually scrapped because one cell fails. If you can, ensure that the electrolye level is correct.
Low rate charging (say < 2A) is quite safe in situ - I use a lead from my charger which terminates with a plug to fit the cigar lighter (as my car manual describes it).
659.
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The following link to a recent post may answer your question:-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=45333
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I own a 20 year old Halfords battery charger & I've always disconnected the battery when charging it to be safe. Last year I purchased a "smart" battery charger such as one from the CTEK range www.hamiltonclassic.co.uk/ProductInformation/Batte...m - Airflow do a range too. These you can connect in situ for months on end without any fear of damaging the car's electronics.
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See Ebay Item number: 8045907085
These are great little devices. 800mA 'smart' charger - never goes above 14.5V. They are completely waterproof (you can drop them in a bucket of water). Come with a cable/plug/socket so that you can hard-wire to your battery and have a charge socket under the front bumper. Used a couple of these for three years without at problem.
Manfrs. website is: www.batterytender.com/
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there are very extensive FAQs on this site, which I have yet to study.
batterytender.com/faqs.php/?osCsid=c5566f54f0226e1...6
Are these units OK for my Calcium Silver battery?
www.airflow-uk.com/battery-charger.htm
Is this OK for my Calcium Silver battery?
The CTEK site says "The CTEK 7000 is also suitable for the calcium style batteries fitted to some new cars".
That is a £90 charger for my 98 Mondeo battery. Ouch!
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If the battery is good, the charging system in good condition and the car is used at least weekly there should be no need for any extra charging.
Spend the money on maintenance of the car, charging system, battery and sit back happy?
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This is only partly true. A car battery consists of (usually) 6 cells in series. Each cell receives the same current but the cell voltages can and will vary. As soon as this happens, there is an imbalance in the battery which will result in the cells with the higher voltage receiving more charging energy. (Energy = volts x current x time). As a cell with a high terminal voltage will be in a better state of charge than its lower voltage neighbour, it's not difficult to see that this situation can become regressive when the whole battery is charged at a fixed voltage - as is usually the case in vehicles.
The worst cell in the battery is progressively starved of energy and begins to sulphate. This will rapidly spell doom to the battery as a whole unless measures are taken to restore the worst cell(s).
Lead sulphate is difficult, but not impossible to shift in a lead acid battery. Because sulphates are generally of low solubility, the process takes time. Time is the one factor in the charging equation that is in short supply when cars are being driven (at least for normal usage). To shift lead sulphate, a low charge rate is essential - and is vital anyway to avoid damage to the good cells. A long period of time is needed; 2 days at a charge rate of about 1 Ampere is not unreasonable, and might need to be done several times to achieve a good result.
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Probably very true !
But in all my time with cars, the best way to charge and maintain a battery is on the vehicle!
As soon as additional charging becomes necessary (whatever age the battery) then its not long before a new battery is needed (assuming the car is in regular use).
Most vehicles in good conditon, maintained correctly, driven sensibly and often usually have a battery that will last years.
personally, especially at this time of year, if I find a battery that needs charging and the charging system on the car is good, then I always recommend a new battery. Far better than worrying every morning if it going to start or not.
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20 year old charger?I bought mine from Marble Arch Motor Supplies(anyone else remember them?)in the late 50's;it still works well but I agree that with modern batteries and charging systems,you should have no concerns;as Yorkie says,once you start to get trouble,buy a new battery.My 7yr. old battery on my diesel Escort still starts it easily despite only being used on average every couple of weeks.
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