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If it's your every day car, should never ever need charging, so if problems go and get another battery. However, if it is for a week-end car or something only used in a while, take off the earth terminal while not in use. As for a charger, the bigger the battery the longer it takes, but any battery that will turn the car (just) but not start, will probably benefit from an overnight charge.
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The cheapest charger in the link is 6 amp, which one might describe as a 'fast trickle'.
It should charge any car battery - a source of current is a source of current.
Edited by ifithelps on 10/12/2008 at 19:13
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I guess I'll just get the cheapo one then, and just wait ages for it to charge the battery.
As for why it needs charging - not 100% sure if it is the battery - had the car on the drive for about 4 days, only starting it to move it about 1m a few times while I treated wing for rust. Last time I tried to move it it just made strange whirring sound fom behind dash clocks and starter was just clicking. Then noticed central locking was working very slowly. So assumed battery. New battery is about £100 though
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"It should charge any car battery - a source of current is a source of current."
That's the way it happens in my brain too. I can't understand why there are so many different types of battery charger on the market with so many different ratings.
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This is not always such good advice Woodspeed : On my ' weekend ' car , the earth terminal is tucked right up by the firewall, making access very hard. I practically have to lie on the engine to get to it in the confines of an urban garage .Then, when I start connecting it , the alarm starts screaming right next to my ear. The Ist time that happened, I almost had a coronary. One time I couldn't switch it off immediately as the remote batteries were dead... at 2 am on a Sunday morning the neighbours were less than impressed .
So, a slow charger will do the ' trickle ' for me .
Edited by motorprop on 10/12/2008 at 20:03
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When charging a battery it is advisable to disconnect it to avoid damaging the alternator,so back to square one.If the car is not used much a solar panel plugged into the cig lighter may compensate for the drain of alarm etc.,even at this time of year.
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>>a solar panel plugged into the cig lighter...
Assuming cigar lighter functions when ignition switched off. Unfortunately mine does not.
Clk Sec
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When charging a battery it is advisable to disconnect it to avoid damaging the alternator
never heard this before, do you know how it damages the alternator?
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My dad's old 1981 Ford Transit suffered from this (Cortina engine).
Friend borrowed it, charged the battery without disconnecting said battery. New alternator required.
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I've used chargers for years;never disconnected the battery;never had a problem even on a Cortina(II & III).Tho' a II was a dynamo.
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My dad's old 1981 Ford Transit suffered from this (Cortina engine). Friend borrowed it charged the battery without disconnecting said battery. New alternator required.
I would agree there appears to be a coincidence between charging the battery and the alternator failing. But perhaps the battery needed charging because the alternator was already on its last legs?
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Could it be that the alternator was defective and thats why they had to charge the battery?
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A battery in good condition will hold its charge for weeks. It's nonsense all this modern fad for trickle charging. If the battery is flat it's either a dud battery or it isn't being charged properly by the alternator.
My old tractor, with dynamo charging, gets used about once every 2 months. It starts every time.
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As I have said elsewhere my diesel Escort is coming upto nine years old;still on original battery-gets started about once a fortnight but the shortest run I'll do is 15+miles.I would have thought that the only way a charger could damage an alternator would be some AC mains power getting thro' to it.
Edited by jc2 on 11/12/2008 at 13:27
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Cliff,
It is not nonsense for new cars to need some level of trickle charging when not in use. A number of modern cars have many electrical systems that are permanently fed which do drain the battery when the vehicle is not in use, Jaguar's particularly suffer from this
I know a couple of colleagues who left their Jaguars in long stay airport car parks only to return to find the batteries flat.
Carse
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Carse, would be interesting to put a meter across the battery when the car is parked and ignition off, and see how much power drain there is, and to what exactly.
Even running the needles down the fusebox will show which fuses are 'active' at any time, and how much juice that particular circuit is taking.
Even with an alarm, the radio clock and memory etc, I can't see it gulping that much juice - think about it, a little AA cell will power a digital wall clock for at least a year.
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Re charging/alternator disconnection-there is a possibility of damage to the rectifier pack,particularly if a spike is produced when turning the charger on or off.It may be alright 9 times out of 10 but I would rather not take the chance.
To check battery drain the meter needs to be in series rather than across the battery,disconnect the pos lead and put the meter between that and the battery post,you can then pull fuses to see which circuit the drain is on.0.5 amps can drain a 40 AH battery in 3 days.
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I bought a cheap battery charger from Halfords in 1981 - it's still working fine!
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I'm not so sure that an alternator can be damaged by a battery charger.
The battery itself will regulate the voltage, so I dont think a voltage spike would happen.
A quick search on google found the following page which contains a long list of weasel words as to why a warrenty would be void for an alternator, theres no mention of battery chargers:
www.qualitypowerauto.com/pages/CustomerService.php
· Bearing failure caused by loose or over tightened belts. Alternators returned for warranty must include pulley. If pulley is shiny, shaft is blue, or pulley is blue from heat, no warranty is allowed.
· Threads stripped on the output (B+) or ground terminals (B-)
· Output (B+) (B-) terminals burnt off or discolored from loose connections.
· Rotor shaft threads damaged.
· Broken brushes and/or brush holder due to attempts to re-clock alternator.
· Alternator housing damaged due to poor or loose mounting.
· Alternator hooked up or batteries installed with wrong polarity.
· Failure as a result of improper wiring (incorrect size or incorrect hook up)
· Alternator installed in non-recommended applications such as racing applications.
· Installation of an alternator that is not hot rated at a minimum of 30 amps above full vehicle load.
· ANY ONE, OR ALL OF THE PHASES BURNT OUT OF STATOR
· ANY ONE, OR ALL THE DIODES BLOWN OR DAMAGED.
· Damage to the alternator due to the battery not being in the system with the engine running, or the battery cable being removed from the battery with the engine running.
personally, I cant see any reason why a battery charger would cause any damage. Happy to be proved wrong.
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From the FAQ of a battery charger manufacturer:
12. Is there any danger that the Battery Tender Plus battery charger can cause any damage to other automotive electronic systems while it is connected to the battery in my automobile?
No. As long as the automotive electronics system is functioning properly, there should be no problem. Typical automotive electronic systems run between 14 and 15 volts with the alternator running. The maximum voltage output of the Battery Tender Plus battery charger is 14.4 to 14.5 volts.
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