How To Use A Car Battery Charger At Home

Your car’s battery constantly fights a battle every time you take it out on the road. During the winter season when the temperature is cold, it could stop and sputter your battery affecting your headlights and heater eventually. When current is being used up more and not enough is being generated by the alternator, the starter motor won’t have enough juice to get it back on. This is how a flat battery happens.

If you have a battery charger, there would be no worries about a flat battery. It is an affordable tool that you can purchase yourself and learn how to use.

Charge your battery with these in mind:

 

  • If you want your car battery to get the full charge, you must have it powered up in 24 hours for 2 amps. Basically, a car battery can charge up to 2 amps. A 48-amp flat battery will take off after charging in 24hrs.

 

  • There are 2 – 10 amps of car chargers in a wide variety out in the market today. While it would seem ideal to get a car battery charger with a higher output as it charges fast, it isn’t necessarily a good thing. Fast chargers can only ruin batteries in the world of automotive maintenance.

 

  • You can charge your battery according to the current used by the different electrical parts of your car. A heated back window and headlights are using up about up to 10 amps of current. When you’re using a fully charged battery, it could light up the headlight in 8 hours, and 12 hours for the back window, that is if the generator was left alone.

 

  • There are other factors that can cause your car’s electrical areas to slowly die until they no longer work. This can heavily affect the battery’s state. This is because instead of an alternator that’s is more effective at charging and gives a better electrical output, some vehicles have built-in dynamos in place of the alternator. To remedy this situation, a hydrometer for testing will reveal what was left in the battery that the battery charger can increase anytime the battery needs charging.

 

Attach the battery charger:

 

  • Unlike other rechargeable devices, you’ll need to check how much topping-up your car battery actually needs. The electrolyte level will reveal how much the car battery needs. You will need to maintain the battery posts as well. At a rate of up to 4 amps, the battery could stay in the car with a power point. An alternator could change this, though. Detached the terminals of the battery or they could be damaged especially if you’re looking at an older unit.

 

  • Remove the different cell caps to air out but if it’s charging at a high rate, don’t place the cover on. Remember to attach the clamps to their respective post: the positive (+) to the red led and the negative one (-) to black .

 

  • Turn on the charger after plugging it to the main power source. Car battery chargers usually have indicators or a meter that shows a sign that the battery is getting loaded.

 

  • The rate of charging will definitely drop slowly as the battery steadily get filled up. However, flat batteries will take time to charge. A hydrometer is necessary to monitor the charging time after time.

 

  • When charging is nearing its climax, the battery cells will show signs as it foams and produces some gas. Some batteries will show signs of defects if they went on ahead to produce gas ahead of the others. It will be better to have it diagnosed by a professional.

 

Turn off power before detaching

 

  • A safety measure to perform after charging is to turn the switches off and detach from the main power source before the clips are removed. Doing the opposite will cause the clips to produce sparks that could start a fire with the gas that was created earlier as the battery charges.

 

  • Check the car to make sure that all electrical areas are turned off as well before the battery is attached. The last thing you want are sparks to appear that could also potentially start a fire with the battery’s gas.

 

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