How to handle the charger?
As soon as in the evening we forget to turn off the headlights, and the next time we try to start the engine with a dead battery, the starter does not react at all. In this case, only one thing helps - charge the battery using a charger (or starting) device.
This is not difficult. With a little knowledge, this can be done even without removing the battery. However, charging depends on many factors. Consider the most basic.
Connecting the charger to the battery
The charger has one red and one black cable, which are connected to the battery using the terminals. Here are some connection tips:
- Before you power the charger, you need to remove the two terminals of the battery. Due to this, the supplied current will not enter the on-board network. Some chargers operate at high voltages, which can damage some parts of the car’s electronics.
- First, remove the negative terminal / ground. Then disconnect the positive terminal. This sequence is important. If you remove the positive cable first, you risk a short circuit. The reason for this is that the negative wire is directly connected to the car body. Touching the positive terminal and the metal part of the machine (for example, with a key when loosening the fixing bolt) will cause a short circuit.
- After the battery terminals are removed, connect the two terminals of the charger. Red is connected to the positive terminal of the battery, and blue is connected to the negative.
- Only then plug the device into a power outlet. If you accidentally mix the poles, the switch on the device will turn on. The same thing happens if you set the wrong voltage. The tuning details and the principle of operation may vary depending on the model of the device.
Proper Battery Charging
Modern chargers are equipped with electronics that automatically adjusts the charging voltage. In the case of old chargers, you yourself need to calculate the current and charging time. Here are the subtleties of charging the battery:
- It takes several hours to fully charge the battery. It depends on the current strength. A 4 A charger takes 12 hours to charge a 48 A battery.
- After charging, unplug the power cord first and only then remove the two terminals.
- Finally, connect the two cables from the vehicle electrical system to the battery. First tighten the red cable to the positive terminal, then the ground cable to the negative terminal.
