Battery charging

[sp53]

I am trying to charge a 1year old battery with my kinda good (50.00) charger. The battery was totally dead and I cannot get the battery gauge DC amperes to move down from 10 on a 1 to 15 charging scale without the gauge needle freaking out. I think the problem is the deadened battery; perhaps, I need a stronger charger or should I just leave the battery on there and walk away. Is there a trick that would help the battery too accept a charge when the battery is extremely low?

 

[kodanja]

I would would try to leave it on a low trickle charge over night and see what kind of change it takes, (if any)

If it has caps I would loosen them!

 

[Geo Hahn]

If it went totally flat (as you say) than you may be unable to charge it.

Since it is just one year old it is likely still under warranty (even Wally-Mart does a free replacement for the first 2 years I think). I would just take it back to where you got it, have them test it and replace if they find it is no good.

No need to trouble them with a lots of details about how you treated it in that first year.

 

[NickMorgan]

especially if the battery was stored somewhere very cold when flat. That seems to kill them dead.

 

[TR6oldtimer]

10 amps on a dead battery is not unusual for a small charger, what it is doing is putting out it's maximum rate. Loosen the caps and let it go. After an hour or two you should see the amps taper off.

Whatever you do, DO NOT try and charge it using the car's alternator.

 

[myspitfire]

Take the battery out take it to Advanced Auto,Autozone,Napa,They will run a COMPLETE TEST &give you a printout.Thats the easiest way OR just keep on guessing.
And they will do it all for FREE.
THEN take the printout to where you bought it & show um what the print out states about the condition of your battery.That way its all conclusive.
Or buy a better battery charger.All during my wintering procedure every two weeks i hook up the charger & leave it on overnight.Good chargers(even basic)will not overcharge.
PS;Also check the battery water level.If its a MAINIENCE FREE battery its electrolite is sealed in.
Believe it or not my other car a 1993 Chevy Lumina had its original Delco battery replaced just the other day it held a charge for(14 YEARS) THAT length of time UNBELIEVABLE!

 

[Guest]

I am trying to charge a 1year old battery with my kinda good (50.00) charger. The battery was totally dead and I cannot get the battery gauge DC amperes to move down from 10 on a 1 to 15 charging scale without the gauge needle freaking out. I think the problem is the deadened battery; perhaps, I need a stronger charger or should I just leave the battery on there and walk away. Is there a trick that would help the battery too accept a charge when the battery is extremely low?

I did this by accident to my Optima over the winter. Left it on with a trickle drain for a few weeks. My charger has a dead battery circuit in it that meant it wouldn't even start the charge.

I basically did a reverse jump start. Fired up the LR and hooked the dead battery up in parallel. Left it for about 20secs and then turned off the car and unhooked it. It rammed enough charge in there so that the charger would stasrt and finish the job. Neither battery seems to have suffered from the treatment.

ymmv of course. do at your own risk and all that...

 

[Tomster]

As an aside is anyone using any of the small solar panel trickle charges that are no available?

Make sure you keep an eye on the fluid levels as stated above. Distilled water only if you have a conventional (OLD) lead acid battery