How do I charge the car battery correctly?

Our car is not just a vehicle on which we move from one point to another. For many, a car is a matter of pride, a status indicator, the ability to loudly declare itself or a way to amuse your masculine / feminine pride. Tuning, airbrushing, sound and video on the brink of fantasy, a forced engine, straight-through, spoilers and a bunch of other "lotions" - all this is a lifestyle for a certain category of fans.

There is a detail in the car, without which any miracle of engineering thought worth hundreds of thousands of evergreen units turns into a pile of beautiful, but completely useless junk. It's a car battery. It can be safely called the most important part of the car. This quiet and inconspicuous worker is an alpha and omega in the life of our iron friend. And let on him our tenderness and affection practically does not remain - from this it does not become less important. Proper operation and timely care of the car battery (the exception - a maintenance-free battery) is the best guarantee of our joyful and cloudless driver's biography.

What symptoms can indicate problems with the battery of your car?

1. Signals about the problem with the battery on the instrument panel.
2. Problems with starting the engine.
3. No charge during operation (does not charge).
4. Very fast battery discharge.

The trouble with some motorists is the "Russian maybe", which they rely on when commissioning a new battery and operating an existing one. And this is not right. So, let's look at how to charge a car battery.

If your car uses a maintenance-free battery model, the output is obvious. You need to buy and install a new one. The question arises: how to charge a car battery, if it has just arrived from the store and is unattended? The new unattended battery is recommended by experts to be charged in professional conditions of the car-care center. So most reliable.

If the serviced battery does not work - do not immediately rush into the store for a new device. You need to conduct a series of "resuscitation procedures" that will bring back to life the electrical heart of your car. For the resuscitation procedure you will need electrolyte, distilled water, hydrometer (device for measuring the density of the electrolyte) and a charger.

Before we consider how to charge a car battery, I want to say a few words about the charger. Charger (in the people it is also called "rectifier") is best to buy the factory type, and you should not save on it - the low price of a self-made device is not the best argument. Moreover, when the "health and longevity" of your new, non-expensive battery is at stake.

When buying a "rectifier" pay attention to the voltage with which it works. It is desirable that this is 12 volts, which can be increased to 16 volts (for charging unattended batteries).

How to properly charge a car battery:

1. Check the electrolyte level in each jar, if necessary, top up the electrolyte to the desired level. Electrolyte is desirable to buy in specialized auto shops, not superfluous will be a certificate of quality, which will show the seller.
2. Open the plugs that are on all battery banks.
3. Connect the memory terminals to the battery.
4. Plug the charger into the power outlet.
5. Set the correct charging current: this should be a value equal to 10% of the battery's capacity (with a battery capacity of 55 amperes / hour - the amperage on the charger should be 5.5 amps).
6. The correct charging process is indicated by the scale on the charger, which tends to approach zero.
7. At the end of charging, it is necessary to check the voltage and density of the electrolyte. Measurements must be made in each bank. If necessary, add the distilled water to the cans to the desired level.
8. Each bank of a fully charged battery should show a voltage of 1.7 -1.8 volts. The voltage can be checked using a load fork.

Preparing for use: how to charge a car battery for the first time

The process of charging a new serviced battery looks slightly different from the charging procedure described above. The new battery, as a rule, is dry-charged. To start its operation, you first need to fill the electrolyte in the cans and only after a couple of hours to begin the charging procedure.

Further actions are similar to those described in the charging rules. Now you have an idea of how to properly charge a car battery.