Correct charging of a car battery. How can you charge a battery from the battery of another car (light it)? How to assess the condition and charge of a car battery

It doesn’t matter how the battery died: whether you forgot to turn off the lights, were too carried away listening to music in the parking lot, or went on vacation for the whole summer. To charge the battery, you need to have an understanding of the theory and follow a few simple rules.

A little theory

Cars mostly use lead-acid batteries (WET). Their operating principle is based on the chemical reaction of lead plates with an electrolyte, which results in the generation of electricity. Over time, sulfation and destruction of the plates inevitably occur, as well as boiling away of the electrolyte, which reduces the capacity of the battery. And the battery can run out at the most inopportune moment.

How to check the battery

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The easiest way is to use the built-in charge indicator, which is found on most batteries. This is the same “light bulb”, which in reality is not a light bulb at all, but a green float ball moving in a transparent flask. When the level and density of the electrolyte is sufficient, the ball rises and we see a green indicator. If the float is not visible, you need to check the electrolyte and recharge the battery.

Another option is a multimeter. With its help, you can measure the voltage at the terminals and understand whether the battery is discharged or not. A fully charged battery should have 12.6 V or more. A voltage of 12.42 V corresponds to 80% charge, 12.2 V - 60%, 11.9 V - 40%, 11.58 V - 20%, 10.5 V - 0%.

The most reliable way is to check with a load fork. It can show the voltage drop under load, that is, the real charge level and, accordingly, the capacity. Any auto electrician or a store that sells batteries has such a device. And most likely they won’t even take money from you for this check.

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Having determined that the battery is valid, you can start charging, but first you need to prepare.

It is advisable to remove the battery from the car. If you don’t have time for this, disconnect it from the on-board network by disconnecting the negative wire.
After this, you need to clean the terminals from grease and oxide for good contact.
It doesn’t hurt to wipe the surface of the battery with a dry cloth, or better yet, one moistened with a 10% solution of ammonia or soda ash.
Also, do not forget to unscrew the plugs on each of the battery cans or remove the plug to ensure the free release of electrolyte vapors and to prevent excess pressure inside.
If the electrolyte level in any of the jars is insufficient, you need to add distilled water so that it completely covers the plates.

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The charging principle itself is simple: you just need to connect the wires from the charger to the battery terminals in accordance with the polarity and plug the plug into the socket. However, first you need to decide on the charging method. There are two main methods: constant current charging and constant voltage charging.

The first is more effective, but takes place in several stages and requires control. The second is simpler, but only charges the battery up to 80%.

There is also a so-called combined method, in which participation on the part of the car owner is minimized. The disadvantage of this method is the need for a special charger with a fairly high cost.

DC charging

We set the current to 10% of the nominal capacity of the battery and charge until the voltage at the battery terminals rises to 14.3-14.4 V. For example, a battery with a capacity of 60 Ah should be charged with a current of no more than 6 A.
Next, we reduce the current by half (to 3 A) to reduce the intensity of boiling, and continue charging.
As soon as the voltage rises to 15 V, you need to halve the current again and charge the battery until the voltage and current values stop changing.

Constant voltage charging

Everything is much simpler here. You just need to set the voltage within 14.4–14.5 V and wait. Unlike the first method, with which you can fully charge the battery in a few hours (about 10), constant voltage charging lasts about a day and allows you to replenish the battery capacity only up to 80%.

Precautions

Since charging a battery is a chemical process that releases an explosive mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, you need to be very careful and follow the rules:

Charge the battery in a well-ventilated area.
Do not use open flames or carry out any work that produces sparks.
If it is not possible to remove the battery from the car, disconnect the negative cable, or better yet, both.

A maintenance-free battery is really different from its serviced counterpart, the point here is in its special structure. You will almost never know what it means to add an electrolyte to it or measure its density. Hence the name maintenance-free, that is, it does not require any maintenance, it is completely autonomous. However, many of my readers are interested in how to charge it and is it possible to do this? After all, now there are a lot of different manufacturers of such batteries, and they are installed on new cars in 90% of cases...

Let me start with the fact that the battery can be recharged “any way”; I would even say that it is designed for this. Let's remember the structure of the car's on-board network. The battery (at start-up) transfers energy to the ignition system and the starter, which spins the engine (it starts). Then, after starting, the generator begins to generate electricity, which recharges our battery.

Maintained or unmaintained, this is the second question, the main thing is recharging, which replenishes the lost energy during startup. I’ll even say more - if you discharge an ordinary maintenance-free battery “to zero” (), it will simply kill it, after several such cycles. Therefore, the charge must always be present and in the normal phase, .

Then what's the problem?

Many people are afraid not of car charging, but of so-called home charging. That is, with ordinary stationary chargers. What problems arise at this stage:

It is impossible to track the boiling of the electrolyte . YES, this is really a problem, because when it boils, we understand that charging is over. You just have to look into the jar, but you can’t look into the unattended one, because it’s simply closed (sealed). We don't see what's happening inside.

Can't track density . Again, for the reason that if in a serviced one you simply unscrew the plugs and measure the density with a hydrometer, then this will not work here.
Battery tightness . Also scary! What happens if the electrolyte boils, where will the vapors go? What if the hull ruptures?

These points are justified, which is why it is important to know how to charge such batteries.

How to charge a maintenance-free battery

Here the old antiquated methods (with bubbles in the electrolyte) will not work. It is important for you to know and understand how to charge a car battery, that is, the principles of charging ().

But for understanding, I’ll remind you a little - there are only two charging methods. These are constant voltage and constant current.

Constant tension. This is when you set a constant voltage, say 14.4 Volts, and the current is automatically adjusted. That is, at the beginning it can be 10 Amperes, and at the end of the charge 0.2A.
Direct current. Here, on the contrary, the tension can jump. We set, say, 2 Amperes, the current at the beginning of the charge will be 15 Volts, and by the end it may drop to 14.4 Volts.

Now all chargers are mostly automatic; they work according to the first point, that is, constant voltage, but the current varies.

By the way, regular serviced batteries are charged in the same way, but how long does it take to charge a maintenance-free one?

How to calculate charging time?

This is a more interesting question; the real inconvenience is that you need to clearly understand how discharged your maintenance-free battery is. That is, we calculate its capacity. But how to do this?

Again, it’s simple - you and I know that a 100% charge is a voltage of 12.7 Volts. But a completely discharged battery is 11.7 Volts. Of course, you can discharge even more, but this is not recommended; in general, 10 Volts is already a serious discharge.

Accordingly, 0.1 X 5 = 0.5. Now add 11.7 + 0.5 = 12.2V. This is a kind of discharge up to 50%.

Now a little about capacity, for batteries it is 55 – 60 – 75, etc. ampere*hour. That is, he can deliver this amount of current in one hour. If we have a 50% discharge, it means that we have used about half the capacity - for example, from 60 Amps it took 30, etc.

That is, to replenish 50% of the capacity, we need to supply a certain current and “fill” the battery. You can supply 30A in one hour (in our example), but this will kill the battery. The recommended charge is 10% of capacity. In our case, this is 6A. And since we need to replenish 30A, then 30/6 = 5 hours. That is, at this current we need to charge it for five hours.

I probably confused you, but the main thing is to learn how to determine the degree of battery discharge. Remember the lower limit is 11.7V, the upper limit is 12.7V.

Automatic charging stations

Of course, the automatic machines will do everything for you; there is no need to worry about what current to supply and adjust the voltage. He will do everything automatically. And to be honest, there has been no VOLTMETER or AMMETER there for a long time; they were removed as unnecessary.

Such a charger will supply the maximum current in the first hour, in the second hour the current is two to three times less, but in the sixth or seventh hour, the current can generally drop to a minimum, about 0.05A. Therefore, even if your maintenance-free battery is on such a charge, it will never boil, because the currents when “filling” are minimal, and I read somewhere that they may be completely absent, that is, they turn off.

What happens if you recharge?

Okay, we've sorted out the automatic chargers. But what will happen if you constantly recharge with an old “charger”, where you strictly set the current and voltage? That is, at 6 Amps you need to recharge, say, 6 hours, but you “crap”, 8 or even 10!

Of course, the electrolyte inside will boil, this is a purely physical principle. However, the battery will not burst (like a balloon), as many people think! It has a special valve inside, which in emergency cases is designed to relieve too much pressure. It opens exactly when you have a long and very powerful recharge, which, by the way, can also kill the battery - the case will survive, but some of the electrolyte will evaporate, you need to understand this!

I’m a teapot, I don’t want to calculate all sorts of amperes, what should I do?

We can understand, it’s not always easy to charge a maintenance-free battery – all you need is calculations of time and current. But even here the manufacturers took care of you, they made batteries with green windows (or many call them lamps) just for people like you. The principle is simple: when it is normally charged, the green indicator is on, when it is discharged, it is black, and if there is not enough electrolyte, it is white. , it's very detailed.

Can I charge at home?

Well, the last question - is it possible to charge at home? After all, let's say the serviced brother - to put it mildly, because when boiling, harmful and even explosive gas is released.

1. Locate the battery.
First you need to determine where the battery is installed in the car. As a rule, the battery is located under the hood. Sometimes, in cars such as Mercedes, BMW, Audi and others, the battery may be located in the trunk or under the rear seat, and in some American-made cars, the battery may be located in the fender well. As a rule, in such cases, in the design of the car, under the hood there are separate terminals specifically designed for recharging the battery. They are designated: the positive terminal by the symbol “+” or the inscription “POS”, and the negative terminal (ground) by the symbol “-” or the inscription “NEG”.

2. Placement of your car and the donor car.
You need to drive up in a car whose battery you will be recharging (lighting) in such a way that you have enough length of wires for lighting, which can easily reach from one car to another.

3. Precautions before lighting.
A). On a car with a working battery, it is necessary to turn off the engine and turn off the ignition.
b). Your vehicle's ignition must also be turned off.
V). You need to take your car keys out of the ignition and keep them with you, because... When voltage is applied to your car, the car alarm may go off or the alarm may lock the car doors.
G). If the battery is discharged because you forgot to turn off the headlights, side lights or interior lights, then you need to turn off all these power consumers before connecting the wires.
d). For the alarm or immobilizer to work correctly, the doors of your car must be closed (not with a key, but simply closed), and the keys must be in your hands.
e). Carefully ensure that when connecting the wires they do not come into contact with each other or with parts of the car.

4. Wires for lighting.
Typically, the wires that are sold in automotive stores have two colors: one wire red, another - black. At both ends they are equipped with crocodile clips (hereinafter referred to as Crocodile) of the same colors.

5. Connecting wires for lighting.
A). We join red wire (plus) With red crocodile clip to the positive terminal of a dead battery (the car you are lighting).
b). We attach another end of the red wire (plus) With red crocodile clip to the positive terminal of a working battery (the car you are using).
V). We join black wire (negative or ground) With black crocodile clip to the negative terminal of a dead battery (the car you are lighting).
G). We attach another end of the black wire (negative or ground) With black crocodile clip to the negative terminal of a working battery (the car you are using).

A slight spark may occur when connecting the last wire. It is important to attach it with one touch (without trembling in your hands).

6. Disabling the alarm.
After connecting the wires, an alarm may sound. If it works, you need to turn it off by pressing the button on the key fob, and in some cases, insert the key into the door lock, then turn it to the "lock" and "unlock" positions.

7. Recharging the battery.
Because the wires that are sold in car stores (most likely these are the wires you have) have an insufficient cross-section (the insulation is thick on the outside, but the inside is thin), they cannot transmit the current that is necessary to start the car engine, so You need to recharge the battery first. To do this, you need to start the engine of the car from which you are lighting the cigarette and let it run for 10-15 minutes.

8. Starting your car's engine.
After recharging a dead battery, turn off the car engine! Without removing the wires, start the engine of your car. If the car does not start, try repeating the battery charging procedure (step 7).

9. Disconnecting the wires for lighting.
You have started the engine of your car. Now you need to turn on the low beam and then disconnect the wires step by step, in reverse order.

10. Warming up your car's engine.
All modern cars, as a rule, have a computer engine control system and due to a dead battery, some computer settings may be lost. To restore them correctly, your car’s engine needs to warm up to operating temperature. Those. It is not advisable to start moving or just accelerate.

11. Charging the battery.
Do not turn off the car engine for 30-40 minutes so that the battery has time to charge.

12. Checks.
After you have started the engine, it is recommended to carry out a number of necessary checks: checking the battery charging, current leakage, etc.

If you were unable to start the engine or you want to find out the reason why your battery was discharged, you can use the help of RT.Avto specialists: +7 925 545-64-06 (phone in Moscow).

Precautions!
1. If you carry out this work on the roadway, be sure to place a warning triangle on the road!

2. If both cars are standing front bumper to front bumper, under no circumstances stand between them, because in the event of an accident, you will be sandwiched between them!

3. When starting the engine, do not stand in front of this car under any circumstances, because if the driver forgets to take it out of gear, it will start moving forward (on the starter)!

4. Do not use to start the engine starting chargers (starting device), because This can cause serious damage to the vehicle's electrical equipment!

6. While charging your battery, you must not move the clamps on the terminals, smoke nearby, or shine a lighter - this is explosive! During the charging process, gas is released from the battery and any spark can lead to an explosion!

7. If your car is quite expensive and/or you are not confident in your abilities, contact us for a free consultation by phone in Moscow: +7 925 545-64-06 or [email protected]

8. As a rule, the average battery life in our conditions is 3-4 years. All of the above procedures will not make sense if you have an old battery.

This question often arises among motorists who actively use the vehicle. After all, the power source may discharge on the way, where there is no access to the electrical network.

To keep the starter, power unit and other mechanisms in working condition, a battery is required. If several idle starts occur while starting the engine, the charge runs out. The battery is used as a backup source, as well as for emergency starting. The performance of the power source also determines whether there will be problems with transport during the winter while on the road.

How to identify a discharged car battery?

It is easy to determine whether the battery is dead or not. New cars have devices and sensors that monitor the state of charge. There are no such indicators on domestic cars, so owners are guided by the following indicators:

The instrument panel lights up almost or completely.
When the ignition is turned on, the sound changes dramatically.
Starting the engine is accompanied by clicks and extraneous sounds.

Watch the video on how to charge the battery by charging a screwdriver.

How to charge a power source without additional devices?

How to charge a car battery without a charger? Is this possible? This option can be implemented, although some preparation will be required.

In order to charge a battery without a charging unit, you need certain knowledge in electronics. To do this, adjustments are made to the functioning of the relay regulator, and the voltage indicator increases. But such actions are performed only by masters who are able to do everything competently and accurately.

At home, the battery can be reanimated by performing the following actions:

Sources that consume electrical energy are turned off. Such devices include the speaker system, recorders and headlights, etc.
At standard vehicle speeds, the gear is reduced. As a result, the generator's performance increases.

If the electrical system is working normally, then the actions performed will allow you to restore the charge without charging. After carrying out these activities, fuel costs increase.

Before implementing the above recommendations, we test the main components and electrical system. Particular attention is paid to the performance of the generator.

If you cannot recharge the battery, then it is worth establishing the reason. Typically this happens due to:

Damage to the belt, which is located on the generator.
Malfunction of the voltage stabilizer.
Violation of the integrity of the brushes, their wear.
Poor tension of the alternator belt.

Methods for charging the power supply

If the question arises of how to charge a battery without a charger, then this can be done in several ways.

Lighting up

To restore a dead car battery, another power source is used. This method differs in that with its help the battery is restored quite quickly.

This requires wires that are equipped with clamps that have the required cross-section. The use of thin or damaged wires is not allowed. After all, their integrity is easy to violate.

For lighting, wires that are equipped with a rubber braid are used. After all, plastic breaks down at subzero temperatures.

Wires with a permissible current strength of 200–300 amperes are suitable for lighting. Wide clamps are concentrated on them, which ensure appropriate contact.

When connecting, focus on the shade of the wires. Red cables are connected to the positive terminal, and only black wires are connected to the negative terminal. All connections are made before the engine is started. Only after this the engine of the donor car starts for 5–7 minutes.

This method allows you to reanimate the battery for a while. The car battery is fully charged from the mains.

Towing

To restore the charge, towing is used if the vehicle is equipped with a manual transmission. The battery must be slightly charged, since the method is to revive the generator.

Towing you will need a strong cable that can withstand heavy loads.

The method is implemented with vehicles or with the help of assistants. To restore the battery, 1-2 runs are performed.

Recovery using a charging unit from a laptop computer

It is not always possible to use the options listed above. Therefore, drivers are wondering how to charge a car battery using a laptop charger?

To do this you will need certain items:

Wires that are equipped with copper cores.
Charger.
Resistor (using a light bulb is also allowed).

To prepare the power supply circuit, wires for the minus and also the plus are brought out from the charger. The negative wire is concentrated on the outside, and the positive wire on the inside.

The connection is made according to the following scheme:

The negative wire is connected first to the negative terminal of the battery.
A resistor or a high-performance light bulb with established characteristics and indicators is inserted into the prepared gap. Actions are carried out taking into account the rules.

Using this method, you can fully charge the battery. But the process is carefully controlled. The voltage at the terminals is constantly checked. As soon as 14 Volts is displayed on the voltmeter, the procedure stops. You can determine the end of the process by paying attention to the state of the electrolytic composition.

Recharging from the network

This method differs from the previous one in that the connection is made directly to the outlet. The adapter is not used in this case. To create resistance, use a lamp (220V). A diode bridge is also introduced into the circuit, with the help of which the alternating current is rectified.

Connecting the battery is done carefully. Rules and regulations must be followed. Before connecting, check whether the circuit is correctly prepared and assembled. All elements that make up it are tested. This is the only way to create an effective and functional circuit.

Since it is difficult to recharge a power source at high voltage, only experienced car enthusiasts or craftsmen can do this. Contact with elements that are part of the circuit is allowed when disconnected from the source or network.

For work, wires and cables that are covered with an insulating layer are used. It is prohibited to use wires whose ends are exposed.

The included lamp acts as an indicator. If only part of the filament glows, then using a diode, part of the available amplitude is cut off. If the lamp does not light up when connected, the circuit is disassembled and reassembled.

Battery and winter

In winter, drivers often encounter a problem associated with a lack of torque. The main reason is freezing of the electrolytic composition. This occurs due to the influence of negative temperature on the components of the electrolyte.

Modern vehicles are equipped with automatic start. Therefore, starting the engine and warming up the car is done every 2–3 hours. But domestic equipment is not equipped with such devices, so you need to cope in other ways.

Warm

To start the engine, energy is required, which is produced by the battery. In order to maintain its performance in winter, the power source is moved to a warm room. After removal, it is checked whether the device is charged. For this purpose, the use of a voltaic unit is allowed. The performance of the power source depends on the state of the electrolyte. This is easy to do with serviceable batteries.

Don't panic

In winter, it will take 10–60 seconds to start. If necessary, the process is repeated. Technicians do not advise doing this many times, as this will have a detrimental effect on the condition of the battery. And even a charger will not correct the situation. Purchasing a new power source involves a significant investment. Therefore, it is better to keep your used car battery in excellent condition.

Preparing the wires

To start a car battery, cables that are equipped with clamps are required. With their help, a connection is made to power sources located in another vehicle. The lighting procedure is carried out carefully, since you have to come into contact with elements that are energized.

The battery can be charged from the donor battery within 2–4 minutes. This is enough to start the engine. The car battery must be fully charged from the mains or using portable equipment.

In order to prevent the possibility of unpleasant situations occurring on the road, you need to monitor the condition of your car battery. The condition of the electrolytic composition, conductive terminals and housing is checked at certain intervals. In winter, the power source is moved to a warm place in order to prevent freezing of the electrolyte and destruction of the housing.