We all dread the situation: you drove home safely last night after work, and your car was working fine, but now this morning you try to start it and…it doesn’t make a sound. You need to get to work but you cannot start your car, which means that you most likely need to charge your car battery. For those who are not so mechanically minded, charging a car battery sounds like an insurmountable task, but it does not have to be.
When you are charging a car battery it is important to remain safe. Be sure that the charger is off and that you have turned off everything in the car, including the headlights, inside lights, and the radio. This could cause the battery to arc while you are charging it, which can be dangerous. Below we give tips on how to charge a car battery safely.
Always Be Prepared
In order to jump-start a car battery, you will need to be certain that everything in your car has been turned off. This includes the radio, the interior lights, and all exterior lights. Once you have done this, you will need to remove the negative ground cable first, which will always be the black cable. The ground cable will have a negative (-) symbol and the power cable will have a positive (+) symbol.
After removing the ground cable, clean the battery terminals with a terminal cleaning brush and a mixture of baking soda and water to neutralise the battery acid. If there is a lot of battery acid build-up, then you will need to wear an eye or facemask to prevent this from splashing back into your face while cleaning.
If there are removable caps on your car battery, then you should carefully remove these caps and check the water level. If the cells look low, top them up with clean, distilled water only, as any other type of water could cause issues. However, most car batteries today are maintenance-free, which means you do not manually have to refill them.
Charge It Up
Make sure your charger is unplugged from the wall socket and that it has been switched off in order to avoid any possibility of the battery arcing while you are attempting to charge it. Then, you will need to connect the positive charging cable to the positive terminal and the negative charging cable to the negative terminal.
The next step will be to set the charger to a slow charge rate and then set the timer. If the battery voltage is below 11.85, then you will need to charge it for about 12 hours using a 5-amp charge rate. If the charge rate is 10-amps, then the car battery will only take 6 hours to charge.
Many car battery chargers will shut off automatically when the battery is charged, but some do not, which means that you will need to check which model you have and be sure to monitor it while it is charging. When the battery is fully charged, you will need to turn it off and unplug it before removing the cables.
Figuring Out The Problem
While charging your car battery can help you to get from A to B when you need it most, it is important to try to solve the root cause of why your battery might be failing. There could be a fault in your electrical system or you might have left the lights on overnight accidentally. Figuring out the problem can help you to prevent any further issues.
If you find that your battery dies again soon after it has been charged, you might need to invest in a new car battery. You can easily go to a car battery store and ask for the right make and model for your vehicle. For expert help and tips you can contact Battery Clinic or pop into one of our local branches to find out more.
