Charging a battery that isn't in a car.

[tommo99]

Hi all,

Simple question... I have a battery that is not in a car and I want to charge it. I have a RING Workshop Battery Charger. Normally you would NOT connect the negative when charging and just connect it to an earth point on the car... In this instance am I OK just connecting the positive and negative terminals?

Thanks!

Tom

[toastyhamster]

Yes

[littleredrooster]

Yes.





bloody hell - that was easy

[GreenV8S]

Positive to positive, negative to negative. Have the charger powered off when you connect / disconnect at the battery terminals. Make sure it's in a ventilated space while charging.

ETA the issue with connecting to vehicle ground instead of battery ground is more important for jump starting than battery trickle charging. It takes the battery earth lead out of the high current path which removes a possible voltage drop, and if you follow the advice to connect that last and disconnect first it moves the spark further away from the battery and reduces the risk of accidentally forming a short circuit if you drop one of the connectors.

Edited by GreenV8S on Tuesday 16th April 20:07

[littleredrooster]

...and just to add - I have never connected it to an earth point, always the battery negative terminal. Can't see the point.

[tommo99]

Awesome. Thanks guys! I know it probably seems a daft question but I am reassured!

[PositronicRay]

littleredrooster said:

...and just to add - I have never connected it to an earth point, always the battery negative terminal. Can't see the point.

On some cars you want to go through the battery manager, some have the battery in an awkward place.

[finishing touch]

PositronicRay said:

littleredrooster said:

...and just to add - I have never connected it to an earth point, always the battery negative terminal. Can't see the point.

On some cars you want to go through the battery manager, some have the battery in an awkward place.

My old E Class estate has a couple of brass studs under the bonnet to connect jump leads to as the battery is under the load floor in the back.

I too would normally just clip onto the battery terminals as most are now sealed units so no hydrogen gasses escape unlike the old top up caps.

Paul G

[GreenV8S]

finishing touch said:

most are now sealed units so no hydrogen gasses escape

I think you'll find they're still ventilated, just without the removable caps that would enable you to top up the electrolyte.