Battery charging questions..
Discussion
I have a Pro User battery charger which has a set of 6 red lights indicating the current in AMPs that is being used in the charging process. They represent 2,4,6,8,10 and 12 AMPs.
On connecting the charger yesterday, all lights upto and including the 10 AMP light were on. During the period of the next 10 hours, the lights gradually dimmed and went off starting at the 10 AMP light until only the 2 AMP light was remaining on. This morning the 2 AMP light is still on.
What do I do, leave it until the 2 AMP light has also gone off? Or is the battery fully charged already?
It's a BOSCH Silver battery that's 6 months old and has the "Power Control System" which is basically a small window that shows the battery status:
Green: Battery ok, charged
Black: Check, low charge
White: Replace battery
Mine is still in the Black status after 24 housr charging.
Any ideas anyone?
On connecting the charger yesterday, all lights upto and including the 10 AMP light were on. During the period of the next 10 hours, the lights gradually dimmed and went off starting at the 10 AMP light until only the 2 AMP light was remaining on. This morning the 2 AMP light is still on.
What do I do, leave it until the 2 AMP light has also gone off? Or is the battery fully charged already?
It's a BOSCH Silver battery that's 6 months old and has the "Power Control System" which is basically a small window that shows the battery status:
Green: Battery ok, charged
Black: Check, low charge
White: Replace battery
Mine is still in the Black status after 24 housr charging.
Any ideas anyone?
Edited by Silver993tt on Wednesday 3rd October 09:51
Was the battery still connected to the car while it was taking the high amperage?
Hopefully, you are going to answer this question 'No' because I understand a high current like that can fry the diodes in your alternator.
Anyway, I'd guess that type of charger can't really turn itself off (unlike a battery conditioner - well worth getting), so it's probably almost done - maybe another few hours.
Hopefully, you are going to answer this question 'No' because I understand a high current like that can fry the diodes in your alternator.
Anyway, I'd guess that type of charger can't really turn itself off (unlike a battery conditioner - well worth getting), so it's probably almost done - maybe another few hours.
Edited by ChesterDog on Wednesday 3rd October 10:06
No, battery is out of the car. The charger has 2 modes - 2 AMP and 12 AMP. I used the 12 AMP mode but the charger seems to regulate the current as needed because it started with a max of 10 AMPS and then gradually reduced this over a 10 hour period.
Interesting thing is that if I now switch over to the 2 AMP mode, no lights are on, not even the 2 AMP light. Yet on 12 AMP mode the 2 AMP light is on (the only one now).
What about the status window on the battery? According to that, it should go green when it's ok but at the moment it's still black.
Interesting thing is that if I now switch over to the 2 AMP mode, no lights are on, not even the 2 AMP light. Yet on 12 AMP mode the 2 AMP light is on (the only one now).
What about the status window on the battery? According to that, it should go green when it's ok but at the moment it's still black.
For future reference, if you have the time it's better for the battery to charge it on a low current so 2 amp would have been best to start with.
Not familiar with the window indicator thingy, but from what the battery charger is doing I would expect it'll start the car fine. No harm in leaving it on a low charge for another day and see what happens though.
Not familiar with the window indicator thingy, but from what the battery charger is doing I would expect it'll start the car fine. No harm in leaving it on a low charge for another day and see what happens though.
thegoose said:
For future reference, if you have the time it's better for the battery to charge it on a low current so 2 amp would have been best to start with.
Not familiar with the window indicator thingy, but from what the battery charger is doing I would expect it'll start the car fine. No harm in leaving it on a low charge for another day and see what happens though.
Thanks for the info Not familiar with the window indicator thingy, but from what the battery charger is doing I would expect it'll start the car fine. No harm in leaving it on a low charge for another day and see what happens though.
I know it'll start the car but i'm just concerned that it's got enough charge for the alternator to maintain. Any views on the status indicator on the battery (green/black/white status)?
ChesterDog said:
Was the battery still connected to the car while it was taking the high amperage?
Hopefully, you are going to answer this question 'No' because I understand a high current like that can fry the diodes in your alternator.
What's the issue with charging it in-situ; 10 amps is nothing compared the output of the alternator? Hopefully, you are going to answer this question 'No' because I understand a high current like that can fry the diodes in your alternator.
ChesterDog said:
I presume it's the fact that you're 'pushing' a current back through the alternator's diodes.
Diodes in an alternator are configured as a 3-phase bridge rectifier to pass generated current to the battery or electrical circuits - the role of a diode is to allow current flow in only one direction. I think phelix is right - the diodes in a car alternator are pretty meaty and unlikely to be harmed by the voltage levels experienced by charging in situ. Care should exercised however, if you do charge in situ as I'm not sure all other electrical components on the vehicle would take kindly to application of unregulated voltages from a charger - make sure the leads are firmly attached before switching the charger on (and switch it off before disconnecting them). I have a 993 so get quite used to this practice 
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