How to Charge Your Car Battery
Generally, there are four ways to charge a car battery. Below are the instructions. Using Your Car: Your car should charge the battery whenever it is running. Every car has an alternator that produces electricity whenever the car is running because a belt connects a pulley on the alternator to a pulley on the flywheel. If your battery dies while you are driving down the road, the alternator may not be producing electricity to charge the battery. If you have a car with a manual transmission, you may be able to push start the car to get it running. Driving around for about 30 minutes should charge the battery enough to bring it back to life. In order to conserve electricity, try to turn off any electrical equipment that you do not need, such as radios and lights. This will help direct as much electricity into the battery as possible. Jump Start: If you have an automatic transmission, a good option may be to jump start your car. (Caution: A charging battery produces hydrogen gas. Hydrogen gas is explosive, so allow proper ventilation and take all necessary steps to reduce the chance of sparks.) Here's how: * Park a running car close enough to the car with a dead battery to attach the jumper cables. Turn off all unnecessary electronics, and turn off the ignition on both cars. Be careful that the two cars are not touching. Battery Charger: Battery chargers plug into a normal 110 volt household outlet, and they charge your car battery while it is not connected to your car. Battery chargers can perform a quick charge, a slow charge, or a trickle charge, and they can be the most efficient method for charging your battery. Sometimes, a battery charger can revive an old battery that couldn't quite charge using the car's alternator. Solar Charger: If you're going to leave your car unattended for an extended time, it may be helpful to purchase a small solar powered charger to maintain your battery while you're gone. A Helpful Hint: Sometimes a white buildup will form on the terminal due to corrosion. If this buildup gets between the battery terminal and the clamp, it prevents the electricity from transferring between the two, and the car acts like the battery is dead. To remove the corrosion, try scraping the terminal with a wire brush if you have one, or you can use steel wool. Otherwise, any acidic liquid (even soft drinks) can remove the buildup. Caution: 1. Make sure that the metal ends of the jumper cables are not allowed to touch one another. This essentially ?shorts? the battery and causes large sparks. Quick Tips: 1. Be sure to connect the red cable to the positive terminal and the black cable to the negative terminal. More... |
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