When Charging My Car Battery On Slow 2 Amp Charge, Do I Need To Let It Take A Break
Posted in Car Batteries | Asked on Jun 23, 2010
I checked.. my Group 78 Size Battery was VERY low on Water (Car sat for a year.) Surely, that explains inconsistent Power readings, and may have even thrown the “Good battery” Test… So i put Water up to the bottom of the Caps, “Just Over” as someone said.. i wonder if it is possible to put “Too Much” water in a Battery, but this one was up just above where the Plastic is (it was very low i had to add a lot).. Now im givign it a “Slow Charge” of 2 Amps.
Now, i wonder.. My Charger is small and Plugs into the wall, and it can charge at 2 Amps, 4 Amps, and 6 Amps. When i first plugged it in, it was plugged in for 2 minutes before i plugged it in to the Battery (then it lights up “Connected”) and i plugged it in and set it on 2 Amps.. it said 75% them Complete within 2 minutes. I believe this was residual energy from the time i plugged it into the wall to the time i connected it into the battery, yes? So, i reset it to “4 Amps” … Didnt do that.. then 6 Amps (It can ony go 2-4-6-repeat) for “a minute apiece”.. then i let it charge at 2 Amps.
So its slow charging, been slow charging for a half hour.. Should i Unplug it at any time to give it a “Rest,” What is the best way to turn this recently added Water into Electrolyte and give it its fullest, strongest, longest-lasting possible Charge (As opposed to a Fast Charge, which is like a Sugar Rush for a Battery?)
And it is charging, i hear it and im watching the lights.. wonder if i should give it a rest.. for how long, and why?
Charger is a Schumacher 600A Speed Charge.. has 2A, 4A, and 6A Charge setting, as well as 12V and 6V. I have it on “12V – 2A”… Thanks!
There are 5 Answers for "When Charging My Car Battery On Slow 2 Amp Charge, Do I Need To Let It Take A Break"
No need to unplug this. You have one of the new style microprocessor controlled battery chargers. This is fully automatic. A light will come on telling you when the battery is fully charged. When the battery is fully charged this battery charger automatically shifts into a float charge mode. This battery charger will not over charge your battery. It will take several hours to fully charge an automotive battery at 2 amps.
I hope you used distilled water in the battery. Tap water contains trace amounts of minerals and chemicals that can shorten the battery life. If you added tap water it is not the end of the world.
When you remove the battery caps you will notice a small well area. You should fill the battery to where it just touches the plastic at the bottom of the well. In this well area there are frequently some slots. This is to allow the hydrogen sulphide gas that comes off the battery during usage and charging. If you fill the battery above these vent slots the battery may not vent properly. Also, if the battery is over filled it may leak acid and cause rust in the battery tray area.
Is the water you put in deionized water? Tap water will not turn like you want and you’ll be replacing the battery soon.
something boiled all the acid out of the battery, more than likely the voltage regulator or alternator is working improperly, you should always use distilled water in batteries, and normally you only want to add small amounts, in your case, with the battery being that far down, if you added tap water, it may charge up, and if you use it everyday may last a month or so, but likely not more than a few weeks.
have the charging system tested, and fix the problem.
when you charge a battery, on a two amp cycle, it may take eight hours or more, to charge down. no resting is necessary. if the battery you have is toast, and it probably is, you will not get it to take a charge, anytime a dead battery stops charging after a few hours, it is no good and you should replace it. your charger does all the work, but hook it up to the battery, then turn it on, there is no need to turn charger on first and wait, it only works when hooked up. if you use four amps or six amps, that is ok too, it charges faster then 2 amps. 2 amp is what I would charge a motorcycle battery on. most car batteries you can leave on six amp charge no problem. hope this helps
To get a full charge at 2 amps should take somewhere between 4 and 6 hours. I would just leave it all day, or overnight. Your charger sound like a good one, so it should shut off when full charge is reached.
30minutes is not nearly enough for battery charging.
a battery can have ~100amph-hours of storage capacity. If it’s really drained you may need hours to days of charge time before it’s “full”. 30minutes on fast charge is meant to just get you into operating range to start your car.
If you got a smart charger it should automatically change to trickle/float mode. Check your instructions on the charger if it has this smart feature.
In the instructions on my charger (batteryminder) (1amp) it says this can take up to 3days, and to manually switch or check the battery after 3days if it doesn’t occur.
Slow is always better for the battery, but just set your expectations in hours, not minutes for slow charging.