Imagine it’s a very important morning for your day to start because you need to reach on time for your office. Guess what as soon as you start your car, the battery dies and the car doesn’t start. This must become a very disappointing experience, right?

So the obvious question which comes to everyone’s mind is-

How to Charge a Car Battery?

Well, don’t worry we are going to share some quick answers which will surely help you in getting your car battery charged for the day start.

There are 2 major ways by which you can charge your car battery

1. By Battery Charger
2. By Jumpstart cables

So if you have a car battery charger in your vehicle trunk or if you could borrow from someone, you’ll be in a good note for charging your battery in due time. But for many folks, this could also be new stuff, so –

First Method:

How to charge a Car Battery with a charger?

A battery charger may vary depending upon its power output and purpose, but if you have a sedan even a small portable car battery charger can be really helpful in dire need. Below are following instructions about charging the battery with a portable charger:

Step 1

Connecting the charger to car battery:

1. Always make sure that your battery charger is in switched off position and is unplugged from the electricity source.
2. Connect the positive terminal of the charger to your car battery’s positive terminal. Generally, it’s the red cord which is meant for the positive terminal with a plus sign at the battery point.
3. Connect the negative terminal cord (generally in black color) from the charger to the car chassis or engine block. It is critical to know that the negative terminal should not be nearby any fuel supply lines or any inflammable area in the engine bay. We do not encourage to connect the negative terminal of the charger to a negative point in the battery because it is prone to cause an explosion (you can read more about it from the following link: Chicago Tribune

Step 2

Setting up the charger:

1. If you’re having a short time and need to start your car as quickly as possible, setting up the charger in higher amp should be the choice however this also means charging capacity to be shorter.
2. If you’re having a decent time period of at least an hour, setting up the charger in higher amp should be the preferred option. This will not only help in charging the battery in a reliable manner but your battery will get juice for a longer time duration.

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Step 3

Powering on the charger:

Many chargers come with an independent power supply that does not need any external power supply and they can be switched on with just one click.

If your charger has a plug for external power supply, make sure to connect it with enough distance between the charger and the power supply.

Always set up the predefined time period for battery charging. The time could vary depending upon the battery charge level and purpose of the person. E.g. I would charge a car battery for at least 45 minutes so that I get a reliable source of charge in my car battery.

Step 4

Disconnecting the Charger:

Once the battery gets enough power level charge, switch off the battery charger by the button and unplugging from the power source. It is recommended to make sure the negative terminal of the charger gets disconnected followed by the positive terminal. DO NOT disconnect a positive terminal first!

Second Method:

How to charge a car battery with Jumper Cables?

Or

How to Charge a car battery without a charger?

Often we come across in those situations when we do not have access to any battery charger, hence it becomes imperative to find an alternate way of charging the car battery.  A jumper cable can be of practical usage in such a scenario. The jumper cable consists of 4 clamps with positive and negative terminal markings. Following are the steps for Jumpstarting the Car Battery:

Step 1

Power assistance from another vehicle with good battery condition:

As you will be required to jumpstart your car, you would need another car with battery condition. Generally, you can reach out to your colleague or any friend for his vehicle.

Step 2

Switching off all electricals in both vehicles:

For quick and efficient jumpstarting, it is extremely important to switch off all electrical components of both cars. The electricals such as headlights, entertainment systems & air conditioning, etc. should be turned off so that the battery supply is focused on car engines.

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Step 3

Setting up and connecting the jumper cables:

Park both vehicles facing each other with sufficient distance for the jumper cables.

Start connecting the red wire of the jumper cable to the positive terminal of the dead battery and another positive end to the working battery’s positive terminal.  Make sure that the jumper clamps are not touching each other while connecting the positive terminals.

Now start connecting the negative wires terminal to the negative end of the working battery and then attach the other negative end of the cable on dead battery car’s chassis far away from the battery area.

Step 4

Turn on the car engine:

Start the engine of the car with a good battery and after 5 minutes of start; try to start the other dead battery car’s engine. Once both cars engine starts on, give extra revs to the good battery engine so that it supplies more charge output to the dead battery. It is recommended to keep both the cars on the idle engine for a minimum of 15-20 minutes.

Step 5

Disconnecting/Removing the Jumper cables:

After the battery has been charged and the car has started properly, make sure to switch off both engines and follow the below steps for disconnecting the cables:

1. Remove the negative clamp(black) from the car with the bad battery
2. Remove the negative clamp(black) from the car with good battery
3. Remove the positive clamp (red) from the car with good battery
4. Remove the positive clamp(red) from the car with the bad battery

It is suggested that even after jump-starting the car, make sure to get the battery checked from any nearest auto service center.

So above are the steps for recharging car battery with charger or with jumper cables (without chargers).  But it is also very important to follow certain steps so that the life of your car battery gets longer. Below are some quite useful battery maintenance tips:

7 easy steps to increase your car battery life

1. Follow your car service schedule properly: This will help you maintain the engine as well as battery life in better condition.

2. Change/Replace car battery on every 3^rd year: Generally, car batteries have an average lifespan of 3 to 4 years hence it is very important to replace them on every 3^rd or 4^th year of usage. Battery life is also affected by the way of driving, weather, and conditions.

3. Always drive your car regularly: By driving the car regularly helps in charging the battery by motion generated power. It also maintains engine life because a prolonged switched off the engine is susceptible to higher maintenance costs.

4. Pay attention while charging: Always make sure to charge the adequate power supply to your car battery. An undercharged/over charged car battery has a lesser lifespan!

5. Switch off all electricals before parking: Even a small electrical component can drain out the complete power supply from the car battery. Hence make sure to switch off all electrical systems before parking.

6. Regularly clean the car batteries: Regularly inspect the car battery for any left acid residue nearby battery terminals and clean them up and smear some grease so that the battery doesn’t get any corrosion.

7. Do NOT Jumpstart a complete zero charge car battery: This may sound counterproductive to our above-mentioned methods of charging the car batteries but it’s very important to note that jumpstarting a flat car battery may cause serious damage to batteries or electronic systems. Hence it is always advisable to jump-start car battery only if it’s not completely flat on the charge.

So these were some very simple yet helpful car battery maintenance tips. If we missed anything let us know in comments

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