| Engineering/Technical Ask technical questions about cars. Do you know how a car engine works? |
11-01-2006, 12:30 PM
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#1
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AF Regular
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 129
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Charging the car battery? help
Ok the car is an '90 Accord 4DR EXR.
-The battery is fairly new about 2 months
-Its not a top-of-the-line battery, just an economical one
-It died after helping a friend jump start his car,
My question is when I put the battery on charge am I suppose disconnect it from the car terminals or should I leave them on?
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11-01-2006, 01:33 PM
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#2
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AF Regular
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Marshfield, Wisconsin
Posts: 340
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Re: Charging the car battery? help
Leave them on.
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11-01-2006, 01:38 PM
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#3
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AF Enthusiast
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Corning, Arkansas
Posts: 1,727
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Re: Charging the car battery? help
And hope you didn't fry your alternator. A service manual will actually tell you to disconnect the ground to prevent voltage spikes from getting to your electronics..
__________________
2007 Certified DaimlerChrysler Service Technician...
True blue GM at heart.
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11-01-2006, 04:01 PM
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#4
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Time Travelling!
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Auckland
Posts: 10,501
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Re: Charging the car battery? help
Quote:
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Originally Posted by cody_e
Leave them on.
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Deffinitly DO NOT LEAVE THEM ON.
That sort of stupid advice will get you banned.
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11-01-2006, 10:13 PM
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#5
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AF Regular
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Marshfield, Wisconsin
Posts: 340
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Re: Charging the car battery? help
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Moppie
Deffinitly DO NOT LEAVE THEM ON.
That sort of stupid advice will get you banned.
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Well then everyone around here that I know must be doing it wrong. EVERYONE I know does that. Well I guess you learn something new everyday.
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11-01-2006, 10:15 PM
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#6
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That thing got a Hemi?
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: London
Posts: 9,308
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Re: Charging the car battery? help
Quote:
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Originally Posted by cody_e
Well then everyone around here that I know must be doing it wrong. EVERYONE I know does that.
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Yes, they're all doing it wrong.
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Seatbelts Saved My Life
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11-02-2006, 01:42 AM
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#7
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AF -Advisor
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Seattle, Washington
Posts: 1,487
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Re: Charging the car battery? help
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Moppie
Deffinitly DO NOT LEAVE THEM ON.
That sort of stupid advice will get you banned.
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ooh....I want to hear the theory on THIS!
I've yet to see a alternator that wasn't switched via the ignition switch. How does a charger magically turn on the ignition, and when it does, what bad things does that cause?
(if I see the words "flux capacitor" in your reply, I'm taking your title away from you) 
__________________
life begins at 10psi of boost
Three turbo'd motorcycles and counting.
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11-02-2006, 01:52 AM
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#8
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That thing got a Hemi?
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: London
Posts: 9,308
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Re: Charging the car battery? help
Quote:
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Originally Posted by UncleBob
I've yet to see a alternator that wasn't switched via the ignition switch. How does a charger magically turn on the ignition, and when it does, what bad things does that cause?
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there's still power in the computers and circuitry when the ignition's off. chargers make more current that batteries, as they charge them, and can damage the electronics.
__________________
Seatbelts Saved My Life
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11-02-2006, 01:54 AM
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#9
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AF -Advisor
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Seattle, Washington
Posts: 1,487
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Re: Charging the car battery? help
Quote:
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Originally Posted by 2.2 Straight six
there's still power in the computers and circuitry when the ignition's off. chargers make more current that batteries, as they charge them, and can damage the electronics.
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ah....CURRENT is higher? Current to what? To the computer? How?
Sorry. No lame answers here. You'll have to show your smarts.
electricity doesn't make decisions. If current is higher to the computer, its higher to everything else in the circuit. So IF thats the case, then everything else is at risk.
I'm leading you. I want to see a better answer. What is the REAL risk here, and what causes it, specifically.
__________________
life begins at 10psi of boost
Three turbo'd motorcycles and counting.
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11-02-2006, 02:05 AM
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#10
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That thing got a Hemi?
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: London
Posts: 9,308
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Re: Charging the car battery? help
it's 7:05am here. i haven't slept and i'm embarking on a 12-hour day at college, purely physical work.
sorry to be so blunt, but right now i don't care...
__________________
Seatbelts Saved My Life
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11-02-2006, 02:07 AM
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#11
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AF -Advisor
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Seattle, Washington
Posts: 1,487
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Re: Charging the car battery? help
hehehe....you get an F! But thanks for trying!
Next!
The laws to electicity are very simplistic, but the understanding of them, are not.
(don't take this to mean I'm some kind of expert....I'm far far from an EE, I'm just a dumb car mechanic who knows just enough to get into trouble diagnosing cars)
__________________
life begins at 10psi of boost
Three turbo'd motorcycles and counting.
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11-02-2006, 02:11 AM
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#12
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That thing got a Hemi?
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: London
Posts: 9,308
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Re: Charging the car battery? help
here's my solution. when i charge the battery on MY car, i'll disconnect the batter.
what other people decide to do is purely up to them. if they cook something, not my problem.
__________________
Seatbelts Saved My Life
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11-02-2006, 07:34 AM
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#13
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AF Regular
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Marshfield, Wisconsin
Posts: 340
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Re: Charging the car battery? help
Wait isn't there a diode in the voltage regulator or somewhere around there that blocks electricity coming from the direction fo the battery just for that purpose or if the battery does get overcharged it won't destory the electronics.
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11-02-2006, 07:46 AM
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#14
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AF Enthusiast
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Clarks Hill, Indiana
Posts: 1,857
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Re: Charging the car battery? help
yes take cables off to charge. could lead to big problems leaving them on while charging...
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11-02-2006, 01:06 PM
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#15
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AF -Advisor
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Seattle, Washington
Posts: 1,487
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Re: Charging the car battery? help
Many warnings are pretty simple: why not to look for a leaky propane line with a lighter. The explanation on why is easy to understand.
I'd like to hear the WHY for this one. Not the popular "belief".
If charging a battery was a problem, then I would think the car wouldn't have an alternator
__________________
life begins at 10psi of boost
Three turbo'd motorcycles and counting.
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