Battery Recharge Help

[Ranger Kip]

My battery I am puttin in my truck is a NAPA 65 Sure Start, it was made back in August of 2006 and is well expired, but according to Autozone, its still good, but needs 73 minutes of charge at 40 AMPs.

Now, for the issue: My charger has 2 AMP, 10 AMP, and 50 AMP start.

the guy at autozone said not to use 50 amp because it will burn out the battery, so I need some help.

 

[snomaker321]

Should be able to use the 2 or 10 amp no problem, it will just take longer. I believe slower charges are actually better for batteries. Someone please correct me if im wrong.

Ignore that. just looked it up, use the 10amp setting and it'll take a little under 9 hours to charge.

http://www.battery-chargers.com/charging_instructions.htm
^scroll near the botton and their is a table. Your battery's RC is 130

http://catalog2.genpt.com/catviewer15/%28g3l1r5joxhgqka5531letpm0%29/Catalog/Detail.aspx?ShowPics=1&R=NBP5065_0258388831

 

[Ranger Kip]

yeah, it is, they maintain a charge longer, its kinda liek filling cup up with soda, do it to quickly, it overflows, well, with batteries, it kills them or can make them go boom boom

 

[gwaii]

use the two amp.on a completely dead battery,you can shock it with the 50 amp for a few seconds(i usually do this several times in a row)then go to 10 amp.the meter on the charger should stabilise in a few minutes-if it dosen't,whack it with 50 again.when it will accept 10 amps,turn it down to 2,then give it 48 hours.hope you're not in a hurry.after 2 days at 2 amps it should have taken a pretty good charge.if not,probably time to replace it.i've brought back batteries that were dead for over two years this way.

 

[TheTopher]

use the two amp.on a completely dead battery,you can shock it with the 50 amp for a few seconds(i usually do this several times in a row)then go to 10 amp.the meter on the charger should stabilise in a few minutes-if it dosen't,whack it with 50 again.when it will accept 10 amps,turn it down to 2,then give it 48 hours.hope you're not in a hurry.after 2 days at 2 amps it should have taken a pretty good charge.if not,probably time to replace it.i've brought back batteries that were dead for over two years this way.

If whacking it with 50 amps doesn't work, the next step would be whacking it with a steel toe.

Like so:

 

[LearjetMinako]

A slow chrage is usually best. It prevents the battery from gassing too much, or being overheated. 30 Amps is max for what I would put on a battery. 10 Amps is good fast charge and it should be fully charged by the end of the day or overnight (12 hours or less). 2 Amp charge is more for smaller batteries, (like lawn mower batteries), but can be used for larger ones too. It may take one or two days for a battery to be fully charged (depending on size). That 50 Amp setting is for jump starting. Basicly, if the battery is dead and you really need to start your vehicle. Use the 50 Amp setting for 10~30 minutes to give the battery enough energy to start the engine.

 

[Ranger Kip]

10 AMPs for a few hours then! I will put it on for 4 or so hours, then put it on 50 for a minute or two, and try it in the truck, if no luck, will do a 10 AMP 24 hour charge.

 

[daniel3507]

dont trust those places that say they can charge your battery in an hour or so. it doesnt actually fully charge your battery when you charge it that fast from so low. it just puts a surface charge on it. I cant tell you how many times someone has come into work saying that they charged the battery for an hour or so and we go out and check it and its undercharged. the surface charge is wiped away from starting it or doing a load test. the slower charge the better.

 

[gwaii]

If whacking it with 50 amps doesn't work, the next step would be whacking it with a steel toe.

Like so:

 

[Ranger Kip]

dont trust those places that say they can charge your battery in an hour or so. it doesnt actually fully charge your battery when you charge it that fast from so low. it just puts a surface charge on it. I cant tell you how many times someone has come into work saying that they charged the battery for an hour or so and we go out and check it and its undercharged. the surface charge is wiped away from starting it or doing a load test. the slower charge the better.

Alright, will have to wait though, I dont wanna hook up the charger and leave it be, our electrical system was installed in the 50's with out-of date stuff for that time, and since its all in a hay-barn (lower area is our shop), raher not leave it unattended for.

 

[adsm08]

The other thing that you have to consider that is that your charger isn't really the best one out there. Not to put too sharp an edge on it, but that thing is quite literally the matchbox car of battery chargers. I putzed around using one for a few years before I got fed up with it and got a real one.

Also, those testers that they use at AZ aren't too good. The higher the numbers it brings back, the more likely that the tested battery is actually junk. Leave it on the 10 amp for 12 hours or so like was suggested, then come back and try it then. If it still doesn't work, it's junk.

 

[Ranger Kip]

I am going to try that, but wanna wait till I need to start it, maybe around the next time you come up, you can stay a little longer and we can get it started, I could charge the battery on the deck overnight on 10AMP

 

[Quartermile]

Make sure there is enough fluid in it or you'll fry it. Low fluid level can cause charge problems

 

[Ranger Kip]

I believe there is enough o_0 wont really be moving until I get new brake lines on her

 

[Will]

You don't seem to have a real problem here.

Does your charger say automatic on it? What is the brand? I would guess it's automatic if it has the 50amp boost thing.

Anyway, you can't charge it at 50amps. Try it. It will thermal overload and turn itself off. It's actually fine to charge a battery that high. Your alternator will do more amps than that once the engine is running if the battery is low. When you are running you engine you are giving 14+ volts to the battery all of the time. You have a voltage regulator in your truck, but not a smart battery charger. A smart battery charger has multiple stages--bulk, acceptance, float, equalization. Some cheaper charges have just two stages. The fact is, you have a $50 battery not a $1,000 battery bank. You can replicate the alternator in the truck and just charge the battery. As long as you have an automatic charger, you aren't going to hurt the battery. A battery like yours can accept about 40% of it's AH rating. 43 amps is probably correct. An auto charger will not let the voltage rise too high and it won't boil out the electrolyte. An old charger--like the 30 year old thing I have but never use, runs at 17 volts without a battery to absorb it's current. It will try to reach 17 volts and since a battery isn't going that high, it will boil a battery dry.

The power converter in my old travel trailer was the same way. The battery was buried under a seat where I never pad it any mind, and the thing was always plugged in--for years. So I got to a campsite one day and hit the button on the electric jack and the battery EXPLODED! but it didn't hurt anything as it was completely dry inside. Just bits of the plastic casing all over. An automatic charger rather than the converter would have prevented it.