APR 16, 2021 Pageview:590
If you have used a car battery before, you know that the battery loses its strength after frequent use. A car battery is designed to have a specific lifespan influenced by its services and the battery's care. Most times, car batteries that are well serviced and maintained according to the manufacturer's guide will have an extended lifespan. However, poorly maintained car batteries will have a short life.
Besides, most cars use lead-acid batteries, which are rechargeable. However, it reaches a point where the battery can no longer store charge and will discharge faster. The car battery eventually dies, and your first action might be to discard it. Luckily, dead car batteries can be recharged using various methods, including jumper cables, trickle charge, or a cigarette lighter, for your information.
How will you know that your car battery is dead or failing? Below are some indicators of a dead car battery:
Dim headlights- this means your car battery cannot entirely power your car's electrical components, headlights included.
Slow crank- if you notice an unusual sound while starting the engine and starts slowly, you may be operating with a dead car battery.
Backfiring- a failing car battery causes dangerous sparks from the spark plugs, and sporadic sparks can lead to backfiring.
The engine fails to crank, starts, and no headlights.
Recharge Dead Car Battery With Jumper Cables
In case you ever find yourself alone in the middle of nowhere, freezing outside, and your car fails to start, you might want to consider jumpstarting your car battery. Jumpstarting with cables is an easy and safe way to power your dead car battery quickly. However, jumpstarting a car battery wrongly can cause harm to your car battery as well as other electrical components.
You have occasionally seen two cars on a roadside with both cars' bonnet and cables running across the cars. The drivers are jumpstarting one of the cars. You will need a second car for the procedure. Request the car owner for a manual to ensure that neither car has connection points other than the battery. The procedure is outlined below:
Connect jumpstarting cables to the donor's car battery and then to your dead battery. Ensure that the positive terminal is connected to the positive terminal and the negative connected to the harmful otherwise, deadly sparks will be produced.
The car's keys should be in an off position.
One jumper cable is connected to the positive (+) terminal of the donor battery.
The same terminal is connected to the positive (+) terminal of the dead car battery.
Connect the second cable to the negative (-) terminal of the donor battery.
The other end is connected to the negative (-) terminal of the dead car battery.
Connect the other end of the jumpstarting cable to bare metal or the car's frame with the dead car battery.
Allow the dead car battery to charge, and it should work adequately once charging is complete. If not, the battery might need replacement.
Recharge a Dead Car Battery With a Battery Trickle Charger
A dead car battery needs a trickle charger due to its unique charging ability. It can charge a battery at a slow yet steady rate. It delivers a low charging ampere. The average delivery is about one to three amps. A trickle charger replaces the lost energy gradually as the battery self-discharges, preventing the battery from depleting completely.
A trickle charger works like any other battery charger only that it delivers an electric current at a lower rate to avoid the risk of overcharging. Besides, the trickle charger is left on a car for an extended period to recharge the battery. Some can even be left on a car battery indefinitely.
Trickle chargers use battery regulators to regulate the charging rate and avoid overcharging a car battery. Most trickle chargers are designed with a simple box that harbors the charger's guts, two alligator clips, and a power cable. First, check and set the amperage and voltage of the dead battery appropriately. Do a check on the buttons and switches on the charger box before connecting the trickle charger.
Locate a suitable ground location where the negative terminal of the truckle charger will be connected. This is vital to safe and completion of the circuit. Primarily, bare metal on the frame or engine block is used for this purpose. Please do not use the negative terminal of the battery as it causes an explosion and fire. The alligator clips are then connected. The red clip or cable should be attached to the positive terminal of the battery to be charged. Connect the black cable to the ground location identified earlier.
Once solid connections have been made, plug in the charger and put it on. Ensure you check the trickle chargers display for proper charging. Leave the car battery charging until complete.
Recharge Dead Car Battery Through a Cigarette Lighter
A cigarette lighter is a plastic or metal cylinder with a thin coil made of a nichrome metal strip. High current passes through the device when activated by pushing it into a socket. The heating element glows in seconds.
Many cars have cigarette lighter outlets wired so that they work only when the car is in motion. Power accessories are wired to the battery and remain active always. The power accessory outlet can be used as a way to trickle charge a dead car battery. The cigarette lighter provides a dead car battery with a weak surface charge, delivered for an extended period, that will enable the engine to start as long as cranking does not take long.
A cigarette lighter jump starter that connects one cigarette lighter receptacle to another is less likely to cause battery explosion than using jump cables or a jump cable.
Conclusion
A dead car battery jumpstarting draws a massive amount of amperage from the car with a good battery. The charge goes straight to the starter motor. When you use a jump box or a trickle charger, the same happens but not with a cigarette lighter. The choice of jumpstarting your dead car battery is yours as long as you know what you are doing and adhere to all safety guidelines during the procedures.
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