How To Safely And Quickly Recharge A Dead Car Battery

A dead battery could be the result of any of the following:

• Damaged or corroded battery terminals

• Temperatures that are abnormally high or low

• Overuse of short trips

• Negligently leaving the lights on

Many of these causes are preventable, mainly if regular maintenance is performed. The problem of a dead battery, however, is only sometimes avoidable. Getting it back into working order should be easy if the battery isn't severely damaged.

Pro Tip: Checking the battery's outward appearance for damage is the first order of business. Do not try to recharge a battery that is damaged in any way (cracked, leaking acid, etc.). Clean the dead car battery with a battery cleaner and a battery terminal brush if you notice corrosion. One can jump-start vehicles after their batteries have been cleaned and their cables have been correctly connected.

There are two ways of quickly recharging a dead battery:

Keeping a battery charger in your trunk can keep you from getting into trouble. With this charger, you don't need another car to help you charge the battery. Just hook it up and charge the battery, and you're ready to go again.

Most of the time, these things cost between $30 and $120. Prices vary depending on the brand and the number of charging and output settings. Most battery chargers work with standard 12V car batteries, like gel or deep cycle batteries.

What Are The Safety Measures That Has To Be Taken?

The Safety tips are as follows:

• Always use safety equipment, including goggles and gloves.

• Take off your jewelry and button up any loose clothing.

• The charger should be placed as far from the vehicle as the cables allow.

• If you want to charge your car safely, consult the manual to find out if there is a remote positive terminal in another part of the vehicle.

• One should always use the red positive jumper cable first.

• When connecting the clamps, make sure you are not facing the battery.

• When the charger is turned on, one should not touch the clamps.

• Under no circumstances should the negative clamp be connected to the vehicle's carburetor, fuel lines, or bodywork.

What Are The Charge Settings? 

Choose the right setting for the type of charge based on the battery in your car and how quickly it needs to be charged. Most chargers have a setting for charging 6V batteries and fast and slow settings for charging 12V batteries. If you see a setting called "crank assist," this is just a way to jump-start the battery.

Check the car's manual to ensure that your car's voltage is the same as the DC output voltage of the charger.

• FAST CHARGE RATE: Only use the fast charging setting when you have to.

• SLOW CHARGE RATE: The setting to charge slowly is easier on the battery. This setting will help the battery last longer, but the process will take longer. If you use this setting, it's best to let the car charge overnight. Depending on how dead the battery was, it could take up to 24 hours to fully charge.

How To Recharge?

• Make sure that the charger is not plugged into a power source. For now, don't plug it in.

• Choose the right setting and rate for your situation and the type of battery you have.

• If you need to, unwrap or untangle the cables connected to the charger.

• Find out which side of the car battery is positive and negative. Near the terminal, look for a P, POS, or + for positive and an N, NEG, or – for negative.

• Clip the red wire to the battery's positive terminal.

• Then, connect the black wire to the terminal on the negative side of the battery.

• Plug the charger into an outlet. To get to the car, you might need an extension cord.

• Let the battery charge up.

• Then, unplug the device from the source of power. Turn the thing off. Then one should take off both the positive and negative clamps.

• One can use a multimeter to check the charge after the charger has been unplugged, turned off, and disconnected. The meter should read 12.6 volts or more for the battery to be charged.

• If you don't have this tool, try turning on the headlights and starting the car.

  
  

The second way to charge a car is to connect a dead battery to a running battery with jumper cables. Most drivers know what jumper cables are, but not everyone knows how to use them to connect two cars in the right way. 

What Are The Safety Measures That Has To Be Taken?

The Safety tips are as follows:

• Gloves and eye protection are a must.

• Make sure that the batteries in both cars have the same voltage. If you don't do this, the vehicle's electrical parts could be damaged.

• Take off any loose jewelry or clothing.

• Check to see that the two cars are not touching each other.

• Check your car's manual to see if it has a remote positive terminal in another part of the car. If it does, use this terminal to charge your vehicle more safely.

• Always start with the positive red cable.

• Don't connect the clamps with the battery facing you.

• If the car is running, don't touch the clamps.

• It would be best if you didn't connected the negative clamp to the car's carburetor, fuel lines, or body panels.

• Never connect jumper cables to the negative post of a dead car battery because it can cause sparks.

How To Recharge?

• Place the car with the good battery close to the vehicle with the dead battery, but not on top of it. Turn off the engines and put both cars in the park.

• Put the jumper cables on in the right way:

• Connect the red wire to the battery's positive side.

• Connect the other end of the red cable to the live battery's positive terminal.

• Connect the negative end of the black cable to the live battery.

• Last, carefully clamp the other end of the black cable to a large piece of metal on your car's engine block. Don't connect it straight to the battery's negative post.

• Start the engine with a battery that is still working. Give the car a few minutes to warm up.

• Start the engine even though the battery is dead.

• Once the engine has started and is running, take the jumper cables off immediately in the order you put them on. It's essential to first disconnect the black cable from the car's engine block with a dead battery.

• Give the car at least 30 minutes to run. Then, drive the vehicle for at least 30 minutes to fully charge the battery.

Most car batteries last four to five years if properly cared for. Know the signs that a battery is going bad. If you can't recharge your battery, it's best to get a new one. We hope this article has helped you learn more about charging a car battery.