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How To Charge A Car Battery

Written by Marsh Finance | Nov 8, 2024 9:57:50 AM

Your car battery is one of the most important parts of your vehicle. It can allow you to start the car and use electronic features, but it can also lose its charge over time. That’s why it’s important to know exactly how to charge your battery. We’ve taken a look at charging a petrol/diesel car batteries, as well as common questions around how long it takes, and how to know what battery is right for your car.

👉 Why you need to charge a car battery
👉 How long does it take to charge a car battery?
👉 How do I charge my car battery?
👉 What battery do I need for my car?
👉 The best battery charging technology
👉 Electric Batteries Vs Petrol/Diesel Batteries
👉 Conclusion

Why You Need To Charge A Car Battery

There are lots of reasons why keeping your car battery charged is key. Let’s take a look at some of them below 👇.

  • Breakdown risk. You might be driving along, and suddenly, your car battery fails. If this happens, you could be left stranded at the side of the road.
  • Breaking down costs a lot, which is why it’s best to avoid this by charging your car battery.
  • Electronic features fail. If you are in more modern wheels, a flat battery can make all the electronic displays in your car completely useless. This can be dangerous if you have come to rely on these digital features.
  • Permanent damage. Not correcting temporary car battery damage can lead to permanent damage. This would leave you having to spend a large amount of money on a new car battery.
  • Start/stop fail. If you rely on a start/stop system, your car might not even be able to get going with a dying charge.

How Long Does It Take To Charge A Car Battery

It really depends on what situation your car is in. If it doesn’t need much charging and you’re only topping the battery up, it could take as little as 30 minutes. If your car is nearly flat, it can take days to recharge your battery fully. In most cases, you will know how long your car battery will take to charge because your charger will show a progress bar. If you are not using something that shows this, keep an eye on your car battery by checking your dashboard every so often. The best practice in most cases is to leave your car overnight to charge, with the engine obviously switched off. The RAC recommend that you go for a slower charger where you can, to avoid overwhelming the car battery.

How Do I Charge My Car Battery?

Charging your car is super simple, provided you follow these quick and easy steps. First, make sure you have the right charger for your car. This sounds simple, but doing your research and finding the right charger is the first big step to re-charging your car and one that you can’t get wrong. Next, make sure all the contacts on the battery and the charger are clean. Look out for signs of corrosion and dirt, as this will need to be cleaned before charging your car. Then, disconnect the car battery negative first and reconnect it to ensure no currents are passing through since you cleaned it. The next stop is connecting the charger to the battery. Halfords recommends that you keep the charger as far away as possible from the battery and never place the charger on top of the battery. This avoids any overheating issues. Finally, turn on the charger, if it hasn’t already switched itself on automatically, and you’re good to go!

What Battery Do I Need For My Car?

If you are looking to replace your battery or are interested in finding the right charger for it, use an online checker to pinpoint which battery you need. KwikFit provides a free online checker. With KwikFit, enter your car reg, click submit, and see all your options. Either click for more details or add it to your basket, simple!

The Best Battery Charging Technology

Although your battery charger might change depending on your make and model, AutoExpress have put together the best chargers currently available. They found that the CTEK CS One was the best, followed by the Draper 12V Intelligent Battery Charger 53491 and finally the Ring 8A Smart Battery Charger & Maintainer. Although these have been ranked as the best, remember that the charger you need may change depending on what car you have.

Electric Batteries Vs Petrol/Diesel Batteries

This blog is focused solely on petrol and diesel cars. A battery in these cars is very different to one in an electric car, as the battery in an electric car acts as the engine. If your electric car battery is flat, you unfortunately won’t be able to go anywhere and will have to call for assistance. With that in mind, these tips are not for EVs and are just for petrol and diesel cars.

Conclusion

Knowing how to charge a car battery is so important. Our car batteries are key to our digital displays and even the ability to start our motors. That’s why you need to know how to charge your car battery if it’s in the red.

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