Or you put it in the engine bay somewhere (along with the end of your trailing lead) and lower the bonnet gently over it. ;-)
As for the clamps, they are probably more than good enough for '6 Amps' and you might not see 6 amps from it, other than possibly for a short time at the beginning.
Cheers, T i m
yes
no
when the terminal voltage is over 13V
But how do I tell that? There's no meter or any other indicator sort of on the charger.
"... any other sort of indicator" dammit.
Do you have a multimeter?
If not, it sounds like a fairly old and dumb charger. On those the current starts high (say that 6A) and then gradually drops as the battery charges. At the end of charge it's only taking 1A which is something the battery can handle indefinitely (although I wouldn't leave it on for weeks).
So I'd charge it for say 8 hours and see if there's any life from the battery.
Theo
Yes. Don't mix + and -.
Do I need to disconnect the car's own connecting leads
No.
And how can I tell when the battery is sufficiently charged?
Because it will be tomorrow. In other words, just leave it overnight. Don't worry.
Bill
Some of the home rescue folk are helping keep Ambulances going and the like. Personally I'd charge the battery up. How long has it been flat for? I remember the old battery lawnmower batteries did not like being flat over the winter. Brian
I've often wondered when new cars are made it is obviously months before they go to a customer, so how do they look after all those batteries? Brian
One hour should be enough as a test. Alternators are pretty efficient even at idling revs.
From
Yes for sure - it's a car charger. If it's a history piece it may use a selenium rectifier which like to fail & produce nasty fumes so I'd not leave it entirely unattended the first time.
NT
indoor only just means not rainproof.
NT
near enough to true, albeit not accurate. Just leave the charger on for a fair few hours.
NT
With battery chargers and/or jump leads!
VW fit a better quality dashboard solar panel to at least some models- it is removed before delivery to the customer and, I believe, returned for reuse.
They ( the panels) are supposedly better ( higher output) than those typically sold for dashboard use. They do ?escape? the return loop from time to time apparently but I?ve never seen one.
I assume, in the huge car storage areas, the just have one of those boosters and trundle it around to start them if needed. Then the dealers charge the battery pre delivery.
In message <r6rqhe$lv2$ snipped-for-privacy@news.albasani.net>, "Brian Gaff (Sofa 2)" snipped-for-privacy@blueyonder.co.uk> writes
Ride on mower curiosity. Laid up for Winter and then the house move. Mower battery flat! Charged up OK but I decided to remove a battery lead for storage. No visible splash on disconnection and I don't have access to a DC ammeter.
Re-connected and started with no trouble yesterday!
No,I don't, unfortunately.
Right, thanks.
I last started the car four days ago.
The old fashioned transformer sort *usually* had a meter, you can recognise those because they are always in a pressed steel box with big ventilation louvres. The modern electronic ones (typically lightly finned aluminium extrusions as heat sinks) will have electronic regulation and usually have a coloured light. In either case the battery will not come to any harm if left on for a day or two.
Since there's a pretty solid bulkhead between the dashboard and the engine compartment - where the battery lives - how do you connect tehtwo ? leads out of the door and under the bonnet?
If it's that old does it also have the means to select the mains voltage between (say) 200-210, 220-30 and 240-250V? If so and you don't know your supply I'd select 240-250V to be safe.
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