Knowing how to charge a car battery is important if you ever run into problems with your vehicle. Nothing is worse than having a car battery die on you when you are in the middle of nowhere. Hopefully, you have a contingency plan in place for how to do this.
Of course, having a battery die happens at the most inopportune time. Because of this, you have to be patient and give time to make your battery work again to perfection.
There are a few options that you can consider when charging a car’s battery. These options include jumper cables or a jump starter to get the job done right. However, one of the main questions that everyone wants to know is how long will this process take? So, without further ado, let us dive into the world of jumping a car battery. You will be well-prepared after this article. With so many options when considering info about car batteries, read this material to get more educated than you ever thought humanly possible.
How Long Does It Take To Charge A Car Battery
Imagine this: you are on your way to work and your car battery will not start your vehicle. You have to jump your car, but you might not be sure how long the process will take.
When your car body gets drained, you will need one of two things: jumper cables or a jump starter. Depending on what piece of technology you have at your disposal, the varying minutes will be also.
Jumper Cables
If you have jumper cables, you will need another vehicle to help you with the process. Let us say your vehicle dies in a two-car garage. This will be easy to use a working vehicle to start your car battery. However, if you are in a single garage or a parking lot away from another working vehicle, you made have to manually push your car to a more useable spot or get it towed.
Make sure that you connect the car with the dead battery red positive cable first and then to the running car’s battery positive circuit. Next, connect the black cable to a running car’s negative terminal and then to the dead car’s battery engine block. This will take some time to get everything organized. After this is safely completed, then you can turn on the working car and let the dead car’s battery charge.
However, make sure that you have the jumper cables correctly. If the jumper cables are connected inappropriately, you could severely hurt the electrical system on your vehicle. So, make sure you know exactly what you are doing before you get into the world of jumper cables.
Jump Starter
If you have a jump starter, you do not need another vehicle with jumper cables. Instead, you can use a jump starter charger that you can connect to the positive and negative circuits from the machine to the car battery. Let the battery charge for a bit, and then try to start your vehicle.
Within a few seconds, a jump starter is a lot more friendly than the ancient jumper cables, allowing you to get on the road a lot quicker. What is more, jump starts can fix polarity issues and will never have any spark issues. This way, you will not ever need to worry about the friendly fire from your jump starter.
To this point, how quickly a battery charge depends on a few things. A car battery could take anywhere from 4 to 24 hours to get back up to full capacity. This is ultimately based upon the Amperes that the car battery has. Most car batteries use 4 amps of power. For example, if you have a battery size of 54 amperes (Ah), it will take the battery around 10 hours to charge fully. But, if you are just looking to get your car started to run, it will only take about 1 hour.
Amperes Output
Other things that may make the process longer or get done quicker depend on how many amperes a car battery jumper cables or charges are giving off. For example, the more amperes a charger has, the quicker the battery will get jump-started. On the other hand, a low amount of amperes means that your battery will last for longer periods moving forward and help with maintenance.
The size can also change the amount of time it takes to charge a dead battery. For most mid-sized sedans, a car’s battery size ranges from 40 to 80 Ah. Also, the type of battery can vary on the amount of time it takes to charge a battery. GEL/AGM batteries are known to charge a battery quicker than the alternative. From this point, people want to know how long they should charge their car battery. The next section will make it clear as day for you.
Charging Speed
When it comes to the speed of the car battery, it depends on the type of battery you end up with. If you end up charging a battery too fast, you can damage the battery for the long haul. The battery will then stay charged for a shorter time. Charging a battery should be a long-term process with low amps being sent. This will keep the battery lasting longer over the lifetime.
Traditionally, a normal charger puts out 4 to 15 amperes. When it comes to maintenance charging, 2 to 4 amperes are what you should expect. However, it is important to check the car battery that you have for a charging rate to make it fit your needs.
If you are running out of time and need to get to your location in a jiffy, the rate should be 8 to 15 amperes. So you do not damage your battery, never go over 15 amperes. This way, you can assure your battery will last and last.
Picking the Right Battery Charger or Jumper Cables
When you are thinking through a battery charger or jumper cables, you need to think through why you want one of these options. First, think about the simplicity of charging. The most up-to-date charger is a breeze to connect and has a monitor system, so the amps will be regulated by the technology. However, just because the jump charger can do this on its own, you should still check to make sure the amps are working the way they should.
There are cheaper chargers out on the market today that say that they have more amps than the standard charger. However, look for quality and not quantity. This will save you in the long run, and you will have peace of mind wherever you go. This way, you can limit damage to your precious battery, too. If you are looking for the right car battery chargers and cables, they are a ton to look at.
Timely Battery Chargers and Cables
When it comes to battery chargers, you want to find an option that is heavy-duty and quickly gets the job done right. CTEK is a great band to consider but will cost your pocketbook more money than traditional battery chargers. This option can charge your battery in minutes, and even connects to a wall socket. Your car will start up in seconds as well.
TACKLIFE and BEATIT also put out more affordable jump starters. Ranging from $40 to $100, these starters take a little longer to charge your battery, but they will still get the job done right. These beauties range from 800 to 2,000 Ah, which is plenty of power for the traditional vehicle on the road today. Your car will start in a matter of seconds with these chargers, but the full charger might take upwards of an hour or more to complete.
Jumper cables might be on your list too. Each jumper cable has a gauge rating. This works to explain the thickness of the cables you are using. If you have a small gauge rating, the thicker the cables will be. On the other hand, the larger the gauge rating of the cables is. This matters for a few reasons. The thicker the cables you have, the more amps can work their way through the cables. This allows for longer, more effective charging to your dead car battery.
If you end up using a higher gauge cable for a longer time, there could be some severe problems coming your way. For example, using higher-grade jumper cables for an extended time could start to melt the cables with the number of amps going through them. With this in mind, the melting cables could soon turn into a fire, causing massive issues to your car battery and maybe even your entire vehicle.
Some of the best jumper cables on the market include brands like Energizer, NOCO, Cartman, and NoOne. Now, that you have the charger or jumper cables, it is time for you to safely store them in your vehicle if the need arises.
Safety First
With all this talk about charging a car battery, safety needs to be discussed more than it previously has. If you are not completely comfortable with using jumper cables or a jump starter, do not feel the pressure of time wearing down on you. Safety is a priority, so get trained and help to come your way.
Also, charging a battery should not be a speedy process. To get a complete charge take the necessary time for success. With this in mind, you can stay safe wherever your car battery goes caput. Do not be the recipient of a YouTube video because you tried to charge your car battery your way. It never ends well at all.
Do not be some of those people who hook the wrong positive and negative cables in the wrong place. This will start sparks soaring, and could catch your vehicle on fire. Then, the fire department comes and things do not go very well from there. All the fire you want to have happened in your engine combusting and your heat picking up the temperature inside your cab. Nothing more and nothing less.
Final Verdict
Now that we have come to the end of our conversation on how to charge your dead car battery, it is up to you to make the necessary decisions to set you up well. There is nothing worse than getting stranded due to a car battery. Do not allow the process to take even longer because of your poor planning.
Take that example in for a second, will you? You are traveling across the western United States of America, and your battery dies on your in the desert of Utah. Because of this, you probably have limited cell phone coverage. If you do not have a jump starter or jumper cables, you may be in a situation where sleeping in your vehicle might be the best choice for you moving forward. Do not be this person! Plan and get the right tech to charge your battery extremely quickly. Best of luck finding the right battery for you!
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