Charging battery?

[AK Telly]

When charging the battery, will it hurt anything to connect direct to the terminals without disconnecting the cables ?

 

[Kwim]

When charging the battery, will it hurt anything to connect direct to the terminals without disconnecting the cables ?

if you charge the battery through a booster - ALWAYS disconnect it from the car.

 

[AK Telly]

Thanx. When you say "booster" ........?? Is that same as a trickle charger / maintainer ?

 

[Kwim]

Thanx. When you say "booster" ........?? Is that same as a trickle charger / maintainer ?

if your battery is dead and you just need to start the engine, you don't have to disconnect. If you charge the battery with any device intended for charging, the battery must be disconnected from the vehicle's mains.

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[qwikhit]

Yeah you don’t want to send an over voltage throughout the vehicles wiring. I would leave the ground connected but remove the positive lead

 

[wazslow]

A battery maintainer like a battery tender can absolutely be used with the battery in the vehicle and still connected. Thats what they are made to do.

 

[AK Telly]

Thanx wazslow ....I like this answer the best ! That's what I've always done w/ previous vehicles, and never had any pbms that I knew of. But w/ all the gadgets & doo-dads on the Telly, I didn't want to fry something important .......thx .......

 

[AK Telly]

Although the owner's manual is pretty clear:
"Recharging battery: Never attempt to recharge the battery when the battery cables are connected".
Hh-mmmm......

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[Tellthemride]

Been changing with the 400mA detran battery tender whilst connected to the mains. No issues to report since starting in May 2020.

 

[varunaX]

Been changing with the 400mA detran battery tender whilst connected to the mains. No issues to report since starting in May 2020.

how do you clamp your charger to the Red terminal? it looks to be housed pretty tightly without much real estate to clamp on to, no?

 

[Tellthemride]

how do you clamp your charger to the Red terminal? it looks to be housed pretty tightly without much real estate to clamp on to, no?

The covers on the terminals easily open up. The positive (red) terminal cap has a push release clip to the right of the cover. It folds open on a hinge on the left. The negative (black) terminal cap is a little more tricky. There is a tab on the right holding the cap down. Unhook it by pulling it out to the right, then there are two pins on the left side of the cap, just lift straight up to remove the cap pins from the holes. Make sure you do not drop the negative terminal cap into the engine bay though! I usually unclip the right hook, but leave the pins partially inserted.



This is good to be familiar how to access the terminals in case you ever need to jump start.

The trickle charger clamps are so small though. You don’t even need to remove the negative terminal cap. It easily fits into the little opening to clamp on the main connected to the terminal.

 

[JP#]

My trickle charger came with clamps and terminal connectors. I permanently attached the terminal connectors to the battery so all I have to do is plug the charger into the connector. I did do a mod on the positive cover to allow for the connector wire to hang freely. Works great.

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[varunaX]

This is good to be familiar how to access the terminals in case you ever need to jump start.

The trickle charger clamps are so small though. You don’t even need to remove the negative terminal cap. It easily fits into the little opening to clamp on the main connected to the terminal.

thanks. are you saying i just need to somehow get the clamp around this piece? its blocked above by that metal piece and there is no gap beside it on the right

 

[varunaX]

My trickle charger came with clamps and terminal connectors. I permanently attached the terminal connectors to the battery so all I have to do is plug the charger into the connector. I did do a mod on the positive cover to allow for the connector wire to hang freely. Works great.

are you talking about o-rings like this? i see some chargers come with those. could you please show me where\how id install those onto the tellurides battery?

 

[earlgrey]

I just charged my battery last night for the first time. I used the alligator clips. In the picture of the positive post, I clipped on to the metal piece sticking straight up in the middle of that area, just above you red arrow. I put the neg clamp on the car body inside the engine area.

 

[JP#]

are you talking about o-rings like this? i see some chargers come with those. could you please show me where\how id install those onto the tellurides battery?

Yes. There's enough thread on the battery terminal to add the ring lug with a nut. I had to cut (Dremel) the positive terminal cap to allow the wire to hang on the outside. Hope that helps.

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[Tellthemride]

thanks. are you saying i just need to somehow get the clamp around this piece? its blocked above by that metal piece and there is no gap beside it on the right

As Earlgrey mentioned, charger clamps can go on any metal surface in direct contact with the red terminal. (Blue arrows) The clamps do not have to be directly on the terminal itself.

The ring terminals can usually be installed on the same lug nut threads used to secure the main cables to the terminals. (Yellow arrow). You can either unscrew the existing nut, or add a second nut behind the ring terminal for the charger and sandwich between two nuts

You will know if the charger contacts are sufficient because they have built in logics to prevent charging if the correct battery voltage is not detected. Usually an LED indicator on the charger itself.

 

[JP#]

View attachment 16580

As Earlgrey mentioned, charger clamps can go on any metal surface in direct contact with the red terminal. (Blue arrows) The clamps do not have to be directly on the terminal itself.

The ring terminals can usually be installed on the same lug nut threads used to secure the main cables to the terminals. (Yellow arrow). You can either unscrew the existing nut, or add a second nut behind the ring terminal for the charger and sandwich between two nuts

You will know if the charger contacts are sufficient because they have built in logics to prevent charging if the correct battery voltage is not detected. Usually an LED indicator on the charger itself.

I found that if you try to unscrew the existing nut it loosen the terminal connection. So it was easier to add another nut and not break the positive connection. However if I remember correctly the nut I added was metric in size.