[saket77]

Originally Posted by desertfox

Your home inverter charger will do the job, in an overnight charge of about 10 to 12 hours if the current is 5 AMP.

I have an inverter battery charger at home. It was used frequently when we had our Fiat 1100D in the stable. But since the Zen came, it has been actually put to use only once in the last 10-11 years! God bless alternators!

[desertfox]

Yes of course, compared to the old dynamo the alternator gives a much better charge and if the car is driven regularly and the battery is maintained periodically there should be little trouble and absolutely no need of an external charge source.

[i74js]

Originally Posted by ramzsys

Can i charge a discharged car battery by connecting it to the home UPS(the battery alone, with the UPS battery removed)?

Yes you can, leave it overnight with the invertor. Some suggestions:

- A deep discharged battery will not get recharged through the invertor or by professional charging - it is dead for good.

- The home UPS cannot fully charge a car battery but bring it at float. You may consider it around 80% charging because the home UPS are always connected to electricity mains, whereas our laptops and mobiles get completly charged because of specific circuit design as these instruments can be unplugged and used.

- Please note that a computer UPS cannot charge a car battery because of higher current requirement for charging.

[ramzsys]

Originally Posted by i74js

The home UPS cannot fully charge a car battery but bring it at float.

Yes, you are right. An overnight charging brought the V to 13.8(which is mentioned as float charging V in the UPS manual). It was 12.2 originally: remote unlocking worked, ignition lights worked, only the self motor speed was slow.

Fitted it to the car and took for a spin(about 30 minutes) and now it reads a 12.8.

Another query: how much does the car electricals(autocop keyless entry) consume with key off and car locked?

There is a constant 0.13A drain from my battery in such a case. Is this normal?

EDIT: the term is called parasitic drain. So 0.13A is the parasitic drain.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by ramzsys

Another query: how much does the car electricals(autocop keyless entry) consume with key off and car locked?

There is a constant 0.13A drain from my battery in such a case. Is this normal?

The car would keep drawing some power due to some electricals which do not switch off entirely like the ECU, the ICE (to keep settings of time, audio settings etc in memory), digital data in newer cars which have digital displays, and of course, the wires themselves do have some resistance which would result in some standing loss.
However, don't have it in numbers, but that is certainly not substantial as cars that have been standing for over two months can even start by cranking on this battery.

[isiv]

I was very pleased with a ~5 year old battery on my alto that was still doing great when the *** car cleaner switched on the reading light while cleaning the inside and did not turn it off. This was on a Sun. When I eventually had to take the car out on the following Fri, the remote unlock did not work. When I unlocked and got in manually, I saw the reading light looking dull orange and only a feeble click when I turned the key. Try as I might, the battery simply refused to hold charge after that. How long it would have lasted if the light had not been left on, I cannot say. But it surely would have been the longest on any automobile I've owned so far.

So if you have employed a car cleaner, make sure no lights have been left on after inside cleaning.

[Geo_Ipe]

Just the thread I was looking for!

My Santro is more than 7 years old (Dec 2005), so is its battery. Over the past year, the starting crank has been lazy, but never required more than 2 cranks (that too rarely) to start.

About a month ago, the battery got fully drained (when I had accidentally left my fog lamps on for some 2 hours), and the car had to be push started. Home was 2-3 km away, and there was no issues with starting once the car had run that distance.

Service was just a week away, and I told my SA to check the battery. When I went to take the car back, he told me that he had charged the battery, and that one of the 6 cells was 'weak'. However, he opined that the battery is healthy enough to be used, and advised me to change if it gets drained once more.

Is there any specific time period after which the car's battery should be changed?
Apart from the occasional lazy crank, there has been no other issues. No heavy electricals installed.
My car has got a Hyundai branded Exide battery.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

Just the thread I was looking for!

My Santro is more than 7 years old (Dec 2005), so is its battery. Over the past year, the starting crank has been lazy, but never required more than 2 cranks (that too rarely) to start.

About a month ago, the battery got fully drained (when I had accidentally left my fog lamps on for some 2 hours), and the car had to be push started. Home was 2-3 km away, and there was no issues with starting once the car had run that distance.

Service was just a week away, and I told my SA to check the battery. When I went to take the car back, he told me that he had charged the battery, and that one of the 6 cells was 'weak'. However, he opined that the battery is healthy enough to be used, and advised me to change if it gets drained once more.

Is there any specific time period after which the car's battery should be changed?
Apart from the occasional lazy crank, there has been no other issues. No heavy electricals installed.
My car has got a Hyundai branded Exide battery.

There is no specified time. You change when one or more cell go weak. In your case just keep monitoring the starting. Once the car takes a long time to start time to change the battery has come.

[kamal.sn]

The battery in my Tucson is going to be 5 years in service under the hood and may be approaching the end of its useful life and to be able to monitor its health, have got a battery monitor from Walmart in US. The device displays the voltage and has two LEDs (for battery and alternator) and will light when there is a fault with either of the sources. Also the battery voltage can be an indication of the health of the battery and the alternator. In my car, the voltage is around 13.8 to 14.1 Volts when the engine is on and 12.1 - 12.8 volts when the alternator is off.

Attaching a picture of the battery monitor

[RM2488]

Originally Posted by kamal.sn

The device displays the voltage and has two LEDs (for battery and alternator) and will light when there is a fault with either of the sources.

How is it wired up? As in, the battery voltage is simple... how did you hook it up to the alternator? As far as I know, there are rectifier and control stages between the alternator and battery.

[SirAlec]

Originally Posted by kamal.sn

..... have got a battery monitor from Walmart in US. The device displays the voltage and has two LEDs (for battery and alternator) and will light when there is a fault with either of the sources. Also the battery voltage can be an indication of the health of the battery and the alternator. In my car, the voltage is around 13.8 to 14.1 Volts when the engine is on and 12.1 - 12.8 volts when the alternator is off.

Attaching a picture of the battery monitor

Originally Posted by RM2488

How is it wired up? As in, the battery voltage is simple... how did you hook it up to the alternator? As far as I know, there are rectifier and control stages between the alternator and battery.

Do i see two soft buttons on the unit to show alternator and battery voltages. If it is its a very useful piece of equipment.

As when ever we have to check if alternator is giving optimum voltage for charge, we have to disconnect battery and use a multimeter.

[Geo_Ipe]

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

My Santro is more than 7 years old (Dec 2005), so is its battery. Over the past year, the starting crank has been lazy, but never required more than 2 cranks (that too rarely) to start.

About a month ago, the battery got fully drained (when I had accidentally left my fog lamps on for some 2 hours), and the car had to be push started.

Service was just a week away, and I told my SA to check the battery. When I went to take the car back, he told me that he had charged the battery, and that one of the 6 cells was 'weak'. However, he opined that the battery is healthy enough to be used, and advised me to change if it gets drained once more.

Yesterday I drove from Vellore to Chennai airport, a distance of approx. 130 km, non stop to pick my wife up. Stopped, switched the car off, loaded the luggage, got back on and tried to start up.

Crank I: Lazy, not starting
Crank II: Lazier, sounding near dead
Crank III: Starts up immediately!

I'm a little confused here. Shouldn't the battery have charged up over the 130 km drive, however weak its cell is?
Or is starter motor the culprit??
Just can't explain those two lazy cranks!

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

Yesterday I drove from Vellore to Chennai airport, a distance of approx. 130 km, non stop to pick my wife up. Stopped, switched the car off, loaded the luggage, got back on and tried to start up.

Crank I: Lazy, not starting
Crank II: Lazier, sounding near dead
Crank III: Starts up immediately!

I'm a little confused here. Shouldn't the battery have charged up over the 130 km drive, however weak its cell is?
Or is starter motor the culprit??
Just can't explain those two lazy cranks!

Most probably it is starter problem. If it is a battery problem then the cranking will slowly increase with time.
There can be three problems in the starter system :
1. The starter solenoid contact is not perfect
2. The commutator of the starter motor is dirty/worn out, hence does not pass full current at some points
3. Starter gear or the flywheel gear is worn at places, so the gears do not mesh and the system sticks at some places

If the problem persists, then first check the solenoid and sand paper the contacts. Then open the starter motor and check the commutator and gears. Lastly check the flywheel gears.

[i74js]

Originally Posted by RM2488

How is it wired up? As in, the battery voltage is simple... how did you hook it up to the alternator? As far as I know, there are rectifier and control stages between the alternator and battery.

I think this is tapped at the battery terminals only and no other wiring. When the car is off, it shows the potential difference between two terminals and when the car engine is running, it shows the increased potential difference due to working of alternator.

There can't be special arrangements in these kind of small devices. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Cheers

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by i74js

I think this is tapped at the battery terminals only and no other wiring. When the car is off, it shows the potential difference between two terminals and when the car engine is running, it shows the increased potential difference due to working of alternator.

There can't be special arrangements in these kind of small devices. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Cheers

I think you are right , as the alternator terminals are connected to battery terminal PD will be same unless isolated.