Do I need to charge a new battery: instruction manual

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

Car battery or battery is an indispensable component of any vehicle, regardless of its purpose. It is extremely important that it is always in a charged state, which is called in full "combat" readiness. At the same time, some motorists are wondering if it is necessary to charge a new battery after purchasing it in a store. It can be immediately noted that in some cases it is even necessary to do this. Why, now we will understand.

Self-discharge

Often, many owners of a personal vehicle are faced with the fact that after purchasing a new battery, it is discharged, and completely. As a rule, this indicates the incompetence of sellers - they assure that the battery is fully charged from the factory, and nothing additional is required after the purchase.

Yes,manufacturers do charge car batteries before shipping. However, before reaching the final consumer, they are still in the warehouse or in the store for some time. How long it will take exactly, no one can say. It could be days, weeks, months.

As a result of this, an independent discharge of the battery capacity occurs. And ultimately, the longer the battery lay, the more it burst. Therefore, before buying a new battery, you need to study the date of its manufacture.

Reason for self-discharge

To understand whether you need to charge a new battery after purchase, you should delve into the essence of the self-discharge process. Its duration largely depends on many factors, among which the alarm electrician can be noted. According to official publications, the self-discharge of the battery occurs after 2 months. But in reality, the design of the battery itself has an effect on this.

For example, a 40 Ah battery can start a car even after three months of being idle in the garage. However, as long as the vehicle is in motion, there is nothing to worry about, since the charge is replenished through the operation of the generator.

If the battery is made at the highest level and meets all modern quality standards, then it can last for several years. This period is quite enough to save up for a new battery, since it still does not last forever, and after a certain period of time it needs to be replaced.

Production date

Do I need to charge a new battery beforeinstallation on a car? There was already a mention above that you should pay attention to the date of manufacture of the battery. Do not underestimate the importance of this moment. If the battery came to the owner of the car six months after manufacture or even more, it must be charged without fail before use.

Despite the fact that modern batteries have a shelf life of 1 year, it is still recommended to refuse to buy those batteries that have been more than 6 months from the date of production. It should be borne in mind that the service life of acid batteries begins from the very moment when the electrolyte is poured.

You can estimate the level of charge using a voltmeter or multimeter. A fully charged battery has a range of 12.5 to 12.9 volts. When the voltage is 12.5 V or less, the battery must be charged before connecting to the vehicle. In especially neglected cases, the potential difference is completely small - about 11.9 V. Here you can’t do without a full charge. Although here you should not even think about if you bought a new battery, whether you need to charge it. It is better to refuse such an acquisition altogether.

Using a load fork does not always provide objective information. Often in stores they use a device with a current of not more than 50-70A. But how, for example, to check the performance of a 100 A / h battery with such a plug? Testing by her own battery of 60 A / h will show a different result. For this reason, it is worth buying a battery only inverified outlets.

Assurances to be questioned

In order to avoid trouble, after buying a battery, it is imperative to study the production date. This information can be found on the packaging of the product or can be seen on the body of the product.

Also, do not fall for the rather convincing arguments of unscrupulous manufacturers or sellers. Some of them claim that their products are not subject to self-discharge. And if you ask any manager if you need to charge a new car battery, he can confidently assure you that this is not necessary yet.

The first statement (regarding the absence of self-discharge) can, or even needs to be questioned. The fact is that in reality no company has yet found a solution to such a problem! Therefore, such a physical and chemical process will occur with absolutely any battery, regardless of the prestige of the brand and the technologies used. Perhaps in the future the problem of self-discharge will be solved, but for now we have what we have.

And in order not to fall for the bait of unscrupulous figures and sellers, you should follow simple recommendations. About them actually further and will be discussed.

What else to look out for

When purchasing a new car battery, you need to check it, which is called "on all fronts":

1. First, remove the protective film and inspect the case for any damage or defects. And if theyyes, the battery needs to be replaced.
2. Now you should check the voltage. As we now know, it should be within 12.5-12.9 Volts, but this is without load. With it, the readings of the voltmeter (or multimeter) must be at least 11 V. A value of 10.8 V indicates a completely discharged battery. And it's clearly not worth taking.
3. Special device to check the density of the electrolyte.

Now back to the question of whether to charge the new battery. If the battery passed the test with dignity, then it can be immediately put in its rightful place - under the hood of the car.

Additionally, you can use special testers to assess the condition of the battery. Some of them are OptiMate Test TS120N (TecMate) and BatteryBug BB-SBM12 (Argus Analyzers).

Effects of an uncharged battery

As a rule, most owners of a personal vehicle show some negligence in relation to the battery. It doesn’t even occur to them to think about the question of whether they need to charge a new car battery. Say, put the just bought battery and you can safely forget about its existence. However, after some time, certain problems may arise, which may be due to a number of nuances:

1. In the case of a long storage time of the battery (and also not fully charged), the sulfation of the plates may already begin. Then the car's alternator just can't keep up with cleaning the sulfate plates.
2. Also, the generator may not always supportbattery charge, as there are other current consumers - lighting, air conditioning, etc.
3. Running a car for short distances, including long periods of being idle in traffic, also has a negative effect on the battery.

For this reason, in any case, during the operation of the vehicle, sooner or later, the battery is always not fully charged. Ultimately, a phenomenon known to many drivers begins - battery sulfation. But it can lead to a short circuit. As a result, at the most inopportune moment, the battery simply fails.

Do I need to charge a new car battery or battery recharging features

When charging a battery with a nominal voltage of 12 V, the potential difference at the output of the "charger" should be between 14 and 14.5 Volts.

Only in this case, you can fully charge the battery (100%). Regardless of the power and configuration, all chargers have an electric drive with a plug, a converter and two output wires - plus and minus. In addition, they have current and voltage regulators.

As for the features of the process of charging the battery itself, here it is worth focusing on some parameters. This will allow you to get to the heart of the whole process. In particular, we are talking about the following:

1. The optimal voltage for charging or recharging a battery is 10% of its nominal voltage. For example, a battery with 100% charge has a potential difference of 12.6V. Therefore, 10% is 1.26 V. We sum these two values \u200b\u200band get: 12.6 + 1, 26 \u003d 13.86 Volts - this is exactly the voltage you need.
2. In addition to voltage, current strength should also be taken into account. The same 10% appear here, only from the battery capacity. If it is 60 A / h, then 10% is, respectively, 6 A.
3. For fast charging, the current should be between 20 and 30 A. But it should be borne in mind that such a process negatively affects the battery itself and for this reason you should not use this method often.
4. When charging gel batteries, it is very important to monitor the supply voltage. The critical value for this type of battery is 14.2 V.

Following these simple guidelines, you can recharge your car battery without the risk of damaging it.

Charging a fully charged battery

Many drivers, especially beginners, are wondering if a new charged battery needs to be charged. Or is it fraught with a number of consequences? Yes, there are “complications”, and rather sad ones. And, first of all, this applies to lead-acid batteries. Just such a procedure can simply destroy them.

The reasons for this are as follows:

• After the battery is fully charged, oxygen and hydrogen are released. In this regard, the density of the acid can increase significantly. In the end, it reaches the point where the lead simply begins to corrode, and the plates begin to crumble faster.
• Evaporation of water leads todecrease in electrolyte level and, accordingly, capacity. In cold weather, the engine simply will not start.
• The stripping of the plates ends with their rapid heating. As a result, overheating and the risk of shedding of the active mass.
• Intensive boiling of the electrolyte (with a higher charge current), outgoing gases cause an explosion. Of course, this is not a gas cylinder rupture, but its strength is enough to seriously damage the battery case. In addition, it can splash acid, which also does not do anything good.
• Maintenance-free batteries after a long recharge are almost impossible to recover.
• During intense overcharging, vapors settle on the body, which, in turn, leads to oxidation of the terminals. This worsens the contact between it and the electrode. The electrolyte itself can drain along the walls of the battery case, simultaneously corroding the area under the battery. It cannot be ruled out that it will reach the side members of the car.

In other words, the answer to the question of whether to charge a new battery at 100% charge is unequivocal - no way! Otherwise, you can only make him worse or even kill him. However, this does not apply to the recovery or desulfation procedure. Over time, lead sulfates form on the plates, which must be disposed of. But this is another, no less extensive topic.

Operation of car alternator

With the danger of applying voltage to a fully charged battery, everything is now clear. However, what to do when the car is in motion, because there is current from the generator to the battery ?! In fact, everything happens a fewotherwise.

Both old cars and modern models have a special overcharge elimination system. For this purpose, a relay-regulator is installed, which contributes to the fact that the charge begins to decrease, tending to zero when the battery is fully charged. In modern systems, the voltage stops completely and resumes only after the battery is discharged.

In this regard, no current is supplied to a fully charged battery, that is, the electronics de-energize it as unnecessary. However, if this does not happen, therefore, the cause should be sought in a faulty relay-regulator. Therefore, batteries from qualified manufacturers serve for quite a long time - about 5-7 years, which cannot but rejoice.

As a conclusion

What can be summed up - do I need to charge a new battery after purchasing it or not? If the new battery has a 100% charge, then it can be immediately connected in the car without recharging. However, as you can see, batteries can be in stores for several months. For this reason, you should ask the seller to check the voltage when buying. This will make sure that the buyer is not lying goods.