I got an old battery charger. When I put a meter on it, it reads 11.5 volts. Is this charger working properly? Me thinks it should be at least 13.0 volts Thanks in advance Frank
- posted
18 years ago
I got an old battery charger. When I put a meter on it, it reads 11.5 volts. Is this charger working properly? Me thinks it should be at least 13.0 volts Thanks in advance Frank
Some chargers need a load on them to reach max output. if you have an old car radio laying around connect it to the charger and re-take the volt reading. You want something (load) that needs more then 12 volts, a almost dead battery will work too.
Snow... "eating yellow snow leaves a bad after taste"
That sounds cooked. 'Most' cheap chargers I have ever put a meter on put out up around 17 open ended or with no load. They come down with a charge load on them.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT'sFrankW wrote:
You really need an ammeter (current meter) for this test. If it puts current into a dead battery, tapering down to almost none for a fully charged battery, then it is a good charger.
Earle
FrankW alleged...
A fully charged battery should show 12.6 volts unloaded. You're correct that the charger voltage should be at least 13 volts, (actually closer to
14 minimum). The voltage of a small charger may sag under charge load, but should rise as a good battery charges and the current diminishes.Dale Beckett did pass the time by typing:
I'm thinking more along the lines of it's better to get a good new charger with the safety features than roast a battery in the garage.
That is good advice.
This charger is old and has a lot of surface corrosi> Dale Beckett did pass the time by typing:
FrankW alleged...
More likely, a rectifier is bad or weak. It could probably be repaired, but that certainly wouldn't be worth the time, trouble, or cost unless the charger has sentimental value, or you just enjoy a challenge.
Dale Beckett wrote: snip
or too cheap to buy a new one :-)
FrankW alleged...
My point exactly. It could wind up costing more to repair than the cost of a new one just like it.
Does it have anything if you measure it with an AC scale? Sometimes you get a charger that knows the battery makes a pretty good filter and just uses pulsating DC to charge.
FrankW proclaimed:
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