Charge the car battery - how it works

If your car only gives a desperate stutter or the engine keeps going off, you usually have to charge the car battery. You can find out which options are available and what you need to consider in the following practical tip.

Charge the car battery - that's what you need

You don't need much to bring your car battery back to life. The prerequisite is, however, that your battery should not start its last trip anyway because of old age. In this case, you should probably use a liquid battery when buying a new one, especially if your vehicle is usually outside in winter or not used for a long time. The liquid battery is a little more expensive than the fleece battery and gel battery, but you may save a lot of time and trouble.

• If you have a second car and a jump lead, you can use it to get your battery up and running again. You can read how to do this in the third paragraph.
• Otherwise you need a charger for your battery. If you don't have a charger for your car battery yet, you should choose one with an automatic delta-peak shutdown. For example, you can have your battery charged overnight without worry, as the device switches off automatically as soon as the car battery is charged.
• You should also make sure that the charger is compatible with as many types of car batteries as possible. So you don't have to buy a new charger with every new car.
• Alternatively, workshops, for example, often lend chargers, so it may also be worth asking.
• We will show you how to charge your car battery in the next paragraph.

Charge the starter battery with a charger

• Before you get to work, you should turn off all consumers, such as the radio.
• Opinions differ as to whether you need to take the battery out of the car to charge it. In most cases, charging in the car should not be a problem.
• When you remove the cables from the battery, first disconnect the negative pole cable from the battery and then free the positive pole from the cable. You can easily recognize the positive pole cable by the fact that it is always red.
• If you do not have a maintenance-free battery, you should remove the caps during the charging process, as gases can form. You should also make sure that your battery has the correct water acid level and, if necessary, fill it up with distilled water up to the mark.
• In the case of maintenance-free batteries, there is a ventilation tube on the side, which should also be free of dirt or anything else.
• Then connect the battery to the charger. Do not switch on the charger or plug in the power plug until you have correctly connected the battery to the battery charger.
• Correctly connected means that you connect the red positive pole cable of the charger to the corresponding positive pole of the battery and similarly the negative pole cable to the negative pole of the car battery.
• Then proceed according to the instructions of your charger. When charging is complete, first remove the charger from the power supply and then remove the cables from the battery.
• If necessary, replace the closures of the water-acid container and finally reconnect the red positive pole cable to the battery and finally the black negative pole cable.
• Tip: Due to the formation of gas, a window, door or garage door should be open during the charging process so that fresh air can enter.

Charge the car battery with jump leads and a second car

If you want to recharge your car battery using a jump lead, you should consider the following:

• If possible, you should carry out the campaign at a time when you have as much free travel as possible and not get stuck at traffic lights after 50 meters. The battery takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes of uninterrupted travel before it recharges.
• The battery should have the same voltage in both vehicles.
• With this procedure, too, first switch off all consumer sources in both vehicles.
• First, connect the red positive pole cable to the batteries of the two vehicles.
• Then connect the black negative pole cable to the battery of the fully functional car and then connect it to the car with the empty battery. Important: The black jump lead is not connected to the empty battery.
• Then start the functional vehicle first and then the other one. If its engine has also started, remove the jump starter cable, first removing the black negative pole cable and then the red positive pole cable. Let the engine run naturally during this time.
• Note: If the battery of one or both vehicles is not in the engine compartment, connect the start cable in the engine compartment anyway. In that case, just help yourself with the pole connections in the engine compartment.

Tip: car battery too old? Better buy a new one

A car battery loses power in old age. If your battery discharges too quickly, you should get a new one. You can find the right car battery for your model on Daparto or Autoteile-Meile - and at the best price.

• Installing the battery doesn't have to be expensive either. You can either swap them yourself or find a cheap workshop near you. With the online service Caroobi you can find cheap exchange prices near you.

If it is no longer worth charging the old battery, read in the next post how to change a car battery.

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