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how to charge my battery

Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2004 6:32 pm
by simsy
can i charge my second battery(which is in a battery box) by pluging it into my 6mm accessory socket in the rear of my truck??? pos to pos/neg to neg

it is actually my second battery from my cruiser/deep cycle and my son is going away and wants to use it out side the car for the engel in the evenings. iwasn't sure if this would keep it charged as they are driving during the day

tks

simsy

Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2004 8:19 pm
by Gribble
Its not the greatest idea. It would charge if it could handle the current. Plus if you went to start the engine and still had it connected it could fry the wiring quick-smart.

It would be much wiser if you had some decent guage wiring with edison plugs wired straight to the battery terminals. Much safer ;)

Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2004 9:32 pm
by -Scott-
It'll work. Resistance in the wiring and the fuse in the line (you do have a fuse in the line, don't you?) will prevent any fire hazards during starting but the same resistance will mean that the second battery won't recharge as quickly as a quality dual battery installation will allow.

Cheers,

Scott

Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2004 7:58 am
by bad_religion_au
have you considered perhaps a solar panel charger, even a supacheap one, to keep the second batt seperate from the car wiring?

Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2004 8:00 am
by bad_religion_au
have you considered perhaps a solar panel charger, even a supacheap one, to keep the second batt seperate from the car wiring?

Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2004 11:24 am
by mkpatrol
It will only work if the power at the accessory plug is greater then the battery voltage (eg 13.5-14 volts). If the plug only has twelve volts then it wont work.

6MM should be ample to charge the battery. If you look at the alternator the wire which actually charges the battery is only that big anyway. The smaller the wire the slower the charge. The alternator will only provide the amperage required.

It wont frazzle the wiring if you start it plugged in because thats what the big wires are for (as they are only hooked up to the starter). The starter has two circuits in it with the solenoid only acting as a switch, the main current that goes to the starter does not go anywhere near the rest of the wiring it is between the starter, solenoid & battery.

Even if you have this battery hooked up to the starter it would be ok as the charging circuit is differnet.

Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2004 5:23 pm
by simsy
thanks i'll try it and see