Battery charging

[Ian H]

I had a dead starter battery this morning and it's only 18 months old, not the original, but an Exide Extreme. Anyway, I'm charging it up but reading the instruction booklet it says if the battery is still in the vehicle, to attach the negative terminal to the chassis. Any reason why I can't just hook it up to the negative terminal on the battery ?

[DT6061]

Just realised I've been doing it all wrong - Projecta PC800. Still seems to work fine but maybe not as great as it could?? Sorry I don't have any answer to your question Ian.

[Kingbrown]

The principle is to keep the charger (or jump starting) connection away from the battery terminal in case a spark ignites the explosive mixture of gases that can issue from the battery vents.

If you've ever witnessed a battery explosion you will follow this rule to the letter.

The earth/chassis connection that's away from the battery is always 'last on' and 'first off'.

[Dicko1]

My start battery gets a Projecta 240v charge once a month. Suburban driving never keeps the battery fully charged or enables it to last longer. My air con in on 99% of the time as well.

[Ian H]

Thanks guys, I think the short trips around home have probably been it's downfall so I'll take note of the advice to charge it up every month or so.

Hope it's not buggered, I'm off on the Spirit to Tassie for 5 weeks, leaving Wednesday.