Battery chargers - 12V & 24V

What you should know about battery chargers | battery charger for cars

A vehicle has approximately 200 ECUs, and therefore the battery MUST be in top condition to work properly. Close to 50% of all the times the road assistance companies are called out – is due to a battery problem. CTEK battery chargers | battery charger can fix that problem.

We begin with the purpose of the battery itself. Most importantly, the battery makes your car start. How? Chemical energy is converted into electricity then supplied to the starter. Once your car starts, the battery continues working as it provides constant voltage keeping the engine running. And, powers other accessories like the radio, lights and other electronics.

When the battery is dead, problems arise. Meaning, the energy stored in the battery has been depleted below 11,8V. You can recharge, if the battery is still healthy. Basically, we are reversing the chemical reactions that led to its depletion. CTEK battery chargers start to charge at 2-3V (depending on model) models which have a SUPPLY mode will add energy to the battery. Even when the voltage is lower than 2-3V. Gently charging the battery and the electronic components is better than jumpstarting. CTEK will show you how to recharge your battery using CTEK battery chargers.

Getting ready

To ensure your safety and smoothness of the operation, there are steps you should take before carrying out the process of charging with battery chargers. The charging area must be free from flames, smoke, and sparks. Look for dangerous gas leaks from the battery itself; if you sniff around, it will smell like rotten eggs. Detecting any such smell, please abort immediately and invite a professional to take over. 

Check to see if the battery ports are corroded. Corrosion has taken place if you see greenish substances on the ports. Cleaning the ports with a brush will insure the battery won’t take longer than necessary to recharge.

Some general details about battery chargers

Now we are ready to look at how battery chargers work. First and foremost, you need to know that there are different types of battery chargers | battery charger. CTEK chargers are mostly AC/DC battery chargers. AC/DC chargers require you to plug them into a power outlet. If there is no power to the battery charger | battery chargers, it will function more as a jump starter. The exception is the CTEK CS FREE. Some battery chargers | battery charger produce lots of heat in the interior of the battery. They are best used by trained technicians. CTEK’s AC/DC battery chargers do not excessively heat up the battery. 

Most CTEK battery chargers have a gauge. The gauge shows you both the state of the battery and charging progress. Depending on your needs, you may purchase a CTEK battery charger | battery chargers with more elaborate safety. Monitoring mechanisms are also built in that alerts you when there is a fault.

Now moving on to how to use a CTEK battery charger | battery chargers to recharge your car battery. 

How to charge your car battery using CTEK battery chargers

Connect the charger to the battery. Make sure the charger and the vehicle are both turned off. Now, attach the positive clamp (the red clamp) to the positive terminal of your battery. A plus (+) sign indicates the positive terminal. Next, attach the negative clamp (the black clamp) to any part of your vehicle’s body. It may be unsafe to connect the negative clamp to the negative terminal of your battery. If there is a leakage of hydrogen gas, there could be an explosion if a spark is produced while connecting. Good to know, CTEK battery chargers are completely spark free.

An additional risk with connecting the clamps incorrectly is most newer cars have a BMS connected to the negative pole. For example, this takes care of the Start Stop function. Lost BMS information about the charge will happen If charging on the negative pole. An increase of CO2 emissions will result as well as start stop function (and other ECUs) not working as planned.