Hey guys, bit of an issue i need urgent help with, I bought a battery charger for the fabia today because it has been standing still and the battery has gone dead, I pluged it in as per the instructions and it started to charge, i then tried to start the engine and everything went dead, no interior light, nothing on the dash lit up but there was a pop and then a ticking sound fr about 15 seconds... the car now wont charge or show any signs of life... What could I have done? Blown a fuse on the battery charger or something more serious? Any help is welcome!

Many thanks,

Duggie.

Make sure the battery is disconnected from the car, when charging. Sounds like the charger fuse has gon, check and replace if needed

Check the fuses by the battery terminal.

Hey guys, bit of an issue i need urgent help with, I bought a battery charger for the fabia today because it has been standing still and the battery has gone dead, I pluged it in as per the instructions and it started to charge, i then tried to start the engine and everything went dead, no interior light, nothing on the dash lit up but there was a pop and then a ticking sound fr about 15 seconds... the car now wont charge or show any signs of life... What could I have done? Blown a fuse on the battery charger or something more serious? Any help is welcome!

Many thanks,

Duggie.

How long did you leave it on charge ?

Radiotwo

All sorted guys, was the fuse in the charger, gave it a good 8 hours overnight and it seems to be fine... thanks for the help... was a bit worried there i was.... lol.

-Duggie.

All sorted guys, was the fuse in the charger, gave it a good 8 hours overnight and it seems to be fine... thanks for the help... was a bit worried there i was.... lol. -Duggie.

One bit of advise I would offer, never ever leave the battery charger on while trying to start the car. If you have bought a smart charger, then leaving the battery connected should be okay (but still taking a gamble) - using an older charger with a totally flat battery is a bit risky as the charger output is always "spiky" and it depends on the battery to smooth its output - this will only work if the battery still has a reasonable charge.

One bit of advise I would offer, never ever leave the battery charger on while trying to start the car. If you have bought a smart charger, then leaving the battery connected should be okay (but still taking a gamble) - using an older charger with a totally flat battery is a bit risky as the charger output is always "spiky" and it depends on the battery to smooth its output - this will only work if the battery still has a reasonable charge.

Whats "spiky" got to do with charging a battery ?

Radiotwo

Whats "spiky" got to do with charging a battery ?

Radiotwo

Seriously was that meant as a joke?

Whats "spiky" got to do with charging a battery ?

Radiotwo

Battery charger outputs are often not very well smoothed by big enough capacitors. This causes 'spikes' to appear on the DC line which can damage sensitive components in a car.

Battery charger outputs are often not very well smoothed by big enough capacitors. This causes 'spikes' to appear on the DC line which can damage sensitive components in a car.

What do you think a Battery is !

Radiotwo

Battery is a nice smooth DC supply giving a steady voltage, as does the alternator. A car battery charger plugged in the mains does not provide a nice smooth supply, instead it goes up and down all over the place. The varying voltage can cause damage to the sensitive ECUs in modern cars in just the same way as running a car with a dodgy alternator can.

What do you think a Battery is !

Radiotwo

A car battery is a chemical storage device which provides pure DC, which if you use an oscilloscope on the output, gives a perfectly smooth delivery of DC voltage. A battery charger, has to convert AC mains to DC output, via a step down mains transformer, regulator, and smoothing capacitors. Some chargers only use a half wave rectifier, which gives a rippled output.

The safest way to charge a car battery is to plug in a backup battery via the ciggy lighter socket, and the lead should have a heavy duty blocker diod so that current can only flow in one direction. Then disconnect car battery negative lead and charge.

This prevents loss of radio codes, adaptive ECU settings etc etc.

It is perfectly safe to use good quality battery chargers with the battery connected, but should the charger go faulty during charge (and I've seen it happen) you can cause thousands of pounds worth of damage on a modern car.

What do you think a Battery is !

Radiotwo

A BATTERY IS A VERY BIG CAPASITOR

So if you have a battery connected while charging it won't do any harm to the cars

electronics.

Admitting there is some who say charging a battery while connected to the car may cause problems to the alternator, I have never had a problem, and cannot see why it

should do harm to the diodes.

The real problem is if you disconnect the battery, then you loose the radio code, so the best way to (as sort of mentioned) is to put a set of jump leads from one car to the other, and leave on the flat battery for 1/2 hr,(with the engine running) then start the car with th flat battery(still with the leads on) take them off when started and go for a long run to charge the battery

Radiotwo

Some of what has been previously mentioned is Rubbish!

I have been charging car,and motorcycle batteries for 47 years,and never damaged anything !. Any charger that you fit will charge the battery, whilst connected to the car . After all you are only using a mains powered charger to take the place of the cars Alternator ,and recharge the battery.As ' Radiotwo' states 'A Battery is a big Capacitor', and will easily smooth out any ripple which may be generated by the charger!.That is why capacitors are fitted to Power Supplies! Chargers are not fitted with capacitors,because they are not needed.It is very unlikey that any damage will be done to the rest of the cars electronics ,when left connected,especially if the ignition switch is off. It is more likely connecting ,and disconnecting the battery,from the car could cause damage. Do not try and start the car with charger connected ,this is why a charger fuse (if fitted) will blow. The charger cannot supply the massive current needed,when the starter is turning. To the charger it is like shorting the output cables together.

If as mentioned ripple may cause damage, how come the cars Alternator ( Medium Frequency ,rectified AC , 3 phase unsmoothed generator, with no spike protection ) does not damage the cars electrics?

The only limitation I would suggest would be not to use a High Current ,get you away quick Garage type charger, whilst it is still connected to the car ,if the battery is faulty ,voltages in the region of 30 volts from these chargers WILL blow bulbs,and cause other damage.

Edited 6 June, 200917 yr by AndyPandy

9.2.8. Insure that charging the battery with an external charger will not damage the electrical system or appliances with high voltages. If this is even a remote possibility, then disconnect the grounded battery cable from the battery before connecting the charger to the battery.

http://www.batteryfaq.org/

Just in case anyone wanted the facts from the people who design the systems.

Edited 6 June, 200917 yr by MoggyTech

Moggy Tech-How come aircraft (planes and helecopters,civilian and military) do not disconnect any of the aircrafts batteries ,when they start them from other batteries?. How come Army personnel (in War and peace) never disconnect the vehicles battery?. This would be a very silly thing to do if you are being fired on! How come 99% of Garages do not disconnect the battery when charging,if you dont believe me ,ask at a few garages. You are being carried along on a myth that started many years ago,that nobody has challenged!

I think better, more stable chargers have made it much less of a risk these days. Old home-use chargers were very primitive with 1/2 wave rectifiers and poor regulation.

JHC I don't know why I bother. Now we are comparing 3 phase 440 volt aircraft systems while under nuclear attack in military vehicles.

I have offered my own personal opinion, backed up with information from battery and charger manufacturers. If you don't want to disconnect a battery before charging fine, as you were private.

Seems I have been singled out for explaining the term 'spikes', so how about I just **** off and never offer any technical information again on this forum.

Next we will be getting talk about EMP from nuclear weapons, and there effects being no problem for the well built Skoda range

So to summarize, you can charge a car battery in situ, still connected to the vehicle electrics if you wish. The risks are tiny, but if sods law gets into your charger, expect a big bill, for the want of a backup battery, and 10 seconds with a 10mm spanner.

99% of garages do it this way (allegedly) so it must be OK, or are the 1% of the garages who do it per the book just that bit more careful with your car?

Anyway, as a previous poster has stated, most of what I have written is utter rubbish. Although I can spell capacitor, so the PHD wasn't a total waste of time

And finally, from the Skoda Official Workshop Manual

Charging a battery

– Switch off battery charger.

– Switch off ignition.

– First of all, disconnect the earth strap of the battery

and then the positive cable of the battery.

– Connect positive cable of the battery charger to the

positive terminal of the battery.

– Connect negative cable of the battery charger to the

negative terminal of the battery.

– Set the charge current on the battery charger according

to the battery capacity.

– Switch on battery charger.

So if your Skoda dealer doesn't do this, they are just not willing to fall victim to an urban myth.

Some of you people must have muffled voices if you speak while sitting down.

Edited 7 June, 200917 yr by MoggyTech

Moggy Tech-How come aircraft (planes and helecopters,civilian and military) do not disconnect any of the aircrafts batteries ,when they start them from other batteries?. How come Army personnel (in War and peace) never disconnect the vehicles battery?. This would be a very silly thing to do if you are being fired on! How come 99% of Garages do not disconnect the battery when charging,if you dont believe me ,ask at a few garages. You are being carried along on a myth that started many years ago,that nobody has challenged!

Do I owe you money? How about a quote from the Skoda Workshop Manual

Charging a battery

– Switch off battery charger.

– Switch off ignition.

– First of all, disconnect the earth strap of the battery

and then the positive cable of the battery.

– Connect positive cable of the battery charger to the

positive terminal of the battery.

– Connect negative cable of the battery charger to the

negative terminal of the battery.

– Set the charge current on the battery charger according

to the battery capacity.

– Switch on battery charger.

Can I stick to being the 1% who play it safe, pretty please, or will that offend your overwhelming fountain of wisdom. Smug answers may be met with black helicopters, and a visit from the 23rd regiment :rofl:

Ok, seriously guys, let's stop having an arguement. My car is fixed and running nicely, it didn't cause damage to the car so let's leave it at that. It's clear that some of you have differing opinions but if "your way" is the way that you have always charged batteries, and it hasn't cause problems then why change? I'd suggest closing off this thread because if i were a new member and I saw this i'd be put right off...

Thanks for the help guys and gals... see some of you for the big meet!

-Duggie.

MoggyTech, sorry for using the term "spiky" and letting you support it, I agree completely with you have written, after all the idea was to prevent someone who possibly was not totally clued up, making a possibly costly mistake - seems like it was not worth your while - sorry again!

Just one correction though, military aircraft tend to use 400HZ 200V 3PH - oh and to someone else , quite a lot of avionic systems really don't like "what" ground starters throw at them - but that is good repair work for others!

'Overwhelming fountain of wisdom' ,I think not!

MoggyTec - 1441 posts in 6 months

Rum4mo - 1007 posts in 1 year

Andypandy- 201 posts in 3 1/2 years

Facts! not a 'Smug Answer'!

just remember it is not your Forum ,you are members the same as I am. Why you are getting upset because you have been challenged ,is beyond me. I will still be giving advice to anybody who needs it.I will not be trying to answer everybody who sends in a post for advice!.

Edited 9 June, 200917 yr by AndyPandy

'Overwhelming fountain of wisdom' ,I think not!

MoggyTec - 1441 posts in 6 months

Rum4mo - 1007 posts in 1 year

Andypandy- 201 posts in 3 1/2 years

Facts! not a 'Smug Answer'!

just remember it is not your Forum ,you are members the same as I am. Why you are getting upset because you have been challenged ,is beyond me. I will still be giving advice to anybody who needs it.I will not be trying to answer everybody who sends in a post for advice!.

What a strange and maybe prickly (not spiky!) posting! I think that above could refer more to you, but as Duggie said lets just leave it there - but I wonder why you left out mannyo he's posted lots more than the list above added together (how unfair?).

Have a nice day now!

Just amazes me how some people will stick to their guns, even when presented with documentation from the manufacturer. I was going to offer my input on the aircraft start thing, by quoting the F16 Block 40 General Dynamics official manual, which lists several bus breakers that must be open, to prevent damage to sensitive systems during start up. Oh dear I have

Still I'm sure it will be different for A320 Airbus, 747 etc etc.

I had an off day yesterday, and connected my battery charger the wrong way round to the battery for my Morris 1000. Thank God the battery was disconnected :rofl::P

You see I made a mistake, and I am not ashamed to admit it.

Now where the hell did I put my SAS survival handbook, I really must brush up on my bushcraft

'Overwhelming fountain of wisdom' ,I think not!

MoggyTec - 1441 posts in 6 months

Rum4mo - 1007 posts in 1 year

Andypandy- 201 posts in 3 1/2 years

Facts! not a 'Smug Answer'!

just remember it is not your Forum ,you are members the same as I am. Why you are getting upset because you have been challenged ,is beyond me. I will still be giving advice to anybody who needs it.I will not be trying to answer everybody who sends in a post for advice!.

Hope that doesn't mean I'm schizophrenic

Post counts mean nothing to me, anything over 10 and I'm lost if my shoes are on.

I would love to hear an explanation as to why the Skoda Workshop Manual tells Skoda Techs to disconnect the battery before charging.

Just in case anyone is interested. Many moons ago in a little town called Plean, the local substation went faulty and sent 11,000 volts down the mains supply to all the houses. This destroyed every appliance in every house that was plugged into the wall socket. A friend had his battery on charge in his very nice Triumph Spitfire, the battery was still connected to the car. The car and garage burnt to the ground.

One in a million really, but then poop happens.