How to Charge Automotive Batteries

Charge your car battery.

A car battery lacking sufficient charge will not be able to start a vehicle. To charge a battery, you can jump it with a booster vehicle, charge it with a battery charger or take it to an automotive store and have them charge it for you. Before charging the battery, you should put on protective gloves and eye wear. Batteries contain corrosive fluids and sparks are sometimes created when you attach a jumper clamp.

Things You'll Need

• Gloves
• Protective eye wear

Instructions

1. Power off the car and remove the keys from the ignition. If using a booster vehicle, position the booster vehicle close enough so the jumper cables can be attached to the booster vehicle's battery and your vehicle battery at the same time.

2. Attach the positive (red) jumper clamp to the positive battery terminal on the battery being charged.

3. Attach the positive clamp on the other end of the jumper cable to the positive battery terminal in the booster vehicle. If not using a booster vehicle, skip this step.

4. Attach the negative clamp on the same side of the jumper cable to the booster vehicle's negative battery terminal. If not using a booster vehicle, there will be no additional clamps to attach. If the battery charger must be plugged into a power outlet, plug the AC cord on the charger into the outlet. Then press the power button.

5. Ground the negative (black) jumper clamp on the other end of the cable to metal surface on the vehicle. The negative jumper clamp will not be attached to the negative battery terminal on the charging battery. If using a battery charger, then you do need to attach the negative battery clamp to the negative terminal of the charging battery.

6. Turn on the booster vehicle. Allow the battery in the other vehicle to charge. You can test the battery by attempting to turn on the vehicle with the charging battery. If it doesn't turn on, don't continue to turn the key or you could damage the starter. Instead allow the booster vehicle to charge the battery for several more minutes before attempting to start the battery again. If it turns on, allow the battery to continue to charge until satisfied.

7. Disconnect the jumper cables. Remove the negative clamps from the battery first, then remove the positive jumper clamps. Allow the vehicle to stay on for a while. The battery will continue to charge itself. Driving the vehicle around will help the battery charge itself. If using a battery charger, allow the battery to charge for about 12 hours.

References

• Edmunds: Jump Start