charging car battery in situ

[lolly]

hello all

my freelander 2 battery could do with charging ; if i disconnect it all of the radio stations and clock needs resetting plus the electric windows need to be reset

my question is , can i put the battery on charge without disconnecting it 

[geoffb]

Personally I would only do this for trickle charging (2 amps), otherwise I think the general advice is to disconnect.

[copper99]

Of course... you can get specific charging leads for your battery charger ..I charge my Mrs campervan and her CBR600 with it all insitu.

[markrd250lc]

I have left the battery's in situ (connected) on my X3 and daughters Panda but i use a trickle charger and i cover the terminals to prevent arcing and make sure the keys aren't in the car when you connect the charger in case the central locking operates.

i leave the battery's on all my bikes connected when i charger them and never had an issue with cars or bikes, the R1 is on charge more than its ridden 

Mark 

[stusco]

If you have a modern charger charge away , the charging / jumping point in my audi is in the engine compartment the battery is in the boot so not made to be removed/ disconnected

[geoffb]

Just to add to my earlier feedback based on the other suggestions - It also depends on the car and charger but I would suggest erring on the side of caution based on the age of your car, unless you have an ultramodern intelligent conditioning charger and not something you’ve had in the garage for 10+ years. 😉

[4l04ever]

If you think about it logically, the alternator charges the battery with everything still connected, so as long as the charger is in decent order, it should not be an issue.

[JonW]

Just dont walk away and leave it running overnight. Plenty of 'charger burnt my house down' stories about these days. Just a day before xmas a house burnt down here with a guy charging an electric bike, ok slightly different but these days i wont leave anything on charge overnight.

[Tobyjugs]

If the battery is low on my car i just get out the cranking handle 

I didn't know you could get a car with a radio built into it.

[midlifecrisisrd]

I've done the wife's Clio half a dozen times

Old school Halfords 8 amp charger that I've had at least 30 years 😁

Clamp on the crock clips, sit the charger around the bonnet catch area and let the bonnet sit on it so it keeps the connections away from harm and holds the bonnet up

And as Jonw says I plug it into an outdoor socket leaving the car out on the drive so it won't burn anything 😁

If your car electrics can cope with a 300 amp + starting current then the large charge currents after it does a start/stop then a few amps from a charger are fine I'd think

Steve

[reedpete]

A problem only arises if the contact between battery leads and the battery terminals is poor. Or if you happened to connect the charger to the car without the battery connected.
Most of the electricals has overvoltage protection, particularly the ECU. The battery acts as a voltage clamp,without that the unregulated charges have peak voltage that can do the damage.
So, if the battery is flat due to lights in, too much cranking and lights for short runs etc, then no problem to leave in situation.
If the battery was dead, not taking charge, or just bad connection between the clamps and the battery pillars, then bit of caution needed.

[st66]

As a landrover technician we always disconnect the batt from the car ie disconnect all cables at the battery and charge as normal,, we never ever leave the battery connected and charge in any shape or form,,, Why you ask,,, Becouse landrover ecus are very voltage sensitive you run the risk of spiking them easily then your feckd,,, be warned,,, I've seen it many a time especially when people jump pack them to start,,,, its a no no,,, if you have to jump them switch the headlights on full to discharge the voltage away from the ecu,,, so be warned people,,,,

[marrcel]

You have to connect with as low as sparks as possible. Sparks give spikes on dc. But on healthy battery they will be less.
So my tip is practice with your clamps. They have to grab immediately.

[Norbo]

Ive always just hooked it up and left it allday to charge never had any problems in the past

[ravecat]

I would have no problem charging the battery without removing the terminals ... go for it !