Car Battery Dead, What is Proper Method to Charge It Up

TheWarrior · Tue, Feb-17-2009, 08:12:40 PM

My car's battery is dead after nearly 2+ months of not using it

, which is surprising since the garage is always kept at 65 degrees.

Anyways, I have a car battery charger, can anyone give me the steps to properly charge the battery such as how long to charge it for, what to do after the car is started up, how long to drive the car around for to build up the battery.

Thanks.

Ace M3 · Tue, Feb-17-2009, 09:09:05 PM

take it to autozone. done.

Ctm306 · Wed, Feb-18-2009, 12:15:27 AM

If the battery is a bit old and it was deep discharged it may not hold a charge anymore. Had this happen to me with a 2 year old one.
If you know that you will not drive the car for a while, you might want to
get a trickle charger, one with a "float" cycle. This way it will always be
topped off.

mmobmw · Sat, Feb-21-2009, 04:22:36 AM

Depends on your charger.* If it's a Battery Tender you can charge it for 12-24 hours to charge it to 80% or more.* You can also try to jump start the car and drive it around, but you won't know how much it is charged without a meter.* If it's an old battery, you should test it like Ace M3 said and see if it's worth recharging or just get a new battery.

Don't forget to drive or charge it every couple of weeks or the battery eventually will die regardless of the temperature (it may die even more quickly in colder temps).

Good luck!

Tue, Feb-17-2009, 08:12:40 PM	#1
TheWarrior Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,090 Reputation: 0 Location: Chicago	Car Battery Dead, What is Proper Method to Charge It Up My car's battery is dead after nearly 2+ months of not using it , which is surprising since the garage is always kept at 65 degrees. Anyways, I have a car battery charger, can anyone give me the steps to properly charge the battery such as how long to charge it for, what to do after the car is started up, how long to drive the car around for to build up the battery. Thanks.

Wed, Feb-18-2009, 12:15:27 AM	#3
Ctm306 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 278 Reputation: 0 Location: Connecticut	If the battery is a bit old and it was deep discharged it may not hold a charge anymore. Had this happen to me with a 2 year old one. If you know that you will not drive the car for a while, you might want to get a trickle charger, one with a "float" cycle. This way it will always be topped off. __________________ 2009 Alpine White/Carbon Roof/Black/Carbon Black Trim/DCT/Tech/Prem/Cold weather/19"/V1/Blinder/Cheetah/VentureShield 2006 M3 SOLD but not forgotten

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Tue, Feb-17-2009, 09:09:05 PM	#2
Ace M3 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 236 Reputation: 0	take it to autozone. done.

Sat, Feb-21-2009, 04:22:36 AM	#4
mmobmw Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 62 Reputation: 0 Location: East Coast	Depends on your charger.* If it's a Battery Tender you can charge it for 12-24 hours to charge it to 80% or more.* You can also try to jump start the car and drive it around, but you won't know how much it is charged without a meter.* If it's an old battery, you should test it like Ace M3 said and see if it's worth recharging or just get a new battery. Don't forget to drive or charge it every couple of weeks or the battery eventually will die regardless of the temperature (it may die even more quickly in colder temps). Good luck!