Charging battery with battery in place

[Dave]

Is it ok to charge the battery while it is still connected to the car? I want to avoid having to reset this and that after disconnecting and reconnecting.

 

The car is 2.4, non-hybrid, 2006 and my charger is 1984 vintage, if that makes any difference.

 

Many thanks,

Dave

[Picasso]

Dave I personally not charge it on the car there are so many electric components on the Alphard could short one there will only be the windows and clock that will need resetting 

[Gamith]

Even with a modern charger I wouldn't risk it, one blown fuse and you will be chasing fuse boxes.

 

You could disconnect the terminals with the battery in the car and charge it in the vehicle so you don't have to move the battery itself.

 

[Dave]

Thanks for your replies.

 

In the end I remembered that I had a motorcycle battery in a cupboard... I charged that and then jumped the Alphard from that.

 

Moral of the story: don't use a car-powered tyre pump without the engine running.

 

 

[Gamith]

Is the alternator working? there should be approx 14v going into the battery.

 

I have a USB-charged battery boost box that I keep in the drivers door, just in case. This reminds me to go and check it's charge. 

[Dave]

Yes, the alternator is fine. Everything is fine.

I just stupidly drained the battery.

[smurf]

It is perfectly fine to charge a battery on the car with a modern smart charger. Those of us with camper conversions are charging our batteries on the car every time we hookup. My main 12V battery is also charged from the solar panel. There is no reason for fuses to be blowing because a few amps is flowing into the battery. 

 

I wouldn't chance it with an old school charger, and would always disconnect when using one of these. They can be a bit more brutal.

[Rojie]

45 minutes ago, smurf said:

It is perfectly fine to charge a battery on the car with a modern smart charger. Those of us with camper conversions are charging our batteries on the car every time we hookup. My main 12V battery is also charged from the solar panel. There is no reason for fuses to be blowing because a few amps is flowing into the battery. 

 

I wouldn't chance it with an old school charger, and would always disconnect when using one of these. They can be a bit more brutal.

 

Hi Richard, are you using a split charger or a VSR set-up ?

Or even a smart alternator ?

[PaulE]

I have posted before about this as my hybrid 12v battery runs down every 4-5 days so I have a Noco lead attached to the battery permanently which allows me to charge it with my Noco Genius charger without having to remove the battery. Have been doing this for about 3 months now and it works really well. I have the Ancel BM200 battery monitor attached also which allows me to check when to charge. This has saved me no end of trouble not having to remove the battery to charge. The Noco's have safety features in them. I assume the petrol only Alphards may not have this issue of 12v battery going dead frequently.