I have a Focus 2005 1.6LX.

This is the first car I've had for about 20 years! Before that I've only ridden scooters and motorcycles.

Charging the battery on those was a simple case of removing the battery and using a motorcycle charger in my kitchen.

I've had the Focus for about a year now and I've mostly been using it for very short journeys (5 minutes each way) with the occasional longer journey. I'm sure this doesn't do the Focus any favours!

Recently I've noticed when starting the engine, it feels as if the battery is struggling to give the ignition enough spark and since it's getting colder it will be worse. I think it's a matter of time before it won't be able to start the engine.

Firstly, please have a look at the attached photo and tell me if this charger is suitable. It's a Winfield brand, remember that name from the Woolworth days!? I've got a couple of motorcycle chargers but apparently you can't use them for cars and vice versa. If you think I should buy a new one then is there a specific type I should get? Any recommendations will be most welcome.

Finally, even though I have a garage I have too much stuff in there to put the car in therefore would it be okay to stick the charger under the closed bonnet and have an extension cable running under the garage door or should I remove the battery from car?

I watched a Halfords video about charging the battery and they said you should never put the charger on or near battery. Then again, the Ford manual says if you remove the battery then it will take a few miles for the car to adjust.

If you anyone would give me a battery charging 101 lesson I would really appreciate it.

Thanks very much and hope you can help.

Ye Gods !

That charger is out of the ark . . :) it should be ok for gentle trickle charging once the croc' clips are cleaned up a bit though

It's perfectly possible to charge a battery in situ - just connect the positive connection from the charger to the + on the battery & the negative connection from the charger to an earthing point in the engine bay, & yes keep the battery charger away from the battery when charging as the battery vapours can be explosive & toxic & corrosive

You should remove the battery from the car to charge it, can cause electrical problems and even the possibility of fire otherwise. This will mean you'll lose radio settings and possibly minor engine settings as you say (though they'll relearn when you next drive).

As for that charger, think it's probably older than me haha! 4amps is fine and what I'd call a 'trickle' charge, think my fast charger is about 12amps.

I disagree with Tom regarding the need to remove the battery to charge it - something I've never done in 36 years of car ownership & none of my cars have suffered or caught fire

A long slow low amperage ( trickle ) charge is better than a fast high amperage charge

Each to their own I guess, gives me peace of mind to remove them.

I have personally spiked a cars electrical system with a charger (not mine thankfully lol) and also seen a battery explode when a mate put a charger to it (while plugged into the mains!) in the car, made a hell of a mess and he was lucky he didn't get a face full of acid. I'll continue to remove them myself but it isn't a necessity. :)

Physically removing the battery is a waste of time i.m.o., if you decide that you want the battery isolated simply disconnect the negative connection from the battery, which isolates it from the car's electrical circuits, & then connect the charger's positive clamp to battery positive & the charger's negative clamp to the battery negative & leave the battery in situ.

Once connected turn the battery charger on at the mains.

You will lose radio code & electric window settings using this method though.

High amperage chargers can spike electrical circuits - that's why long slow trickle ( low amperage ) charging is preferable

Batteries that explode are normally faulty anyway & explode because the leaking vapour / gases are ignited by some kind of electrical ignition - often the sparking that occurs when connected to a charger incorrectly

Another tip for disconnecting & re connecting battery terminal connections - always disconnect negative connections from the battery first & reconnect the negative connections to the battery last.

Once the positive cable(s) is disconnected from the battery do not allow it to make contact with the car body as residual current is often present in the positive cable(s)

Depends what car it's on, only takes seconds to remove after disconnecting usually - though I admit the Focus is more difficult if mk2 is the same as mk2.5, but you won't be able to remove the -ve lead on them anyway. Also ensures there's no possibility of cables accidentally touching where they shouldn't. I like to go belt and braces if you hadn't guessed lol.

Definitely switch on the mains after connecting and switch off before disconnecting.

Also before disconnecting the charger blow across the terminals just in case there are any gasses built up there during charging that could ignite from a spark. Oh and if you smoke, probably best not to be messing around with batteries with a cig on lol...

Your mate that connected a live battery charger to a leaking battery, ( no doubt causing the spark that ignited the gas ) should probably stay away from cars Tom ! :(

I agree...this is the same guy that tried to remove a starter with the battery still connected...inevitably his ratchet handle hit the engine block while on the +ve of the starter and there were some interesting blue sparks...and blue language...

Haven't seen him since college...he's probably an electrician or something by now.

Safety first ,i m o , I would always take a car battery out when charging,eliminating mistakes and accidents especially if you are not confident with cars.But having said that,when taking out a heavy battery there is always the possibility of dropping it on your toes ,ha ha.

Sent from my iPad using Ford OC

Ive got an earlier version of that battery charger still im my garage, last used it on my 1963 triumph last year. Still works after 38+ years,

Okay thanks for all your help guys I really appreciate it.

I'm actually still undecided whether to take it out or not, but if I was to leave it in the car - MONDEO TXS 2.2 you mentioned I should connect the negative connection of the charger to an earthing point in the engine bay, why not the the negative terminal? Does that mean there's no connection to the negative terminal at all?

If I do this, I would be just resting the charger on some part of the engine (as far away as possible from the battery itself though) with the bonnet closed and leave it all night, is that okay?

...as for that charger, think it's probably older than me haha! 4amps is fine and what I'd call a 'trickle' charge, think my fast charger is about 12amps.

Because mine is just 4 amps would putting it on the 'Hi' setting on my charger be equivalent to a trickle charge on modern chargers or should I keep it on the 'Lo' setting?

Thanks again.

Hi or Low will be ok as it's only 4 amps RMS maximum

It's safer to connect the negative lead from the charger to an earth point on the car & not the negative battery terminal , which is why I suggested that method.

You are correct to think that using this tried & trusted method there is no direct connection from the charger negative lead to the battery negative terminal

As long as the battery can breathe & the charger & mains plug is not exposed to damp / moisture / rain etc & the charger is as far away from the battery as possible it should be ok

The same principle applies to jump starting - always connect the negative lead to a chassis earth & NOT the battery negative terminal - not that I recommend jump starting, but sometimes there's no choice

Excellent!

Thanks very much.

Cant beat an old un.

I use a modern CTEK 5amp charger on my old car (2008 electronics) but was wondering about  any problems charging my 2014 Fiesta whilst still connected to the car because of the amount of electronics?  Any comments.

On 23 November 2015 at 11:47 AM, Groot said:

I have a Focus 2005 1.6LX.

This is the first car I've had for about 20 years! Before that I've only ridden scooters and motorcycles.

Charging the battery on those was a simple case of removing the battery and using a motorcycle charger in my kitchen.

I've had the Focus for about a year now and I've mostly been using it for very short journeys (5 minutes each way) with the occasional longer journey. I'm sure this doesn't do the Focus any favours!

Recently I've noticed when starting the engine, it feels as if the battery is struggling to give the ignition enough spark and since it's getting colder it will be worse. I think it's a matter of time before it won't be able to start the engine.

Firstly, please have a look at the attached photo and tell me if this charger is suitable. It's a Winfield brand, remember that name from the Woolworth days!? I've got a couple of motorcycle chargers but apparently you can't use them for cars and vice versa. If you think I should buy a new one then is there a specific type I should get? Any recommendations will be most welcome.

Finally, even though I have a garage I have too much stuff in there to put the car in therefore would it be okay to stick the charger under the closed bonnet and have an extension cable running under the garage door or should I remove the battery from car?

I watched a Halfords video about charging the battery and they said you should never put the charger on or near battery. Then again, the Ford manual says if you remove the battery then it will take a few miles for the car to adjust.

If you anyone would give me a battery charging 101 lesson I would really appreciate it.

Thanks very much and hope you can help.

Ah winfield, woolworths old brand ;)