Charging a Battery Bank
I am planning on upgrading my batteries to 4 6v batteries wired in series and parallel to have a 12v system with plenty of Amp Hours. There is a ton of information on how to wire things up but nothing...
Forum Discussion
BFL13 wrote:
The four batts will not "demand" a limited amount of amps in bulk. Forget that notion, please :( The 440AH bank will "accept" at least 160 amps at 50% no sweat, so don't worry about that.
I am confused about this. I think it might indicate there is a solution to my problem with a 25 year old 3/4 ton GM van which is rarely driven more than 4 blocks between starts. The battery doesn't fully recharge and gradually sinks to the dreaded 12.0 volts in winter here in northern Alberta. The new alternator is supposed to be good for 90 amps. It does apply 14.4 volts to the battery. It seems to me the battery should recharge fully at 90 amps for 15 minutes after a start. If the battery does not have an internal resistance limiting its acceptance of current, what is the limitation? Is it the cable from alternator to battery? If so, I can get a second cable and double the rate of charging! Maybe the cable connectors are corroded and a simple replacement will solve the problem. Or does the 14.4 volts on the battery mean all is well with the cable?
