Deep Cycle Battery Charging From Alternator
Hello, May I ask for advice regarding charging deep cycle batteries from the alternator? I have read older threads, and understand opinions vary. The previous two 100Ah deep cycle AGM coach bat...
Forum Discussion
Sam Spade wrote:pnichols wrote:
Using my seven step K.I.S.S. method above ... have I been lucking-out all these years?
I have found as I get older, I tend to make more stupid mistakes than I did 40 years ago. It probably will catch up with you eventually too.
It is NOT a good idea to make any "jump" connections while the "donor" vehicle is running. If you DO make a bonehead mistake with the connections and the vehicle is running, you can fry the charging system and maybe other things along with it. If the vehicle is NOT running, all you will do is weld a spot on end of your cables....probably.
Sam ... I was being facetious with my "have I been lucking-out all these years?" question!
A vehicle battery is like a very large capacitor ... in that the potential across a large capacitor's plates ("terminals" of a battery) cannot be changed much very fast.
Hence, any external load changes or fast volttage spikes have a difficult time shifting the voltage across the terminals of a charged up battery being used to jump start another vehicle when their batteries are hooked up in direct parallel. This in turn means that electrical items hooked up to either battery in either vehicle should not experience any sudden (fast) voltage changes either.
I guess I would need a detailed EE type explanation as to how electronics or other electrical items on the vehicle supplying the jump power and/or the vehicle receiving the jump power could be damaged by jumping via direct parallel hookup of the two (huge capacitor-like) batteries.
I always jump other folk's vehicles by direct parallel hookup of the two batteries involved, and if I don't goof by touching positive to negative ... have never had, or caused a problem.
