Bargain Battery Charger

[Sebastian]

Honestly, I don't get how you can even consider a 20A charger to be adequate - let alone recommend it to others. My T6 pulls 40+ A for up to an hour when I connect it after a lot of short distance driving. Considering that all start-stop models only charge the battery to 80-85% (to leave room for recuperation), this is not really a surprise. Even after a few hours, the load (with infotainment etc. already switched off) falls into the 12-18 A range. A charger labelled for 20A, doesn't actually produce as much (tried a current clamp to double check what it actually delivers?!).

Back when I used to do AAPEX with RT, we had a 25A (yellow'ish) charger hooked up to a Q5. Even with systems shut down, the charger was not able to maintain the current draw necessary for the car not to shut down more systems. We had to (de-)code DRLs and stuff in order to get the consumption down... There is a reason why manufacturers recommend 50/70/110 A these days.

I am normally using a Fronius 35A which has all the nice features (true buffer mode for diagnostics, standard charging modes for agm/wet/gel batteries, switchable between 6/12/24V and desulfatation etc.) which has been great for diagnostic and demo purposes (my older Fronius 25A charger is not enough for modern cars - as it was running on MAX current a lot of the time). How does a charger w/o any modes figure which battery is installed? It can't tell by itself if it needs to put out the proper voltage/current for agm/gel/wet. Standard charging differs from buffering as well. Does it recognize whether or not plus/ground are reversed or will it just push out current either way and cause a short? We do complain when customers have shitty chargers and then we blame communication issues and other shit on the charger. Then we turn around and use something like this?! *headscratching*

Long story short, considering how much we all use battery chargers in our work life - is this really the place to save money?

 

[Jack@European_Parts]

hys·ter·e·sis talk ............ /\

 

[Uwe]

Honestly, I don't get how you can even consider a 20A charger to be adequate

If the voltage stays above 13.0V, then I consider it adequate. That means the battery is not being discharged. Of course, I turn off the big consumers like headlights, seat heaters, and HVAC blower...

My T6 pulls 40+ A for up to an hour when I connect it after a lot of short distance driving.

Sure, you're re-charging a battery. All I ask is that the battery not be drained while I'm scanning. But then I don't have a car with a start-stop that's abusing the heck out of my battery either.

-Uwe-

 

[Jack@European_Parts]

"Dishonestly" huh Mr. Battery Sulfate.......?

 

[c-gar]

https://www.amazon.com/Clore-Automotive-PL2320-Battery-Maintainer-20/dp/B007ESQW08?ref_=ast_sto_dp

any thoughts while i'm waiting for price to drop again?

 

[Uwe]

any thoughts while i'm waiting for price to drop again?

With anything that (relatively) cheap my only thought is: Check that it doesn't put the car's ground at some potential different than earth ground. A decent charger won't, but some Chinesium products will, and then if your computer is referenced to ground (i.e. if it's also being power from something other than its internal batteries), you risk letting the magic smoke escape from your interface.

-Uwe-

 

[twiggs462]

With anything that (relatively) cheap my only thought is: Check that it doesn't put the car's ground at some potential different than earth ground. A decent charger won't, but some Chinesium products will, and then if your computer is referenced to ground (i.e. if it's also being power from something other than its internal batteries), you risk letting the magic smoke escape from your interface.

-Uwe-

Uwe, your first post here is linked to a charger that is not listed anymore. Being that you have concerns about the grounding of the cheaper products do you still have a "pick" for something that is "cheap" - Thanks.

 

[Uwe]

Uwe, your first post here is linked to a charger that is not listed anymore.

Well, that was six years ago.

do you still have a "pick" for something that is "cheap"

Not at the moment, no. I haven't been shopping for one for a while. What kind of car are you going to use it on and how many amps are you looking for?

-Uwe-

 

[twiggs462]

I agree that it was a bit old.

Looking to manage a few family VWs. I have 2 Tiguans. Amp wise I am not an expert there. What would you suggest for a shade-tree mechanic with that type of machinery?

 

[Uwe]

What would you suggest for a shade-tree mechanic with that type of machinery?

10-15A should do it for diagnostics, I would think, particularly if you make a point to shut down unnecessary consumers (exterior lights, seat heaters, the HVAC blower, infotainment).

-Uwe-

 

[twiggs462]

Sounds good. Thanks for the info.

 

[Uwe]

Sounds good. Thanks for the info.

If I was going to order one today, I would probably go for this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TJK3X71/

That seems to be the best bang for the buck from a brand that I have some faith in. But since I've never used one of those, I'd a quick ground-loop test.

The catch is, you'll need to add some alligator clips. Something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0773JXZT9/

-Uwe-

 

[twiggs462]

Perfect. Thanks Uwe for the suggestions. I will pickup a unit and a set of those. Easy enough.

 

[stefdds]

These have been recommended by the forum in the past:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TRP71QM/?coliid=I1U2SXD29HARCD&colid=R0J2KWFXBAEK&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_gv_ov_lig_pi_dp

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NY23BKF/?coliid=I1CG6VGNIU1ZJ&colid=R0J2KWFXBAEK&ref_=list_c_wl_gv_ov_lig_pi_dp&th=1

 

[twiggs462]

Thanks stefdds. Appreciate you adding to the list. I will compare for my needs and decide.

 

[Larhal]

Has anyone used a booster pack for this? I have a NOCO 2000A boster pack wich will jump/condition all types of batteries>

 

[Uwe]

Has anyone used a booster pack for this?

I assume this is a Li-ion battery powered "booster pack"?

If it's a stand-alone device that's not connected to anything else other than the car, it can't possible create a ground-loop.

But the thing that bothers me about such a device is how high a voltage it will put on the car's electrical system in order to push 200A. My guess is it's not high enough to do any permanent damage to anything, but don't be surprised if you see over-voltage codes in certain modules. I stopped using a Schumacher charger that I have because I don't like over-voltage codes. A good charger should never produce voltages high enough to trigger those.

FWIW, I do have a NOCO "Genius" charger. I think it's only 7.5A. It's fine as a charger, but a little weak for diagnostics on all but the simplest cars, and it has one thing that I consider a major flaw. Once it decides a battery is charged, it shuts down charging and won't resume if a load is applied that discharges the battery unless/until you power-cycle it. To me, this is considerably sub-optimal for how we use a charger.

-Uwe-

 

[Larhal]

Thanks Uwe, Good information.