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Charge it
The most common
car battery charger is the car's alternator.
The thing to remember about a battery is that you must immediately
replace the energy you have used. If you do not do so you'll have a
battery that is sulfated. Its performance and its longevity will be
impaired.
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This is what
your car's alternator does. This is it's battery charger function. The
alternator works quite well, however, only if the battery has not been
deeply discharged. What the alternator tends to do is over charge your
battery if the battery is quite low. This can cause damage to your
battery.
A battery to start your car engine typically has about 10 deep cycles
for alternate recharge. A battery has a particular way that it likes
to be charged when it's lost a lot of its power. The charge is
regulated, in three steps. The only battery charger that can do this
well is a special smart charger that is computerized. This type of
battery charger is not commonly found. You won't find it at Wal-Mart
or even a typical auto parts store.
The first battery charger step of this process replaces 80 percent of
the battery's capacity, using the maximum voltage and amp rating of
the charger. The voltage hits 14.4 volts and then the absortion charge
starts - the second step. The voltage stays at 14.4 volts and the amps
of the current decline until the charge of the battery is at 98
percent.
The float step of the battery charger is a slower less powerful
process that takes the battery to 100 percent charge with voltage of
no more than 13.4 volts and less than 1 amp current. This maintains
the batteries at full readiness and prevents cycling during extensive
periods of inactivity.
Source:
http://www.batterystuff.com/tutorial_battery.html#9
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