How to Charge a Car Battery Without a Charger

Knowing how to charge a car battery without a charger can be valuable information if you ever find yourself without a battery charger or jumper cables. Most people know the car’s alternator charges the car battery, so there’s usually never a reason to remove the battery. If you ever find yourself stranded with a dead battery you can just call Capitol City Towing at 202-410-0942 for cheap towing in the D.C. area.

Step by Step Guide on How to Charge a Battery Without a Charger

Before learning how to charge a car battery without a charger, make safety your highest priority. There is a lot of current and voltage running through a car battery and if you aren’t careful you could get hurt.

Collect these items:

Safety eyeglasses
Gloves
Wire clips and probes
Christmas tree lights

All of these products will let you charge your car’s battery safely. The Christmas lights will help you with the electrical current control.

Find Your Power Supply

There has to be a steady power supply so you can charge your battery. Think about all of the power sources that you have available. AC or DC power current will work.

Another car battery that has some charge will work as well. Make sure it is a reliable power source. A dead battery won’t do the trick.

Inspect the Output Power

Ideally, you should slow charge your car battery. The slow charge method will ensure that the battery won’t overcharge or blow up. Make sure you carefully monitor the situation while charging your battery.

Use the wire probes to check the output from your power source. Confirm the current and voltage.

While you have the probes out, check the voltage on the battery that needs to be charged. You should be able to get a good idea of how long the charge will take.

Now For The Lights

Place the battery as far away from the power source as possible. This distance is to keep you and your battery as safe as possible.

Attach the Christmas lights between the battery and the power source. The glow of the lights will let you know that there is power flowing from the power source to the battery. The lights also act as a buffer for the strong current so it won’t damage your battery.

Attach the Clips

Now you are ready to connect the battery, the lights, and the power source. Do not do this in a public area where other people are.

Attach the power source to the negative clip first and then connect it to the negative terminal on the battery. After you repeat this process with the positive side, power should be flowing to the battery.

Keep an Eye On The Process

Remember that you’ll be slowly charging. The battery should only gain a few volts after 15 minutes of charging. You can check the charge on the battery with a voltmeter.

The Christmas lights will be lit up with a little bit of heat on their outside surface areas. If they get excessively hot or intense, the power source may be too intense. If this happens, stop the charge.

Remove the Power and Confirm the Charge

After half an hour, remove the power from the battery by taking off the negative clips first and then the positive clips. Utilize your voltmeter to check the voltage on the battery.

You don’t have to charge the battery fully. It’s best not to overcharge the battery to keep yourself and your battery safe.

Call A Towing Service if Your Car Battery is Dead

If you find yourself having car problems, you need to call a towing service like Capitol City Towing. Capitol City Towing is D.C.’s most affordable towing company. We provide the following roadside assistance services:

We are the best tow company in D.C, and we would love to help you out in your emergency towing situation. Call us at 202-410-0942 when you need towing services.