Stupid office worker question re. car batteries

[Alfisti]

I am googling this and getting so much conflicting advice i thought i'd hit up the knowledgeable folk here.

What tool/device should I be looking at that can charge my car's battery if it dies? I am talking I wake up, car has a mystery power draw we cannot trace, car is dead to the world and i need to properly recharge the battery. So not just a boost but a proper charge.

Thanks in advance egg heads.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

A battery charger.

[chassis]

Take the battery out of the car and charge it with the cheapest charger you can buy at Canadian Tire.

[Alfisti]

But what am I looking at? So many products look and sound the same but the price varies WILDLY.

So the NOCO genius 10 and 2 models, they seem to be the same thing but one is 10 amp and one is 2 amp. Is the only difference the speed in which it will recharge the battery?

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/n...4.html?loc=plp

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/n...2.html?loc=plp

[dreamingat30fps]

Those are fancy with different mode like for lithium batteries.

If you don't have a lithium battery you don't need that. Just a regular cheap battery tender. Assuming the battery isn't shot it will eventually charge it up. They also have one that are jump starters, you don't need that either.

Something like this is all you should need to charge a 12v lead acid battery.

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/m...1_rr&rrec=true

[Alfisti]

I think it has the fancy new battery in it... aDR or something... ADm ... fuck I can't remember.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

I think it has the fancy new battery in it... aDR or something... ADm ... fuck I can't remember.

AGM... still not lithium so the regular trickle charger should work.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

But what am I looking at? So many products look and sound the same but the price varies WILDLY.

So the NOCO genius 10 and 2 models, they seem to be the same thing but one is 10 amp and one is 2 amp. Is the only difference the speed in which it will recharge the battery?

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/n...4.html?loc=plp

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/n...2.html?loc=plp

Both of those are the same battery chargers. Modern battery chargers also maintain and all that. The difference in those is just the amp charging per hour, the higher the faster it charges. You can also swap charging modes between AGM and typical acid batteries usually.

For example I myself use a Motomaster eliminator 7amp charger. Between those 2 you listed I would get the 10amp.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

AGM... still not lithium so the regular trickle charger should work.

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

Both of those are the same battery chargers. Modern battery chargers also maintain and all that. The difference in those is just the amp charging per hour, the higher the faster it charges. You can also swap charging modes between AGM and typical acid batteries usually.

For example I myself use a Motomaster eliminator 7amp charger. Between those 2 you listed I would get the 10amp.

Thanks champions.

[ptpending]

The best option is CTEK MXS 10 with temperature sensor, it will compute voltage needed according ambient temp around battery or car
I owning it for 5 years, but not used sensor before
this autumn i began to use sensor and charged two agm batteries up to 12.76
i think this is very good result

[Alfisti]

I do have a CTEK tender for my summer car that is winter stored. Does a great job.

[Tambohamilton]

I have a ctek mxs5. Works well; never any issues. Have tried cheap chargers in the past, but had various minor issues. 5a charge rate is pretty slow, though!

[Bc2005]

Apparently some of the newer chargers also have a voltage sensor that prevents charging the battery if it’s below a certain voltage when the charger is connected. AFAIK, the logic is that if the voltage is really low (say 6 volts) there may be a dead cell or physical damage, so it need more than a simple charge. However, I assume there is also probably a way to bypass that “feature”.

[ptpending]

well, i found that ctek mxs 10 model is not available in US market, only mxs 5 and
CTEK MULTI US 7002 and then goes mxs25 pro charger
but mxs 5 has in-build temp sensor, so should good too

[Jolbex]

Originally Posted by Bc2005

Apparently some of the newer chargers also have a voltage sensor that prevents charging the battery if it’s below a certain voltage when the charger is connected. AFAIK, the logic is that if the voltage is really low (say 6 volts) there may be a dead cell or physical damage, so it need more than a simple charge. However, I assume there is also probably a way to bypass that “feature”.

Try connecting any 12v batt in parallel for a few seconds...just enough for charger to sense voltage and start charging. We normally use some small batterytool aku for this

[unluky]

100% - get a jump box. Something that plugs in can only help you when you are near an outlet. A jump box can help you no matter where you are. You can connect them and then plug them in to use them as a trickle charger or use them stand alone in the middle of no where.

They also double as back up power to charge phones and tablets when you have a power outage or emergency or just camping.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by unluky

100% - get a jump box. Something that plugs in can only help you when you are near an outlet. A jump box can help you no matter where you are. You can connect them and then plug them in to use them as a trickle charger or use them stand alone in the middle of no where.

They also double as back up power to charge phones and tablets when you have a power outage or emergency or just camping.

Unless you specifically have a jumpbox designed to be both a battery charger and jumper, they are 2 distinct products for different needs/features. OP clearly needs/asks about a battery charger.

[M5Rick]

Got my Ctek MXS-5 on right now on AGM setting, I prefer gradual slow and easy charge rather than the 10 model.

[dreamingat30fps]

Ya'll have probably confused the guy more than he was before.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

Ya'll have probably confused the guy more than he was before.

LOL no but I hope it's clear now why I asked the question, as dumb as it first seemed.

So the booster idea is interesting, in theory i could get the car going and all is good but the wife's commute is short so I think a boost runs the risk of of the car then dying on her at work. Worse case she takes my car and i charge the car as I WFH. I will sniff about for a 10AMP charger, 5 seems too slow and anything more than 10 seems brave.

We just bought the car today, the residual is about $7K below market price but she absolutely loves the car and mechanically it has been fine, we just cannot get on top of this power draw issue, it has died overnight 3 times in 4 years.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

LOL no but I hope it's clear now why I asked the question, as dumb as it first seemed.

So the booster idea is interesting, in theory i could get the car going and all is good but the wife's commute is short so I think a boost runs the risk of of the car then dying on her at work. Worse case she takes my car and i charge the car as I WFH. I will sniff about for a 10AMP charger, 5 seems too slow and anything more than 10 seems brave.

We just bought the car today, the residual is about $7K below market price but she absolutely loves the car and mechanically it has been fine, we just cannot get on top of this power draw issue, it has died overnight 3 times in 4 years.

Haha yeah don't worry I also spent an afternoon to learn about them and search and see what I needed to buy when I first looked at them.

Yeah a booster is more so you can get the car going if it's fully dead and then it has to charge on it's own as it runs. If instead you want to make sure the battery is full juice the day you want to take the car, or charge low/dead battery, a smart battery charger is what you want. I don't think 2 in 1 jump pack and chargers exists. (EDIT: Actually looks like you can buy battery chargers that also have a jump start feature, but no the other way around (you need to plug it in an outlet))

Although that's not to say you shouldn't have a jump pack either, I have my jump pack in my trunk and my charger at home. I use the charger almost daily and like to charge my car up in the evening because I also have some kind of power draw issue, although I think it's just my dashcam set up, I never had my battery go full flat since I almost use it daily but I have gotten the low battery warning some times but if it happens while I'm not at home, well I can at least start the car.

[Alfisti]

Last time the car died, the tow driver was a real gun, great guy, said the amount of new cars with power draws is absolutely INSANE. He calls it a plague and said finding the issue can be a monumental shit show.