Can you please assist me about how much AMP car battery changer will work with Mitsubishi Lancer SE?

Tiny
AINIAHMED
  • MEMBER
  • 2010 MITSUBISHI LANCER
My car battery has run out I only need to charge it so I can drive it to auto shop.
Wednesday, April 4th, 2012 AT 10:14 AM

3 Replies

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,873 POSTS
The most common battery chargers for home use are rated at around 10 - 15 amps. That is plenty to charge a nearly dead battery in about an hour or two if it's good. You don't want to charge them at a higher rate once they get to be a few years old because you can hasten their failure.
A fully dead battery will take about 15 minutes before it even starts to charge. Until then the current will be near 0 amps. Once the current comes up higher, then drops to around 5 amps, you can consider the battery fully charged.

Read the warning too about batteries giving off explosive hydrogen gas. Be sure the charger is turned off when you connect and disconnect the cables so they don't cause a spark.

You can also buy a larger "wheel charger" that is capable of well over 100 amps but on the lowest setting it won't charge the battery any faster. They're a waste of money if you aren't going to use it very often.
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Wednesday, April 4th, 2012 AT 10:38 AM
Tiny
AINIAHMED
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@caradiodoc: Thanks for your prompt reply. I just bought one with 1000 AMP. The shop keeper showed 2 different chargers i-e 500 AMP & 1000 AMP and he mentioned that 1000 AMP will work for both small and big vihecles. I was only concern that using higher AMP charger might demage the battery.
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Wednesday, April 4th, 2012 AT 11:15 AM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
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Are you sure that isn't the model number? 1000 amps is way too big. 1000 amps is enough to start the space shuttle! Well, almost. If you had one that big and turned it all the way up, it would suck the power poles out of the ground, and all the lights in town would dim!

I have an old clunker here with a maximum capacity of 200 amps, but I never turn it all the way up. As long as you use yours on the lowest setting you should be fine. If you read my web page you would have seen that at the higher charging rates, the plates in the battery will tend to vibrate excessively causing some of the lead to flake off faster than normal. On its own, that takes about five years, (the length of the typical warranty), to occur. If you charge your battery repeatedly at a very high rate, the battery might fail in, ... Oh, ... Maybe 4 1/2 years, that's all.

Happy to hear you found a charger you like.
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Wednesday, April 4th, 2012 AT 7:38 PM

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