D3100 Charging?

[97EXPO]

Do i have to use the intellicharger from powermaster to charge initially? I got battery today and have not had time to check the charge on it, but read that it had to be charged before installation. And, how many amps should it be charged at?

[E a r t h]

No, but an intelligent, or automatic with sensing capability would be best. Do a low amp slow charge if you dont have a monitoring style charger.

[audiofanaticz]

A agm charger will work best for charging the batteries (dont really matter in brand name, but the powermaster 12/16volt charger > kinetik chargers)

I use a Diehard 10/2/60 amp deepcycle charger. Once it pukes Ill buy a nice powermaster.

I have 2 d3100s in my car, and a 8+ year old optima redtop under the hood. My batteries rest around 14.1+ when car is off.

I was plugging my car in every night maintain batteries when my stereo was in it and driving it, but since i parked it for the winter I havent touched it, and probolly should.

I use a 2 amp manual charge non stop.

The low 2 amp trickle charge is not enough to damage the battery, or at least that Ive ever heard.

I will just let my batts sit there for weeks at a time if I dont need to drive the car.

This will teach the batts to hold a higher rest voltage too.

But you need a charger that has a manual switch, otherwise a automatic charger will stop charging the batteries once they are "full" and it wont teach the battery a higher resting voltage.

Edit, forgot the link to the charger i got, its old..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DieHard-10%...1171110006r2427

Edited December 6, 2008 by Bangin Caddy

[97EXPO]

i went out and got my dmm and checked it, its sitting at 12.79 now

[kingsuv]

I would throw them on the charger for a trickle cycle. That way they are topped off and ready to go. A charger will give a better charge then the Alt.

[Loudcav]

very true as soon as I get my batteries hooked back up Im going to try and remember to charge them before I start the car they have been unhooked for several months and Im sure need a boost

[scottiej]

You dont have to charge XS Power batteries out of the box. The orange piece of paper about charging is to point out how important proper charging is to the life of the battery. If the voltage is below 12.6 out of the box, then you may want to throw it on a charger to get the best performance from the start. If not, it's no big deal, the alt will charge it once the engine is started.

I put those warning sheets in there so guys don't expect the D680 to crank over a V8 engine right out of the box if the voltage is a little low.

[loopkiller]

A agm charger will work best for charging the batteries (dont really matter in brand name, but the powermaster 12/16volt charger > kinetik chargers)

I use a Diehard 10/2/60 amp deepcycle charger. Once it pukes Ill buy a nice powermaster.

I have 2 d3100s in my car, and a 8+ year old optima redtop under the hood. My batteries rest around 14.1+ when car is off.

I was plugging my car in every night maintain batteries when my stereo was in it and driving it, but since i parked it for the winter I havent touched it, and probolly should.

I use a 2 amp manual charge non stop.

The low 2 amp trickle charge is not enough to damage the battery, or at least that Ive ever heard.

I will just let my batts sit there for weeks at a time if I dont need to drive the car.

This will teach the batts to hold a higher rest voltage too.

But you need a charger that has a manual switch, otherwise a automatic charger will stop charging the batteries once they are "full" and it wont teach the battery a higher resting voltage.

Edit, forgot the link to the charger i got, its old..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DieHard-10%...1171110006r2427

If your 12v batteries are resting at 14.1v, you have a serious charging issue. If your 16v batteries are resting at 14.1v, you have a dead batteries.

i went out and got my dmm and checked it, its sitting at 12.79 now

12.79v is probably fine. It is very close to full charge. 12.8v after resting a full day after last charge is probably full. You might see them rest as high as 13.2v right after taking them off the charger. However, you cannot know the charge depth by voltage alone. You will have the chance of seeing a surface charge that look like a full charge if the battery was not charged properly.