Repairing 12v battery charger?

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04-29-2007, 11:57 AM
Jason280

Repairing 12v battery charger?

I picked up a spare 12v battery charger a few weeks ago, and haven't gotten around to actually trying it out until recently. I normally use a 3-bank charger for the boat, but picked this one up for other batteries around the shop (tiller, mower, etc). Well, I plugged it in a checked it with a voltage meter, and its only putting out around 10v at the leads. I checked this against my other charger, which is doing over 12v. Any ideas on what may be the problem? The charger is an Everstart (or is it EverReady) 2/10/50amp model. Thanks!
04-29-2007, 01:47 PM
NIMROD

Take it back to WalMart or where ever .:D
04-29-2007, 05:46 PM
Shellback

Maybe it's circuitry requires it to sense a less than fully charged battery before it comes up to full power. I'd try putting it on a battery requiring a charge and then see what the output is.
04-29-2007, 05:56 PM
backtocrappie

It should be putting out 12vdc. Try a Shumacher.
04-29-2007, 06:07 PM
Slipcork

I had one that did about the same and it was bad leads on the inside of the unit. Replaced with new and longer wire with new ends. Still works great. the long wire lets me keep the charger on the dock and just put the leads in the boat. Don't have built in charger.
04-29-2007, 06:08 PM
Jason280

Shellback, I guess that's a possibility. I did check my 3-bank charger and it was doing 12v. I've never seen one of these chargers actually fail, so this may be a first. The only battery I have tried charging with it was beyond help, and actually had to be replaced. I guess I need to try it on a good battery that needs a charge. But like it was mentioned above, I assumed it would need to be putting out at least 12v at the leads.
04-29-2007, 07:40 PM
Barnacle Bill

A charger should put out a little over 13V with no load. Anything less and you will not get a full charge.
04-30-2007, 11:28 AM
superdave1984

Quote:

Originally Posted by backtocrappie

It should be putting out 12vdc. Try a Shumacher.

+1 on this.
Has anybody used one of those solar powered chargers? I have seen them advertised and wondered how it would do.
05-01-2007, 02:04 PM
joejv4

I'd see what it outputs with a battery connected - even a charged one. If it's a "smart-charger" you should see 14.4V if it's bulk charging or absorbtion charging and 13.4 or a little lower when it gets to the float (trickle) charge stage.

the 10V could be caused by some sort of smart-switching based on the absence of a load.

If it stays low with a battery connected... bad charger.
05-01-2007, 05:14 PM
Cane Pole

Quote:

Originally Posted by joejv4

I'd see what it outputs with a battery connected - even a charged one. If it's a "smart-charger" you should see 14.4V if it's bulk charging or absorbtion charging and 13.4 or a little lower when it gets to the float (trickle) charge stage.

the 10V could be caused by some sort of smart-switching based on the absence of a load.

If it stays low with a battery connected... bad charger.

Yep. I agree. Good input here.