Charging 24V system

[Chang-kuao-lo]

Could one charge one's 24V system with two 12V automatic battery chargers, each connected seperately on each batt.?

[Eric Winkworth]

No you just need one charger and hook it to the motor for ground and postive on the one battery. AT least thats how the manual tells you to jump them, I think two chargers on the two separte batteries would be fine but I would disconnect the battery cables!

I don't know too much about it either, thats just what I've read

[Greg_B]

Originally Posted by Chang-kuao-lo

Could one charge one's 24V system with two 12V automatic battery chargers, each connected seperately on each batt.?

Do your vehicle electrical system a favour, and disconnect the lines to the batteries, isolating them from the vehicle, when you go to charge them. Eliminates any accidents.

Also, if you are talking about jump starting and not battery charging....when jumping a 24V vehicle it is always wise to have a volt meter on hand to determine which battery is low, or if it is both.

If one battery is low, connect that battery to the cables from the battery poles, then go to the jump vehicle battery + pole, then final hookup is chassis ground on the jump vehicle with the negative lead (assuming a 12V jump vehicle).

I do NOT go to chassis ground on the 24V vehicle that is being jumped. It would be too easy to muck it up and cross something.

If both batteries on the 24V vehicle are low, use two jumper cables, and treat each battery independent, and go to chassis ground on each jump vehicle (assuming the jump vehicles are 12V).

If you do not introduce chassis ground on either vehicle then you can simply go from battery to battery, and leave everything hooked up. There is the chance of spark when doing the final connection, which is why chassis ground is always recommeded, as the spark will be away from any potential battery acid vapors...so if you go battery to battery, wear a shield, look to the side, protect yourself...etc.

Hope that made some sense...working on 4 hours sleep in 36 hours...

gb

[crushers]

i boost as if i was boosting a 12V, positive and ground of the same battery. i never ground to the frame.
charging the same way. postive to positive and ground to ground. i someitmes charge both at once using 2 chargers.

cheers

[A2B in a TLC]

This is a good topic. Especially the jump start procedure. Does anyone have any drawings of manual instruction to post?


Greg, get some sleep. Was Abby on fire last night?

Thanks,

B

[Chang-kuao-lo]

Do you disconnect the cables when charging with two seperate chargers? I'm just using two 2A automatic chargers.

[Kalawang]

You can charge two batteries from one charger. First is to disconnect the two batteries from your ride. Next, connect both batteries pos to pos and neg to neg. Last, connect the charger to either battery, it doesn't matter much which. Be sure you have plenty of time. You can best preserve what's left of your battery life with a slow charge. A 2A charger would probably need an overnight to reach a full charge.


Kalawang

[Greg_B]

Originally Posted by Chang-kuao-lo

Do you disconnect the cables when charging with two seperate chargers? I'm just using two 2A automatic chargers.

I would take them right out of the vehicle system..but to each their own.

You can also charge in parallel as described by Kalawang if you have one charger...

gb

[Greg_B]

Originally Posted by A2B in a TLC

This is a good topic. Especially the jump start procedure. Does anyone have any drawings of manual instruction to post?B

Nope. I keep meaning to make a manual for Petra's truck, with said diagrams..

Originally Posted by A2B in a TLC

Greg, get some sleep. Was Abby on fire last night? B

Soon...and Yes!

gb

[lowenbrau]

Originally Posted by Chang-kuao-lo

Could one charge one's 24V system with two 12V automatic battery chargers, each connected seperately on each batt.?

Yes, its as easy as it seems. red to + and black to -

[blownbj]

do yourself a favor and boost on the baterie that is gounded to the frame that way your tied into the 12V part of the system then you can hook posotive to posotive and negative to negative and you won't blow up your donor battery. The same rule applies If you were to boost a 12V from your rig as the donor. Use The battery that is grounded to the frame!!

[Greg_B]

You can boost straight to the upper battery as well, if that is the low one. Just do not introduce frame ground. That would be an ouch.

+ to + and - to - as Lowenbrau said earlier.

gb

[blownbj]

Well in my opinion boosting on the upper battery would not be a good idea unless you were to take it out of the series first because hooking to the negetive post without disconnecting it from the other battery is just the same as going negative to posotive on the first battery in the series and I sure you don't want to do that .

[Stone]

Originally Posted by blownbj

Well in my opinion boosting on the upper battery would not be a good idea unless you were to take it out of the series first because hooking to the negetive post without disconnecting it from the other battery is just the same as going negative to posotive on the first battery in the series and I sure you don't want to do that .

No...in effect you will be putting a good 12v battery parallel to the bad high side battery but still in series with the 24v bank by boosting the high side battery if that's the one that's bad (which is probably very rare).

[lowenbrau]

I'm making that same face that RAMullen makes when I ask him questions about Propane injecting and turbo charging IDI diesels.

As long as you are connecting a 12v charger or a 12 V battery to another 12V battery and you are doing it + to + and - to - it doesn't matter whether its a 12V or 24v or 600 v system. Ever wonder why a bird on a wire doesn't get electocuted?

[Stone]

Hey...Nice avatar, Bruce!

[lowenbrau]

Originally Posted by Stone

Hey...Nice avatar, Bruce!

I guess I was the only one who saw the humor in the lowrider 6x6 DaimlerChrysler product. I figured it was time to reintroduce Arthur Dent since his resurrection is, in glacial terms, imminent.

[Eric Winkworth]

I just don't get why the manual tells you to ground to the frame?

[lowenbrau]

Connecting to the frame is a safety thing. In the old days batteries used to gas off a lot of hydrogen when they were charging. Owners were expected to top up thier batteries with distilled water every so often as a result. The proceedure of connecting + to + and then - to ground (of the dead rig) was to have the inevetable arc from the final connection as far as possible from the explosive gas. These days batteries lose a lot less gas and it is a smaller issue though it's still wise to connect the dead battery last.

[Eric Winkworth]

So conect one jumper to + on battery 1 and one jumper on + to battery 2?

right?

[lowenbrau]

Originally Posted by Eric Winkworth

So conect one jumper to + on battery 1 and one jumper on + to battery 2?

right?

Well if by the first 'one jumper' you mean the cable that is connected to the + terminal of the running vehicle or charger and you identify battery 1 as the high battery ( a meter shows +12v to gnd on the - terminal and +24V to gnd on the + terminal) and you mean the second "one jumper" to be the cable that is connected to the - terminal of the running vehicle or charger and battery 2 is how you have identified the low battery ( a meter shows 0V to ground on the - terminal and +12V to gnd on the + terminal) then uh, yeah I guess you're right.

It seems easier to me to connect + to + and - to -

[Eric Winkworth]

so if I am using my power box, I just put the jumper cables on the high battery just like I would if it was a 12v truck, right?

[lowenbrau]

Originally Posted by Eric Winkworth

so if I am using my power box, I just put the jumper cables on the high battery just like I would if it was a 12v truck, right?

If by "power box" you mean the main ac electrical panel in your home and by "just like I would if it was a 12v truck" you mean connecting the red cable to the + terminal and the black cable to the engine block then, no that wouldn't be right.

[Stone]

Do we need a diagram?