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Author Topic:   sparking battery ( boat )

eggum posted 04-25-2003 01:20 PM ET (US)
I have a battery 1 year old. I took it out to check the charge from over the winter and without the charger being plugged in the terminals spark when I try to put the second cable on. What maybe happenning ?
HAPPYJIM posted 04-25-2003 01:31 PM ET (US)
Make sure all switches are off before connecting battery.
jimh posted 04-25-2003 01:33 PM ET (US)
Please clarify the situation when you see the sparking.
Is the battery being connected to the charger?
Is the battery back in the boat and being connected to the boat's wiring?
peetmin posted 04-26-2003 06:49 AM ET (US)
Egg, I'm with the rest here. Your description is somewhat ambiguous. It leaves us needing a better description before attempting to suggest a cure. First picture that comes to mind is reversed polarity when hooking to charger... (sparky,sparky)
jimh posted 04-27-2003 12:39 PM ET (US)
In an email that he send to me, eggum says he is referring to the battery charger connection.
Sparking indicates current flow. As peetmin correctly points out, connecting the charger with the polarity reversed will cause current flow. It will also damage the charger unless protected by a fast-acting fuse.
Another reason could be the charger has some voltage remaining on its output (perhaps stored in a capacitor), but that is a bit unusual for battery chargers, since there is not a good reason to include a smoothing filter like a capacitor to a device that connects to a battery.
Or the charger could still be on when the switch is off.
Connect the two wires from the charger together before you try to connect them to the battery. There should be no sparking, and by shorting them together you will drain any voltage left in the charger.
Also, check for a blown fuse, and verify the actual output of the charger with a voltmeter.

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Author	Topic: sparking battery ( boat )
eggum	posted 04-25-2003 01:20 PM ET (US) I have a battery 1 year old. I took it out to check the charge from over the winter and without the charger being plugged in the terminals spark when I try to put the second cable on. What maybe happenning ?
HAPPYJIM	posted 04-25-2003 01:31 PM ET (US) Make sure all switches are off before connecting battery.
jimh	posted 04-25-2003 01:33 PM ET (US) Please clarify the situation when you see the sparking. Is the battery being connected to the charger? Is the battery back in the boat and being connected to the boat's wiring?
peetmin	posted 04-26-2003 06:49 AM ET (US) Egg, I'm with the rest here. Your description is somewhat ambiguous. It leaves us needing a better description before attempting to suggest a cure. First picture that comes to mind is reversed polarity when hooking to charger... (sparky,sparky)
jimh	posted 04-27-2003 12:39 PM ET (US) In an email that he send to me, eggum says he is referring to the battery charger connection. Sparking indicates current flow. As peetmin correctly points out, connecting the charger with the polarity reversed will cause current flow. It will also damage the charger unless protected by a fast-acting fuse. Another reason could be the charger has some voltage remaining on its output (perhaps stored in a capacitor), but that is a bit unusual for battery chargers, since there is not a good reason to include a smoothing filter like a capacitor to a device that connects to a battery. Or the charger could still be on when the switch is off. Connect the two wires from the charger together before you try to connect them to the battery. There should be no sparking, and by shorting them together you will drain any voltage left in the charger. Also, check for a blown fuse, and verify the actual output of the charger with a voltmeter.