Posts: 2754
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | howitt- It can be done. However- a couple of considerations. First your truck alternator rating and how deeply discharged the battery is will determine how long you're going to have to run the truck to get the battery recharged. F.ex a 30A alternator and a fully discharged 100AH battery would require about 3 hrs to get the bulk of the energy back into the battery. Obviously this is not very efficient so plan on using some gas. Also you have wear and tear on the engine etc. You also want to make sure all the accessories in the truck are off, so the bulk of the alternator output is going to the battery. Like Steve said it's also hard on the battery using a higher output alternator +30A versus a 10A or 15A charger.
Safety!---Make sure you attach the jumper cables with the ignition off. Be especially careful about the polarity, it's easy to make mistakes in the dark, a big red dot by the positive posts is a good idea. Attach the positive's first, then the negative's. Attach the negative at the battery being charged first, then attach the negative at the truck to the frame of the truck. Don't connect it to the battery post.
When you charging is done. Shut off the engine, wait a minute to disconnect the battery. Disconnect the negative at the truck frame first. You want to minimise the possibility of sparks because a battery being recharged generates hydrogen gas which is extremely explosive. You also don't want to generate any sparks which could also damage your trucks electrical system.
ALWAYS! Attach the negative to the truck frame last and disconnect it first. That way if there is a spark it's not near either battery. Believe me you don't want to see a battery explode. It's quite likely you could be injured. It might be a good idea to wear a set of safety glasses.
Another plan may be to borrow some additional batteries from some buddies for this trip. Also you said there are no available outlets- Another solution would be to take along a small "Honda" generator and your charger. This would probably use a lot less gas, even if it takes longer to recharge the battery. Again maybe a buddy can help you out there. You might even be able to rent one for the trip, i.e., XYZ rentals or whatever.
Edited by ESOX Maniac 4/17/2004 7:47 AM
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