How to charge 12V car battery with BC8?

[tsoebirk]

I would like to use my BC8 charger to charge a 12V car battery. How do I connect them to make this work?
I have tried connecting the car battery to the charger's output terminals only, but when I try to start the charge, the charger gives the error message "CONNECTION BREAK". I assume this is because I do not have anything connected to the balance port. If this is true, then which pins of the balance port should I connect to the battery terminals (given that there are no taps for the individual cells)?

Thanks!

[Gregor99]

I don't believe you need the balance connection when using the Pb battery mode. I would double check that you are using the Pb battery program. Also some chargers will not charge a Pb battery if its resting is too low.

Double check that you are in the Pb battery charging mode, then check to see that its detecting 6s. Finally check the overall Pb battery voltage. If its very low, it may be too late for the Pb battery.

[tsoebirk]

Thanks Greg. You're probably right. The battery has been sitting in my shed for a few years and it measures only 1.8V on my voltmeter, so I guess it seems likely that that's the reason the charger is rejecting it. Maybe I should try to borrow a dedicated car battery charger and see if I can revive it using that. Or maybe it really is too late. Anyone have any experience of this kind?

[Gregor99]

Usually that means the battery is permanently damaged. It may be possible to get it to accept a charge and get a bit more life out of it. Use the NiXX charge program at a slow rate (500ma to 1 amp).

WATCH the charge cycle. DO NOT walk away. If the battery voltage reaches 12v, then stop the charge and restart the charge using the Pb program.