Battery Charge in Use?

Question

So, I have a self project I am doing and I am trying to learn more and more about electronics and mechanics. My question, is can a car battery be charged while in use? And what would be some factors if this is possible or not?

Thanks in Advance,

Matt

Answer 1

A car battery is charged while in use.  The best way to explain electricity is it is just like water.  Water flows down taking the easiest root.  Electricity takes the path of least Resistance.  Your battery would be a reservoir it can be emptied, an alternator would be a pump filling the reservoir.  Amperage would be volume and voltage would be pressure.  Think of a water hose; you cut it on alot comes out but it doesn't go far this would be a high amperage, if you put your finger over it you lose volume (amperage) but you gain pressure (voltage) this would be like the power to your spark plugs which is over 10,000 volts.  You have check valves (diodes), and valves (switches).  I find this to be an easy way of understanding electricity I hope it helps you.

Answer 2

a charger can be used on a battery that is in use as long as the charger output is greater than the battery and the additional load require. if the load is too much, most charger will blow a fuse. this fuse is of the self resetting type so it no big deal, you just can not charge a battery in this situation.

Answer 3

sure you can charge battery while in use all you need is alenator to put power back to battery  

Answer 4

Assuming a Dead Battery? Charged Fully by the Car's Alternator, NO. Alternator will give the Battery "A Top Charge" (A Short fast Charge that will not Last that lone "More then 12 Hours"). Alternators also have the Regulator built in that Senses the Level of the Charge, Sensing and Extremely low Charge it will "Full Field" the Alternator which won't hurt the Battery in the Short Term "5 to 10 Minutes" But after that the 60 to 95 Amp Constant Output from the Alternator will start to "Damage" the Battery. You can use a "Battery Charger" on the Battery while it is in the car but "Both" Battery Cables Must be Disconnected for Electrical System Safety. Bottom Line (Trying a Fully Discharged with the car Alternator isn't a Good Idea and will Shorten the Life of the Battery.)

Answer 5

If you check the voltage with a hand held volt meter on a new car battery with the engine off it should read 12.85 volts. With the engine running the alternator provides 13.5 -14.2 volts back to the car battery to charge it back up. Inside the alternator is a voltage regulator. The reason it's there is to regulate the charge back voltage to the numbers above. If the voltage regulator didn't exist the charge back rate would be wat too high. In which case it would boil the water / acid dry ruining the battery.

Answer 6

Do you mean just the battery, or charging the battery which is still in the car with the engine running? Car batteries are designed to be charged while being used and that's what the alternator is for. If you want to use a car battery out of a car for some project, and keep the battery under charge while you use it, that is like the battery does while in the car. You can do that too. You want to give the battery juice when it needs to be charged. Overcharging can create too much heat in a lead acid battery and damage it. Charge it with 14 volts. It's full when it has 13.8 volts. They call it a 12 volt battery, but it holds a little more than 12. You try and not let it get lower than 10 volts. It's a balancing act. Cars have automatic controls to do the work keeping the charge rate correct. A voltage regulator flows charge when needed and stops charging when the battery is full.

You might get a copy of Audel's  Auto Guide from the public library and read it. You'll learn a lot of basic auto mechanics from that book.

Answer 7

I believe that an alternator actually recharges the battery as your car runs.