Why Is My Car Battery Charger Not Working? 5 Reasons Why

Why Is My Car Battery Charger Not Working – One vital function of a car battery charger is to ensure that the car battery is recharged when drained out completely ensuring a smooth kick-start of the car for the next start-up.

This is very necessary in cases where these vehicles don’t get to be used daily. It ensures your battery is well replenished before you use it to start the car, fully preventing discharges that can render your car battery useless before its estimated life span.

The battery is quite a very needed feature in an automobile system. Without it, your car is useless as the main aim it was developed for i.e movement, won’t be fully attained.

Car battery chargers are not just useful for emergencies alone but can also help extend your battery’s life by preventing overcharging that can reduce its efficiency before its time.

Truly, a battery is needed for a car to start running and with most modern automobiles now designed with an alternator that ensures electric power generated while the engine is running is well served around the car, your car battery is ensured to have enough charge to power the car for the next start-up. 

However, whenever the engine is off and the alternator stops working, all work is put on the battery putting more stress on your battery power hastening fast drain.

Why Is My Car Battery Charger Not Working? 5 Reasons Why

Your car battery charger can suddenly stop working due to different reasons. And most times, such faults can be quite frustrating to detect if testing gadgets are not available for test-running.

But quickly, here are a few factors that might easily constitute a car battery charger not to work and deliver charge as expected.

1. Rust

Sometimes, dirt, dust, and corrosion can simply be the cause of your battery charger not working at all.

With this, it is always needed of you to take good care of your car battery charger by cleaning the contacts or metal strips that connect to your car battery.

Corrosion usually will prevent the charger’s prongs from getting direct contact with the battery to be recharged. And this is mostly due to the car battery charger coming in contact with a liquid that might have resulted in rust on your charger making it not work efficiently.

A fine solution to this is using a volatile liquid or a fine emery board to remove the corrosion.

2. Inspect Charger for Damage Signs

Inspect the car battery jump starter and tell if there are broken parts or warped areas that need replacement or servicing.

This sometimes also does contribute to the car battery charger not working too well due to falls and other unprecedented occurrences.

Also, do well to pay rapt attention to the prongs that connect to your outlets and the part that will charge your car battery to ensure nothing on the parts mentioned are missing, broken, bent, or destroyed.

3. Poor cable connections

One main reason your car battery might not be charging may be due to a loose or broken cable-to-battery connection.

Sometimes, the terminals can be cleared off of rust and other parts checked and repaired but loose or broken connections between connecting wires can also make a car battery charger not work.

However, you can always fix this by easily tightening the connecting wires with a screwdriver and also replacing the clamps in case of a rusted one.

Also, do ensure there are no broken wires and all connecting wires are properly wired, and also corroded terminals are cleaned with a volatile liquid while scrubbing gently with a sand-paper.

Nevertheless, if the problem persists and the solutions given above do not work, then try checking for voltage drops in the cables as internal resistance in the cables can also be a cause.

4. Defective Battery 

You’ve checked the terminals, the cables, damage signs but still, the charger won’t just work or better still the battery would not just charge.

A battery will never hold a charge if the acid solution inside of it is weak or the charger itself does not deliver the right amount of voltage. It may sometimes be due to low internal voltage or broken connecting wires as mentioned before.

Some troubleshooting hacks to detecting a bad battery include:

• Turn on the car’s headlights to check for bright light or dim light. Once it is bright, it is possibly a loose wiring or bad starter.

But if it is dim, then make use of the next solution.

• Check for the voltage of the battery with a good voltmeter. The normal battery voltage reading is 12.6 volts and anything lesser than that means continuous troubleshooting.
• So a voltage reading of 10.6 volts is an indication that your car battery is faulty and not the car battery charger.

However, with all this said and laid down, a more possible method of fixing the situation is to either give it a jump start by using another car’s battery or replacing it with a new one If it is old.

5. Blown Plug Fuse 

Fuses are used to reduce high electrical sparks that can damage the car cables and accessories. It is used to prevent surges that can destroy gadgets.

However, this efficient piece sometimes can also be affected and can suddenly break down by melting.

To fix this, the physical examination of the plug is essential by unscrewing, checking for tight connections of the cables, and then replacing the fuse with a new one.

Making use of a car battery charger can help you in different ways and manners. An automobile battery charger is very efficient for not only cars that are not always driven often but also for reserve batteries that may not be functional at the main time.

Powering this up will ensure you are always ready in times of unforeseen circumstances.

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Conclusion 

All battery’s life span will eventually be reached but it does not need to be depleted as quickly as possible. Provided the right maintenance is put in place and effective technical services efficiently utilized, a car battery can last as long as it is supposed to.

However, getting a good car battery charger will help you in charging your batteries securely and protect them from deep discharges and overcharging, and as well as extend the lifespan of your battery and make it last for a longer time.