In a modern workshop, it is essential for mechanics and engineers to be able to carry out many tasks at once.  The latest cars feature numerous integrated systems, and a full service involves tackling several different jobs at the same time.  As a result of this, it is important to be able to rely on your equipment as much as possible, and much of the latest generation of mechanical tools have been designed with a certain level of autonomy in mind.  Lengthy jobs such as charging car batteries require little input once the process has begun, and with an automatic battery charger, you are able to set them off, and they will cycle through the whole process of charging the cells without any further involvement.

One of the main concerns when charging vehicle batteries is ensuring that the battery is not overcharged, as this can cause long term damage, or even produce a fire risk in the workshop.  The expense of modern vehicle power cells in addition to their complexity means that damaging them can be a costly error, and would certainly wipe out any profit that you may otherwise made from a service.

An automatic battery charger has a number of built in protection systems that have been designed to minimize the risk of damage.  These include a number of different power suppression systems, combined with advanced microprocessor control that can determine when a battery is fully charged, and then cut off the power.

The actual process of charging a cell properly is rather more complex than just plugging it in and leaving it.  In order to maximize the lifespan of the battery and avoid the risk of memory effects – where the battery can no longer become fully charged – it is essential to fully discharge it before the new charge is applied.  This is done by putting the full output of the battery into a controlled short circuit for a short period.  This causes the available energy to be pulled out of the cells and dispersed.  An automatic battery charger will perform this task, and then begin to slowly power up the cell once more.  Dependi