Finally got my first 1000 upvotes on a question about car battery myths

I see so many people asking if you need to disconnect the battery before charging it, but that's only for old chargers. Modern smart chargers are fine to leave connected, which I confirmed with the manual for my NOCO Genius 5. What's a common thing you've seen people get wrong in your area?

3 comments

3 Comments

simonl862mo ago

Congrats on the upvotes. Actually, the disconnect advice is still pretty solid for modern chargers too. A lot of those "smart" units can still have issues with a car's computer systems if something goes wrong. It just adds an extra layer of safety to disconnect, even if the manual says it's okay.

laura2112mo ago

Totally agree with @simonl86, better safe than sorry!

ward.piper1mo ago

Simon makes a good point about an extra layer of safety. Doesn't that logic apply to more than just the battery? I see people skip safety steps because a tool or product says it's fine. Modern jump packs say you can connect directly to the battery in the trunk, but connecting to the engine bay posts is still safer to avoid any spark near the battery. The manual gives you permission, but it doesn't always give you the full picture of what could go wrong in a real world situation.