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Originally Posted by cowmeat
Success!
Got the grid charger going a while ago, started at like 146 volts and after a couple of hours it's up to 168. How high does it top out, and how long should I let it charge?
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Depends on the battery. Mine tops out around 170v, and I've seen examples of batteries that are 2-6v higher or lower.
From a low state of charge, it shouldn't take more than 8 hours to get the first cells up to full. However, you want to keep charging beyond that point. The cells that reach full first will start producing heat to get rid of the extra energy, and the cells that aren't as full will continue up toward full, thereby balancing the pack. My first grid charge I went 24 hours and subsequent ones I've only gone 12-16 hours. If the weather isn't terribly hot and the fan is running properly, you run very little risk of hurting any of the cells this way.
Consensus over at InsightCentral is that it's probably going to deliver the best results if you let the battery settle for 24-48 hours before draining it (driving with your clutch switch in will probably be fine) so as to allow permanent chemistry changes to occur. You could then do a second grid charge in, say, 3-7 days, with the same procedure, and then settle into a 6 months to 1 year interval.
After a grid charge the car may take some time to recalibrate, especially if you let the battery settle for a day. Voltage will drop back down to resting (~163ish?) even though the state of charge is much higher, so it won't recognize the extra charge immediately. You can use an OBD device to force a recal, unplug the 12v for a few minutes before doing much driving, or let the computer figure it out in its own time.
EDIT: 146v is absurdly low!