Making a Simple, Smart Automatic Battery Charger Circuit - Universal

Battery Charger Circuit

The following automatic smart battery charger circuit was exclusivelydesigned by me in
response to requests from two keen readers of this blog, Mr. Vinod and Mr.Sandy.
Let's hear what Mr.Vinod discussed with me through emails regarding the making of a smart
battery charger circuit:
"Hi Swagatam,
My name is vinod chandran. Proffessionaly i am a dubbing artist in malayalam film industry but
i am an electronic enthusiast too. I am a regular visitor of your blog. Now i need your help. I just
built an automatic SLA battery charger but there is some problems with that. I am attaching the
circuit with this mail. The red LED in circuit is supposed to glow when battery is full but it glows
all the time .(my battery shows only 12.6v). Another problem is with 10k pot. there is no
difference when i turn the pot left and right. . So i request you to either correct these problems
or help me to find an automatic charger circuit which gives me a visual or audio alert when
battery is full and low . As a hobbyist i used to make things from old electronic appliances. For
the battery charger i have some components. 1. Transformer from an old vcd player. out put of
22v, 12v,3.3v. And i don't know how to measure ampere. My DMM has only the ability to check
200mA. It has a 10A port but i can't measure any ampere with that.(meter shows "1") So i
assumed that the transformer is above 1A and below 2A with the size and requirments of the
vcd player. 2. Another transformer -12-0-12 5A 3. Another transformer - 12v 1A 4. Transformer
from my old ups(Numeric 600exv). Is this tranformer's input is regulated AC ? 5. couple of LM
317's 6. SLA battery from old ups- 12v 7Ah. (Now it has a 12.8v charge) 7. SLA battery from old
40w inverter - 12v 7Ah. ( the charge is 3.1v) One thing i forgot to tell you. After the first charger
circuit, i made another one (i'll attach this too). This is not an automatic one but it is working.
And i need to measure the ampere of this charger. For that purpose i googled for an animated
circuit simulation software but didn't get one yet. Atlast i found one in this link
(http://www.cs.technion.ac.il/~wagner/index_files/ckt_anim/). But i can't draw my circuit in that
tool. there is no parts like LM317 and LM431(variable shunt regulator). not even a potetiometer
or led. So i request you to help me to find a visual circuit simulation tool. I hope you will help
me. regards

vinod chandran"

(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h5amYonay-

Y/UAqbPSMXhhI/AAAAAAAAAE8/zKCD39QQUoA/s1600/First+charger+circuit.jpg)

(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-

po8GPJ_ccMA/UAqbWgOqKMI/AAAAAAAAAFE/6Lpc63SaXFU/s1600/My+second+charger+circuit
.jpg)

Hi Vinod, > > The red LED should not glow all the time and turning the pot should change > the
output voltage, without the battery connected. > > You can do the following things: > > Remove
the 1K resistor in series with the 10K pot and connect the pot's > relevant terminal directly to
ground. > > Connect a 1K pot across the base of the transistor and ground (use center > and any
one of the other terminals of the pot). > > Remove everything that's presented at the right side
of the battery in the > diagram, I mean the relay and all..... > > Hopefully with the above
changes, you should be able to adjust the voltage > and also adjust the base transistor pot for
making the LED glow only after > the battery is fully charged, at around 14V. > > I don't trust
and use simulators, I believe in practical tests, which is the > best method of verifying. > > For
12v 7.5 ah battery, use a 0-24V 2amp transformer, adjust the output > voltage of the above
circuit to 14.2 vollts. Adjust the base transistor pot > such that the LED just starts to glow at
14V. Do these adjustents without > the battery connected at the output. > > The second circuit

is also good but is not automatic....is current > controlled, though. > > Let me know your
thoughts. > > Thanks, > Swagatam

Hi Swagatam, First of all let me say thank you for your fast replying. I will try your suggestions.
before that i need to confirm the changes you mentioned. I will attach an image consisting your
suggestions. So please confirm the changes in the circuit. -vinod chandran

(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-

Vv1pjgkVLg4/UAqbrlu-p0I/AAAAAAAAAFM/gS11SeD6Ovc/s1600/changes.JPG)

Hi Vinod, That's perfect. Adjust the transistor base preset until the LED just starts glowing dimly
at around 14 volts, with no battery connected. Regards.
Hi Swagatam Your Idea is graet. The charger is working and now one LED is glowing to indicate
the charging is in progress. but how can i configure the charge full indicator LED. When i turn
the pot to ground side (means lower resistance) LED starts glowing. when resistance goes high
LED will be off. After 4 hours of charging my battery shows 13.00v. But that charge full LED is
off now. Plz help me.
I am sorry disturb you again. The last email was a mistake. i didn't see your suggestion
correctly. So please ignore that mail. Now i adust the 10k pot to 14.3v(it's quite difficult to
adjust the pot, because a slight variation will result a bigger voltage output. ). And i adjust the 1k
pot to glow a little. Is this charger supposed to indicate a 14v battery?. After all let me know the
danger level full charge of the battery. Once again thanks. regards vinod chandran
Hi Swagatam, As you suggested, everything was alright when i test the circuit from breadboard.

But after solder into PCB thing are happening strangely. The red LED is not working. charging
voltage is ok. Anyway i am attaching the image that shows the present condition of the circuit.
plz help me. After all let me ask you one thing. Could you please give me an automatic charger
circuit with a battery full indicator. ?.
Hi swagatam, Actually i am in the middle of your automatic charger with hysteresis feature. I
just added a few modifications . i will attach the circuit with this mail. plz check this out. If this
circuit is not ok then i can wait for you to tomorrow . regards vinod chandran

(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4qUgyG4OYqs/UAqcgBeuXpI/AAAAAAAAAFU/8H5aiNgTL7A/s1600/S
WAGT.jpg)

I forgot to ask one thing. My transformer is about 1 - 2 A. Idon't know what is the correct. how
can i test with my multimeter?. Besides if it is a 1A or 2A transformer, how can i reduce the
current to 700mA. regards
Hi Vinod,
The circuit is OK, but won't be accurate, will give you a lot of trouble > while adjusting.
A 1 amp transformer would provide 1amp when short circuited (check by connecting the meter
prods to the supply wires at 10amp range and set to either DC or AC depending upon the
output). Meaning the maximum power of is 1amp at zero volts. You may use it freely with a 7.5
ah battery, it won't do any harm, as the voltage would drop to the battery voltage level at
700ma current and the battery would get safely charged. But remember to disconnect the
battery when the voltage reaches 14 volts.
Anyway, a current control facility would be added in the circuit that I would be providing you,
so there's nothing to worry Regards.
Hi Vinod,
I'll provide you with a perfect and easy automatic circuit, please wait >> > until tomorrow.
Hi swagatam, I hope you will help me to find a better solution. Thank you. regards vinod

chandran

In the meantime, another keen follower of this blog Mr.Sandy also requested a similar
battery charger circuit through comments......
So finally I designed the circuit which will hopefully satisfy the needs of Mr.Vinod and Mr.Sandy
for the intended purpose.
The following figure shows an automatic 3 to 18 volts, voltage controlled, current controlled,
double stage battery charger circuit with standby charging feature.

For circuit explanation please read the comments.....

(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9lwWXFdOsEc/UAp4rLe5DDI/AAAAAAAAAEw/83NUnqSGCcQ/s1600
/smart+battery+charger+circuit.png)

(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-

mJfdYOcXCzs/UJ3VJD8ygFI/AAAAAAAABQw/_kGCNyHxiW4/s1600/smart+battery+charger+circui
t.png)

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