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Starting car with battery charger on

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Old Dec 15, 2013 | 10:11 PM
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Default Starting car with battery charger on

Is it a bad idea to start the car with a battery charger hooked up to the battery terminals? Ive been reading through some archives and found this ambiguous statement:
https://rennlist.com/forums/3501436-post22.html

Maybe this is something well known but I used to do it all the time with Audis. I'm having electrical issues and wondering if I fried something by starting it with the charger hooked up?
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Old Dec 15, 2013 | 10:34 PM
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charger or tender.

the former could cause an issue, the latter seems to be no big deal, done it several times.
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Old Dec 15, 2013 | 10:56 PM
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Charger. I thought it was a smart charger. Jokes on me. I left it on the car while it was running for about a minute. I think this is the issue I'm running into with the electronics. Not sure where to look downstream for fried pieces.
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Old Dec 16, 2013 | 09:12 AM
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one would be better off charging the battery for about 20 minuites to 30 minuites then reconnecting the battery cables, then try to start the engine normally. one could fry a dme or ignition relay further preventing the engine from starting. The engine should not be running with a battery charger attached. quick charging any battery weakens it longterm.

buy a multimeter, check fuses
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Old Dec 16, 2013 | 12:01 PM
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Thanks Lopro. I have a multimeter and will check fuses. The car starts fine, but the cooling fans are staying on indefinitely. I assume at least those fuses are ok. Will scour the car today again and figure out this problem.
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Old Dec 16, 2013 | 02:59 PM
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Came back this morning after leaving battery disconnected overnight and the problems I was experiencing are gone. Either way, I'll always remember not to start the car with a charger on it again. Thanks for the help guys.
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Old Dec 16, 2013 | 03:11 PM
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it sounds like you have current drain somewhere and you may find yourself stuck down the line

its important to find the source of the electrical drain

continue in this thread ---> https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...ing-noise.html
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Old Dec 16, 2013 | 06:18 PM
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Originally Posted by phoneyman
Charger. I thought it was a smart charger. Jokes on me. I left it on the car while it was running for about a minute. I think this is the issue I'm running into with the electronics. Not sure where to look downstream for fried pieces.
Yeah, in this scenario I always remove the charger before I start unless it won't start w/out charger connected, but even then I disconnect the charger as soon as it starts.

That's just me, no idea if it's required.
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Old Dec 16, 2013 | 08:53 PM
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I've cranked the car over with the charger in the "START MODE" with no issues. I've only done this when the battery is at a low point where it just not strong enough to crank the engine over and is disconnected immediately after the engine starts. Otherwise I'll do an overnight trickle charge.
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