Bosch C3 Battery Charger

I was hesitant to buy this charger because of some negative feedbacks but went ahead to buy because of Bosch brand. I am glad I did. No regrets!It appears the people who gave negative feedback don't know how to use it. I hope my feedback helps you in making the right decision. I have also attached snapshots from the manual to help you make an informed decision. Overall this is a brilliant charger and I am amazed at this intelligent piece of technology.Both my car batteries couldn't survive the lockdown. One of the batteries was completely dead for months and the other for my XUV refused to start the car and had a very low charge, cabin lights wouldn't switch on either. So you can imagine the state of both batteries.I connected my XUV battery to the charger first. It automatically detected it as a 12v car battery after a few seconds. I left it over night for about 14-15 hours and the battery was completely charged. Upon completing the charge the 'OK' LED on the charger lit up.Now my second battery was of Tata Nano - a smaller 12V battery completely dead for months. On connecting, the charger refused to detect it and went on standby mode. I still left it connected for some time but it didn't detect or charge it. Now I don't know the technical/scientific reason behind why Bosch would make a charger that won't charge a completely dead battery, but fact is it doesn't. This is also mentioned in their Manual (see the manual snapshot).So as a work around, using jumper cables, I gave the nano battery an initial charge with the XUV battery (15 minutes did it). Then the charger detected the battery and because it was a smaller battery it detected it as a two wheeler battery on 6V. However, I pressed the mode button on the charger twice and it quickly changed the mode to 12V car battery. Easy!Now here's the technological genius in this charger - because this battery was completely drained, it charged this battery in a different way than XUV battery. For the first 5-7 hours it used pulse charging so as to not stress a dead battery with sudden charge. The lights on the charger would blink/flicker in a way indicating a pulse. After that the battery started charging in a normal way. This dead battery took longer time to charge, about 24 hours or so.Note -1) Add distilled water to the batteries before charging, in case there is less water in them.2) Clean the battery terminals.3) Do not charge dry batteries. This charger is not meant for it.Pro's:1) Marvel of a charger that detects the battery, understands its state, size and volt and charges it gently to ensure longer battery life.2) Displays when the charge is complete and auto cuts-off to prevent over charging.3) Trickle charges your battery towards the end to prevent any stress or over charging.4) Has memory function, so if you lose power, the charger retain the last charge state and starts from there.5) Has inbuilt 16A fuse to prevent an electric surge passing to your battery.6) Has reverse polarity protection. Detects if you have wrongly connected the terminals. Charging won't start until terminals are connected correctly.7) Can charge Gel (AGM) batteries also.8) Charger does not heat at all and neither do the batteries.9) No maintenance required for the charger.10) Charger wire is about 1.5 meters length and the Terminal wires are also about 1.5 in length. So the cables give a good 3 meter or so length.11) Compact and very light charger that you can hang on the wall.12) Terminal quality and wire quality is very good.13) LED display is well designed and manual explains everything.14) Has a two pin wall plug. Works on 230V. No adapter required.Cons:1) You will need at least some charge left in your battery. It will not charge a completely dead battery.Conclusion:Buy it, it's a great compact charger for safe and effortless charging.Although long, i hope my review helped you make up your mind.Cheers!

Grest product. Always use it to charge my motorcycle battery, works flawlessly and I still have it with me. Though this may not be suitable for car or jeep batteries, but it charged my car battery after some 10-15 hours, fully charged and auto cut system.

I was in the market on the lookout for a motorcycle battery charger with a small footprint. Smart battery chargers for automobiles have been there since ages besides the good old conventional bulky chargers. I will categorize my review into different sections:(Note that this is not a battery jump starter it is just a battery charger)1. Utility: This Bosch C3 smart battery charger comes in real handy when one's motorcycle battery is low on charge. Meaning one is not able to start the motorcycle due to low charge on the battery. The C3 can charge any automobile 12V Conventional Lead Acid, VRLA, Gel and AGM batteries. It is versatile in the sense that it can also maintain bigger car batteries by trickle/float charging them to keep the battery in tip top condition. The C3 is primarily targeted towards motorcycle users as those batteries do not go above 12V 14aH threshold. However it can be used to charge car batteries as well, albeit that it will take a long time to charge compared to C7 which is recommended for car battery charging. It comes with nice and sturdy alligator clips for hooking onto the battery terminals. It also has eyelet connectors where one can keep them connected to the battery always. This overcomes the hassle of removing the battery to charge, the eyelet connector can be connected to the charger directly for charging while the battery is still on the motorcycle.2. Features: The C3 smart charger is filled with features wherein it automatically detects the battery type whether it is 6V or 12V, Car or Motorcycle battery, etc. It has a memory function where it saves the last settings set by the user. It has a single button for selecting mode manually. There is a mode for cold weather AGM battery charging where in the charging rate will be faster than normal mode for cold region temperatures in addition to charging AGM batteries as well. It has a smart 7 stage charging system that monitors the voltage at every stage and charges the battery accordingly. It also comes with a hook for hanging it from car bonnet/hood when it is open or mounting it at your home or garage. It has the ability to charge deeply discharged batteries(only if Voltage of the battery is 8 or above 8 volts). Overall the charger is very user friendly, easy and safe to use. It can charge a deeply discharged 12V 9aH battery overnight (6-7 hours), while higher capacity deeply discharged batteries will require longer time.3. Safety: When it comes to safety the C3 has it all. It protects against sparks, short circuit, reverse polarity and overheating of the battery. Reverse Polarity is highlighted on the C3 charger by an LED when the positive and negative terminals are interchanged while connecting. It will never overcharge the battery once the battery is fully charged, instead it switches to pulse/float charging mode for maintaining the battery. It is IP65 rated so is dust and splash proof. It comes with a built in fuse to prevent damage to the charger in case of any power surge or short circuit.4. Overall Quality: The C3's overall build quality is impressive and well made, although it could've been a little more tougher as it will be used around garages. The alligator clips are very nice and sturdy while having a nice reassuring spring action. The wires and connectors provided are of good quality.5. Value for money: There are other generic chargers which costs less but their quality and safety can be a hit or miss. Among the branded chargers the Bosch C3 is the most value for money and has most of the features its competitors lack. It is a good investment and will pay for itself if one has multiple vehicles. It has the ability to prolong battery life and keep it in good condition.

Quality as promised. Best in market. Does its job perfectly. I have used it twice and it has performed well. I by mistake left my dashcam on for a week and the battery got drained. It was able to charge the battery from zero to full.