BlaCkPlaGUE

Im prepping my car for its first startup tomorrow. If any of you remember I took off the entire intake manifold setup, removed and capped emissions, redid the injectors, redid the TB, redid it all (fuel system) for a better running engine. I also replaced the TPS with a brand new one from mazda.
So, with that in mind, you can kind of get a feel for what Im looking forward to tomorrow, a dead car, or a nicely running car. Note that these kinds of things you'll never find in the FD forum

Anyways, I really don't know **** all about electricity or electronics, all I know is that there are two things, a positive and a ground to complete a circuit, thats all I know. Gotta have both for something to work.
So, charging the battery...

I have a 2amp POS battery charger, its all I have. How long will it take for this to charge my battery, how long should I leave it on?

I have my battery in my house right now on a table (not the ground, yes I know) ready for charge. Its been VERY cold outside and I think that its ******* up my battery, will I have better results charging it in room temperature than cold *** freezing temps, or does it make no difference? I think it does make a difference...

When I charge the battery, Do I just match up the positive and negative charging cables to the +/- on the batt? or is it the other way around? I really don't know becuase when you use batterys in conjunction its always + to - and you don't match their polaritys.. Is this the same with a charger?

Finally, I plugged in my car (block heater) for better starting success tomorrow, as soon as I plugged it in I smelled something burning! I popped the hood and found that the bits of snow on the block was melting in conjunction with some oil near the plugs, is the block heater supposed to get this hot this fast? I thought it was a really slow warm up process, not the case with my car.

I'll wait for your guys's input before I hook up the battery. Don't get me wrong, I know cars, I just don't know electricity

Icemark

Automotive 12volt Battery chargers always hook up + (or Red) to the + Terminal of the battery, and Black (-) to the - terminal of the battery.

Cold will reduce the available output of a battery, however will increase charging capacity. What this means is, that cold will help charging (keeping the battery from overheating), but if kept cold when actually starting, the battery will have reduced output.

as far a how long it will take to charge a battery, will depend on the condition of the battery before charging. A two amp (max) charger will probably completely recharge a near dead battery overnight and a completely dead battery in less than 24 hours.

Crionics

Actually, since batteries started coming with non-porous casings, placing and charging a battery on the ground isn't really an issue. I still place mine on cardboard or something, though, just in case something happens and I get a leak or a spill.

nopistons

As for charging the battery indoors, bear in mind that batteries release hydrogen gas as a by-product of the charging function. Hydrogen is VERY flammable/explosive. Ever see that famous footage of the zeppelin Hindenberg catching fire and burning to nothing in just 30 seconds, back in the 1930's? That was hydrogen. If you charge your battery indoors, be absolutely certain that there are no sources of sparks or fire ANYWHERE inside. You could burn down your house. My advice? Do it outside.

IaMtHeRuThLeSs1

I was JUST about to say that...my dad almost blew up his room when he was a kid doing thtat...good story

Def. do it outside

BlaCkPlaGUE

got it. thanks guys.