Can you overcharge the battery?

[steverally]

This has possibly been covered before, but can you overcharge the battery. Let me explain, as I know the charger is switched off automatically when the battery is full.

I charge at home over night, car says 29 miles range at start of next journey, but I then go out and on my return car still says 13 miles range left. I usually then plug in the charger to top it up, not always knowing how much I'll need for the next day. Is this good policy or would I be better not to top up let the battery go down to zero on my next trip.?

I suppose what I'm asking does the battery only have so many charging operations before it starts to degrade, (a bit like mobile phone batteries).

 

[jaapv]

Incremental charges are fine. In fact, multiple part-charges are supposed to be better for the battery than fewer full cycles. However, Mitsubishi advises not to disconnect and plug in again if the car is already fully charged. But I did that mistakenly once or twice and I find that the charging shuts down in seconds in that case, so I think the warning is like many others in the manual.

 

[martini]

I think jaapv is correct.

With documantation for my car I also got a small "Operation Guide" booklet. In here on page 8 under Charging it says "Avoid 'top-up' charging when the drive battery is already close to fully charged - repeatedly doing so can reduce the efficiency of the battery"