Abstract: A battery charging circuit gates charging current through a silicon controlled rectifier triggered by a pedestal and cosine modified ramp unijunction circuit. A battery potential sensing circuit limits the initial surge current delivered to a fully discharged battery and provides short circuit protection, a second battery potential sensing circuit limits the current delivered to a fully charged battery to a level required to maintain the float potential, and a charging current sensing circuit limits the average value of current delivered to the battery to a desired level during low battery impedance and/or high line conditions, all by controlling the pedestal level.