If the current is too large, the heat loss can damage the circuit, burn the resistors, or even burn the surrounding objects. Even with circuits designed to prevent such situations, accidents can happen, such as when wires touch each other unexpectedly.
The charger is in fact pushing current. It will raise voltage to push the current that it's intended to deliver. If too small a battery is presented with too large a current, the battery's live will be diminished, and even more exciting things may happen.
What happens if a battery is too small?
If too small a battery is presented with too large a current, the battery's live will be diminished, and even more exciting things may happen. Indeed, this post presumes that the word "charger" is actually intended to mean "Voltage Regulated DC Power Supply" - a common if incorrect usage.
Does a battery charger need to be told the maximum current?
Contrary to what some comments/answers may suggest, the charger needs to be told the maximum current to deliver. They normally don't/can't 'sense' it. The important thing is to use the correct battery charger circuitry based on the chemistry of the battery.
Why do battery fuses keep resetting?
Some fuses open permanently and render the battery useless; others are more forgiving and reset. The positive thermal coefficient (PTC) is such a re-settable device that creates high resistance on excess current and reverts back to the low ON position when the condition normalizes. So modern batteries are self protected from strong currents.
Can a Li-Poly battery catch fire?
Instead, it would likely heat up and worst case catch fire. The basic algorithm for Li-Poly batteries is to charge at constant current (0.5 C to 1C) until the battery reaches 4.2 Vpc (volts per cell), and hold the voltage at 4.2 volts until the charge current has dropped to 10% of the initial charge rate.
How do you charge a Li-Poly battery?
The basic algorithm for Li-Poly batteries is to charge at constant current (0.5 C to 1C) until the battery reaches 4.2 Vpc (volts per cell), and hold the voltage at 4.2 volts until the charge current has dropped to 10% of the initial charge rate. In addition, a charge timer should be included for safety.