Referring to the circuit diagram below, two 741 ICs are configured as comparaters. The presets at pin#2 of each stage is adjusted such that the output goes high after specific voltage levels are identified, or in other words the outputs of the respective ICs are made to go high in sequence after predetermined charge levels are accomplished discretely over the connected battery.
The IC associated with RL1 is the one which conducts first, after say the battery voltage reaches around 13.5V, until this point the battery is charged with the maximum specified current (determined by the value of R1).
Once the charge reaches the above value, RL#1 operates, disconnect R1 and connects R2 in line with the circuit.
R2 is selected higher than R1 and is appropriately calculated to provide a reduced charging current to the battery.
Once the battery terminals reaches the maximum specified charging voltage say at 14.4V, Opamp supporting RL#2 triggers the relay.
RL#2 instantly connects R3 in series with R2 bringing down the current to a trickle charge level.
Resistors R1, R2, and R3 along with the transistor and the IC LM338 forms a current regulator stage, where the value of the resistors determines the maximum allowable current limit to the battery, or the output of the IC LM338.
At this point the battery may be left unattended for many hours, yet the charge level remains perfectly safe, intact and in a topped up condition.
The above 3 step charging process ensures a very efficient way of charging resulting in almost a 98% charge accumulation with the connected battery.