What Should a Charged Car Battery Read
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How to Test Your Motorcar Battery
by Larry Carley copyright 2019 AA1Car.comDoes your car battery contain enough power to offset your engine during cold weather. The but style to know if your bombardment is fully charged or not is to measure the battery'southward state of charge with a voltmeter. You tin can use an analog or digital voltmeter, simply a digital meter is easier to read and will give yous a more accurate reading.
Outset, brand sure the ignition key is OFF, and all the vehicle'due south lights are OFF.
To check your battery's state of charge, connect the Scarlet or POSITIVE voltmeter test lead to your bombardment POSITIVE final. The positive terminal volition be marked with a PLUS symbol (+), and the bombardment cable that is connected to the positive concluding is ofttimes colour coded Cerise.
Connect the BLACK or NEGATIVE voltmeter test lead to your battery NEGATIVE concluding. The negative final will exist marked with a minus symbol (-), and the battery cablevision that is connected to the negative terminal is ofttimes color coded Black.
Notation the reading on your voltmeter and refer to the chart beneath:
Battery Voltage and State of Accuse (at 80 degrees F):(NOTE: Subtract 0.024 volts for every 10 degree F drop in temperature)
The photo at the top of this page shows a bombardment voltage reading of 12.29 volts, which means the battery existence tested is low with only most half a accuse. The battery needs to be recharged.
Is Your Battery Low?
If your battery voltage is less than 12.45 volts (75 percent charged), information technology is depression and should be recharged. This can be done by connecting a portable bombardment charger to your battery, or by driving your car for 15 to xx minutes at 40 mph or faster.
Automotive lead-acid batteries should be maintained at a 75 percent charge level or higher for best performance and life. If the battery is allowed to run down and is non brought support to 75 percent or college charge inside a few days, the bombardment may be permanently damaged. Sulfation can forestall the cell plates inside the battery from accepting a full charge. Over time, this will lead to macerated bombardment functioning and life.
Why You Demand a Adept Battery for Reliable Common cold Atmospheric condition Starting
A skilful battery is essential for reliable starting, especially during common cold weather condition because common cold weather increases the cranking load on the battery. Oil gets thicker at depression temperatures and so it takes more amps to creepo a common cold engine when yous effort to start it. At 0 degrees F, the number of cranking amps it takes to kickoff a cold engine may increase as much as 2X. At minus 15 degrees below zilch F. , information technology tin can accept 3X or more than amps to crank the engine depending on the viscosity of the oil in the crankcase. The thicker the oil, the harder is it to crank the engine.
At the aforementioned time, common cold temperatures as well sap the bombardment'southward ability to supply amps. At 0 degrees F, nearly batteries tin can only evangelize about 65% of their normal cranking amps. At -20 degrees, battery power is cut in half!
Warning: Exercise NOT endeavor to recharge your battery if it has run downwards and the liquid inside is frozen. This may cause the battery to explode! Remove the battery and accept information technology within so it tin thaw earlier recharging or testing it.
How To Tell If Your Battery Is Good or Bad?
A GOOD battery is one that will accept and agree a charge, and is capable of producing shut to its rated amperage output. A BAD bombardment is one that will Not accept or hold a charge, or cannot produce adequate cranking amps. A GOOD battery can be recharged and returned to service but a BAD bombardment needs to be replaced.
About machine batteries only last about iv to five years, and may only final ii or three years in a tardily model car that is not driven frequently enough or far enough to keep the bombardment fully charged. Hot climates tin besides shorten battery life to 2 to iii years.
If your battery is 4 or more years older and is not holding a charge (keeps running downwardly), or it does non seem to crank your engine a normal speed, yous probably need a new battery.
Chronic undercharging can cause premature battery failure regardless of the age of the bombardment. Car batteries are not designed for deep belch (running all the manner down), unlike a marine and RV battery which can handle being fully discharged. If a car bombardment is run down and left in a discharged state for very long (say a week or more), the plates may go sulfated and not accept a full charge when the battery is recharged. Over time, this will diminish battery capacity and cause it to somewhen fail.
Undercharging can be the result of a faulty charging system (low charging voltage), or driving short distances during common cold weather with lights, heater, heated seats, defrosters and radio all on. If the charging organisation tin can't supervene upon the amps that your electric system is using, your battery will gradually run down until somewhen it won't start your car.
Symptoms of a Low Battery:
Slow cranking when attempting to start or no cranking at all.
Unusual electrical problems such as the power windows not working normally, heated seats or electrical defrosters not producing normal heat output, remote keyless entry not opening doors or trunk, etc.
A low or dead battery does not mean your battery has failed, or that it needs to be replaced. A skilful battery tin can run down for any number of reasons: somebody left the lights on, you lot haven't been driving your vehicle enough to keep the battery fully charged, your vehicle has been sitting for a long flow of time without being started, at that place is a problem with the charging system or alternator, or an electrical problem is draining power from the bombardment when your motorcar is off. For these reasons, you need to exam BOTH the battery and charging system.
Battery Testing
The only way to know if your battery is Practiced or BAD is to test it. Many auto parts stores volition test your battery for free. If your vehicle is drivable or you can go information technology going with a jump start, drive to a nearby motorcar parts store that offers free testing and have them test your battery and charging system. If yous can't get your motorcar started, remove the battery and go a friend to requite yous a ride to the auto parts store so y'all tin can accept the battery tested. Many repair shops will also test your battery and charging system, just they usually charge a fee for this service (some volition examination your battery for free or offer to apply their diagnostic fee towards the price of repair).
Caution: Conventional wet cell lead-acid car batteries are filled with a mixture of water and sulfuric acrid. Vesture gloves and handle the bombardment with care and then no liquid spills on your pare or clothing. Battery acid can cause severe burns. If a spill does occur, wash with plenty of water and neutralize the acid by applying baking soda. AGM batteries exercise non contain any liquid, cannot spill and are safer to handle.
There are essentially two means to test a battery. The "old fashioned way" is to use a Load Tester. For accurate results with a load tester, the battery must first be recharged earlier it is tested. The tester applies a calibrated load to the bombardment (typically half the battery common cold cranking amp [CCA] capacity or three times its amp/hour rating). While the load is applied, the tester monitors bombardment voltage. If the battery voltage drops below 9.6 volts during the test, the battery is BAD and needs to exist replaced. If the voltage remains most 9.half-dozen volts, the bombardment is Skillful and can be returned to service.
The other (and must faster) method for testing your bombardment is to apply an electronic "conductance" tester like the one shown here. A conductance tester sends a alternating frequency signal through the battery to determine the condition of the prison cell plates inside the battery. As a battery ages, its internal conductance declines. Shorts, opens and other cell defects also reduce conductance, so measuring conductance gives an accurate indication of battery condition. The best feature of this blazon of test is that the battery does Non have to be recharged prior to testing. Most conductance testers will give an accurate reading even if the battery is almost dead.
Some electronic battery testers can besides analyze the battery'south CCA capacity, which can be used to estimate the battery's remaining service life. Some testers can also measure the amps drawn past the starter while cranking the engine, and analyze charging arrangement output under load once the engine is running. Some testers even provide a congenital-in voltmeter for checking connections.
Bad Battery Connections
If an electronic tester can calculate the battery/s CCA rating, information technology can also be used to diagnose bad footing connections. First the CCA capacity is tested at the battery final connections, then again using a ground bespeak on the engine or elsewhere. More than a 25 pct difference in the CCA readings between the two tests indicates a bad ground connexion.
Diagnostic Tip: You lot also can employ a digital voltmeter to check for voltage drop across all circuit connections, too. Ideally, you should see less than 0.1 volt drop beyond a expert connection. More than than 0.four volts drop indicates loftier resistance and a muddied or loose connection.
Diagnostic Tip: If the alternator on your car has failed, it might hateful your battery is not building up normal resistance every bit information technology accepts a charge. This, in turn, makes the alternator continue charging the battery at a higher than normal rate. This can overload the charging system and lead to premature alternator failure. The battery charging output should bound near ii volts after starting the engine (14.5 volts or higher), then gradually decrease after the engine has been running for several minutes (unless the battery is really low). The charging current should besides taper off to less than 10 amps at idle (with no lights or accessories on) after five minutes of running. If a fully-charged battery is still pulling 20 or more than amps after five minutes of idling, the battery is lacking and needs to be replaced.
How to Recharge A Battery
Whether your bombardment tests GOOD or BAD, make sure the bombardment is fully recharged earlier returning it to service. The alternator is designed to maintain a bombardment charge, not to recharge a expressionless bombardment. Overloading the charging organization with a expressionless battery tin tax it to the point of where it may damage the alternator.
The time it takes to recharge a battery will depend on the battery's land of charge and the amp output of the battery charger yous are using. The lower the battery voltage, the longer it will accept to charge it. The higher the amp output of the charger, the faster it will charge the bombardment.
A low battery that reads effectually 12.2 volts (forty pct charged) may take 20 to forty minutes to attain full charge (12.six volts) with a 15 to 20 amp charger. A 10 amp charger will take twice as long to charge the battery (upward to fourscore to 90 minutes), , and a depression output ii amp trickle charger may accept overnight.
Make sure you connect your Battery Charger correctly (Negative to Negative & Positive to Positive). Besides DO NOT plug in the charger until Afterward you lot accept made the battery connections. This will prevent any sparks that might cause a battery explosion!
The basic procedure for recharging a bombardment goes as follows:
1. Brand sure the ignition is OFF and everything else on the vehicle is off (LIGHTS, RADIO, etc.).
2. Locate the battery (nether the hood usually, merely information technology may be inside the vehicle under the back seat, inside the trunk, or behind an inner fender cover).
3. Place which battery post is POSITIVE (look for a + or POS by the post, and/or a red cover), and which is NEGATIVE (- or NEG).
4. Connect the Blackness NEGATIVE battery charger atomic number 82 to the NEGATIVE post or clamp on the battery, and then connect the Ruby POSITIVE charger atomic number 82 to the POSITIVE post or clamp on the battery. With most chargers it makes no departure which lead you attach start. Just don't mix them up. Many chargers have built-in protections in case you mix up the leads and contrary the connections by accident. Yet, reversing connections can damage some chargers.
v. After the charger has been continued to the battery, it is safe to plug the charger into a 120 volt electrical outlet. Practise Not plug in the battery get-go considering this may cause the terminal pb connection to spark when the connection is fabricated. Batteries vent hydrogen gas, and so a spark could ignite the hydrogen causing the battery to explode!
6. Leave the charger on until the battery is fully charged. Smart chargers volition automatically conform the charging rate to fast charge the bombardment. A simple charger or one with an adjustable charging rate will employ a constant charge that should gradually taper down every bit the battery charges up.
When yous think the battery has been charging long enough (or when the charging rate has dropped to a minimum), unplug or turn off the charger, wait a minute or and so then recheck bombardment voltage with a voltmeter to meet if information technology is at or nearly full charge. If information technology is still low, plug the charger back in or plough it back on and let it accuse some more. Repeat equally needed until the bombardment is fully charged.
If the battery is Non coming up to full charger subsequently spending a long fourth dimension connected to a charger, it means the battery is BAD and needs to be replaced. Tedious charging rather than fast charging tin can sometimes help bring an former battery back to life, but if it is slow to accept a charge it has likely reached the stop of the route.
WARNING: Exercise NOT OVERCHARGE YOUR Bombardment! Leaving a bombardment on a constant rate charger past the point where it is fully charged may overheat and impairment the cells and/or cause excessive boiling and evaporation of the electrolyte inside the battery.
WARNING: DO Non ATTEMPT TO RECHARGE A FROZEN Bombardment! This may cause an explosion!
Different Types of Battery Chargers
Yous can use any type of battery charger to recharge your battery. Basic chargers run the gambit from elementary and inexpensive "trickle" or maintenance chargers (2 amp output) to the general purpose v to 15 amp units that are commonly sold in many parts stores and retail outlets. "Smart" chargers include electronics that automatically adjust the charging rate and voltage for faster charging with less risk of over-charging or battery damage. Many Smart Chargers will automatically notice the battery voltage (6V or 12V) equally well every bit the type of bombardment (wet cell, AGM or gel jail cell) and adjust its output and charging charge per unit to match the battery type.
A smart charger typically has three charging stages. The first is the "majority" phase that applies maximum voltage (14.4 to 14.seven volts for a 12V car bombardment) and maximum amperage to quickly bring the battery up to eighty percent of its capacity. This is followed past the "absorption" stage where the charging amperage is cut back while the output voltage remains constant. This stage takes longer because of increased resistance inside the battery as it comes upwardly to full accuse. Once the battery reaches near xc to 95 pct of total accuse, the charger goes into a "bladder" phase and maintains a steady charging voltage at minimal current. Some chargers will as well automatically plow themselves off one time full accuse is accomplished.
The charging voltage applied by a bombardment charger will vary with the blazon of battery.
Many Smart Chargers will recognize the blazon of battery and adjust the charging rate accordingly.
WARNING: Practise Not OVERCHARGE YOUR Battery! Leaving a battery on a constant rate charger past the point where it is fully charged may overheat and harm the cells and/or cause excessive humid and evaporation of the electrolyte inside the battery.
WARNING: DO Non Effort TO RECHARGE A FROZEN BATTERY! This may cause an explosion!
Charging Organization Checks
Connect a digital voltmeter to the positive (+) and negative (-) battery terminals, and so start your engine. The voltage reading should jump up to 13.5 to 14.5 volts if the charging system is working.
If there is NO change in the voltage reading, your charging organisation is malfunctioning and is not charging the battery. You may demand a new alternator. You can take your alternator to an auto parts store and have them demote examination it on a special motorcar that measures the unit'due south current and voltage outputs. If the alternator tests BAD, it needs to exist replaced. However, it it tests Good the problem is not a bad alternator just something else in the charging system such as a bad wiring connection or perhaps a fault in the engine calculator that regulates the charging voltage.
For more than data, see Charging System Checks (alternator testing).
Replacement Car Batteries
A replacement battery must accept the aforementioned mail configuration as the original (tiptop post or side mail service), and fit the bombardment tray. Your starting time order of business organisation, therefore, is to figure out the correct "Group Size" for your vehicle.
Next, you have to effigy out how many CCAs the vehicle needs for reliable cold weather condition starting. The replacement battery should take the aforementioned or college CCA rating every bit the original battery. Bigger is unremarkably meliorate, especially in colder climates. But keep in heed that some batteries sacrifice "reserve capacity" to achieve higher CCA numbers.
Some other number that is important is the months of prorated warranty coverage provided by the battery manufacturer. As a rule, the college the warranty months on the battery, the higher the battery CCA rating and the meliorate the battery. So consider upgrading from a basic 24-month replacement battery to a premium battery with a longer warranty. Most premium batteries offer a warranty of 36-months or longer. A warranty typically offers gratis replacement if the battery fails during the commencement ii years, with a prorated credit if it fails during the remainder of the warranty.
In that location are also differences in battery applied science and design. Though all automotive batteries today are notwithstanding based on lead-acrid chemistry, redesigned grids, thinner plates and new connectors allow more amps to be packaged into smaller cases. Some batteries use a "spiral wound" cell configuration instead of apartment plates to attain a college packaging density, more ability output and increased immovability. AGM (Absorptive Glass Mat) batteries comprise no liquid because the electrolyte is a paste betwixt the prison cell plates. AGM batteries are spill-proof, more resistant to vibration damage, and typically outlast conventional wet-cell batteries by a year or two. AGM batteries are often used in late model vehicles with fuel-saving idle stop-start systems.
For a list of worldwide battery manufacturers and brands, Click Here.
Some batteries also use a "gel" electrolyte or "recombination" applied science that replaces the liquid acid. Some have "absorbed glass mat" (AGM) separators between the plates that hold the acid much similar a paper towel soaks up water, making the battery "spill-proof" even if the case is punctured. AGM applied science also makes batteries more than resistant to vibration harm and helps extend battery service life.
Car Bombardment Ratings
Earlier you can test or supervene upon your car battery, you need to know something almost battery ratings:
Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) This is the about mutual battery chapters rating. The rating is the number of amps the battery can deliver for thirty seconds at 0 degrees F. while maintaining post voltage of 7.2 Volts. For reliable cold conditions starting, most vehicles require 400 to 600 cold cranking amps. Larger deportation engines require more cranking amps. Some batteries are rated upwards to 1000 CCA, simply may sacrifice reserve capacity to accomplish loftier short term outputs.
Cranking Amps (CA) This is a less meaningful rating. It is the same as CCA except it is measured at 32 degrees F. A battery'south CA rating can be converted to CCA by dividing the number by 1.28 (Example: a CA rating of 500 amps becomes 390 CCA).
Reserve Capacity (RC) Think of this as the bombardment's staying power. This is the number of minutes the battery will deliver 25 amps and still maintain a postal service voltage of 10.v Volts. The higher the reserve capacity rating, the longer the battery will last if the charging organisation fails. Nigh car batteries have a RC rating of xc to 120. The higehr the rating, the meliorate.
* Amp Hour Rating (A/H) This rating is non used much whatever more. It measures low electric current depict for 20 hours while maintaining a minimum postal service voltage of 10.five Volts at seventy degrees F. (Case: a drain of three amps for xx hours = 60 A/H rating).
Battery Installation
When installing a new battery, make clean the posts and audit the battery cables. Also, check the negative battery cable ground connection and the integrity of any engine ground straps. Loose or corroded connections can cause starting and charging problems. Meet Battery REPLACEMENT for more details on how to replace your car battery.
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More Bombardment & Charging System Articles:
Battery Prophylactic & Jump Starting (Read Starting time!!!)
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Diagnosing A Battery That Runs Downwardly
Battery Replacement
Battery, Starting & Charging System Diagnosis
Starting & Charging System Troubleshooting
Charging System Checks (alternator testing)
Hybrid Rubber Hazards
Voltage Drib Testing
Troubleshooting electrical problems
Power Centers: Relays & Fuses
Diagnosing An Engine that Won't Crank or Kickoff
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