Nov 17, 2020 Pageview:531
So it is pretty likely that you have heard technical terms such as car batteries and voltage all your life but have not been able to decipher such technical biggies.
If you want to discover and educate yourself on some connecting topics, this article might be the ideal thing for you.
When we talk about the battery voltage, we mean the power your battery possesses to start your car. The automobile battery converts the energy from chemical to electrical on receiving the signal on the car's ignition, which in turn gives power to the engine and helps you in starting the car.
Generally, all automobile has a 12-volt battery within them. With 12.6 volts or more voltage, the battery is at full charge and is likely to operate efficiently.
The automobile battery mostly has six individual cells, each holding a voltage of 2.1 volts. Sometimes an automobile is considered to be charged with 12.4 volts or higher.
With so much information, you must be rightly wondering how to check the voltage and know if your car is at full charge. Keep on reading below to educate yourself and find the answer to your questions.
Voltmeter Meter Method:
Using a voltmeter to measure the voltage of your car battery is a much easier method compared to the crank method and others if you are a beginner and trying it for the first time. Let us see how you can do the reading for yourself.
Always check the battery voltage when your automobile is not operating. Make sure your vehicle has not been performing 12 hours before the test. Remove and connect the positive terminal of your automobile battery with the positive lead of the voltmeter. Do and repeat the steps the same for the negative terminal of your automobile battery. Open the negative terminal of your battery and connect it to the negative lead of your voltmeter. Once that is over, you can proceed with the voltage reading for your vehicle.
As we know, a battery is in full charge, with 12.6 volts and above. If the voltmeter shows you a voltage reading of 12.4 volts to 12.8 volts, it signifies that your battery is in the right charge and working efficiently. In case your reading shows a voltage of 12.9 and above, check your alternator for the overcharging of your battery. A consistent voltmeter reading between 12.4-12.6 is the best for your vehicle.
A voltmeter reading of 12.4 volts of charge is okay too, but if it dips below that, you might want to "trickle charge" your automobile.
Engine Cranking Method:
For the engine cranking method of testing your voltage, you will have to repeat the same steps of connecting as above.
Open the positive terminal of your battery and attach it with the positive of your voltmeter. Do the same for your negative points.
Once the above steps are over, you will have to crank your engine while keeping an eye on the voltmeter at the same time.
If the reading is something around 9.6 volts and above, your battery is good to go. But in case it shows something below 9.6 volts, you will have to change the automobile battery as it is not capable of accepting the charge anymore and help your vehicle operate.
Both the methods stated above are cost-effective and used widely to get the voltage readings. In case you are not confident enough and don't want to try it out yourself, you can take your vehicle to someone experienced and get the reading.
Do not try if you are not sure as it might put you and your automobile at certain risks.
A voltage reading is necessary to know if your automobile battery still has the potential to get your car running or you need to replace it.
To check the voltage reading repeat all the steps as we had discussed. If the voltmeter reading shows a voltage below 12.0 volts, precisely between 11.75 volts to 11.89 volts, be sure that your battery is dead and needs an immediate replacement.
It is always commendable to maintain a voltage reading consistently between 12.4 volts to 12.6 volts for optimum battery performance.
In case your battery shows a voltage reading above 12.9, there might be sulfating issues with your battery.
Some reasons, such as usage, weather conditions, both indoor and outdoor, leaking problems, battery case bump, discoloration, and many such reasons, can lead to a dead battery.
Keep an eye on your battery every once in a while to save yourself from any related frustration later.
Before we discover whether a car battery is AC voltage or DC voltage, let us understand what exactly AC and DC voltage signifies.
DC or Direct current refers to the phenomena where the electrons travel all in one direction. DC voltage is mostly available in laptops and other similar appliances whereas, AC or Alternating current refers to the phenomena where the electrons travel all in the opposite direction.
Specifically, no batteries are operating on Alternating current voltage, but the DC batteries can produce Alternating current with the help of converters.
So now you know that your automobile works on Direct Current Voltage. All automobile batteries work in direct current voltage.
The alternative current voltage is not a possibility as the electrons keep on changing direction.
Moreover, even if you end up connecting your battery to the alternating current supply, your battery will only charge for half the time and discharge for the rest. Most of the vehicles prefer Direct Current Voltage for operation for its high power, efficiency, and affordability.
We have discussed all the relating topics to shower you with some knowledge and save you the time of the tedious researching process. Go through all the steps thoroughly before taking any actions with your automobile. Always consult someone experienced before changing the car battery.
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