Dec 25, 2020 Pageview:875
There are many different cars and that have different types of combustion engines and other things are also very different for most of the cars. However, one thing that stays for most of the cars with engines is that all of them have a battery that is used for cranking the engine.
Although most of the people do not care about the batteries of their car, a battery can tell a lot about what is happening with the car. Here the easiest way to test the battery is by checking its voltage.
There are 2 main different types of batteries, one has acid in it that needs maintenance and others do not need maintenance. Whereas the voltage for every battery is the same. So here we will discuss the voltage of the car batteries.
The first thing that you need to know is the way by which you will be able to test the voltage of the car battery. So, for this you will need a voltmeter and nothing else. Other than the voltmeter you might need some spanner or pliers and a metallic brush too for some cases. Here is the step by step guide on how you can test the voltage of your car battery.
1.Disconnecting the wires of the battery.
The first step that you will need to perform is to disconnect the battery for any kind of load or charger. It is because if you check the battery that is connected somewhere, you will not get the actual readings. For this, if the battery connectors of the car are attached tightly to the battery terminals, you might need the help of a spanner or pliers to loosen the connector.
However, disconnecting only one terminal will be enough.
2.Making sure that the terminals are clean.
When you have the battery disconnected from the load or the charger, you need to make sure that there is nothing on it. Some things that you might find on the battery terminals are listed below.
Chemicals corrosion.
Rust.
Dirt or grime.
If you find any of these, make sure to remove them with the help of a metallic brush or a dirty cloth.
3.Connecting the voltmeter and taking readings.
Now you can touch the similar terminals of the battery to the terminals or probes of the voltmeter. Waiting for a view seconds so the voltage reading gets stable and you can note the readings. Make sure that you get readings at least 3 times.
4.Making conclusions.
Add the readings and divide the sum from the total number of readings. Now you will have the voltage readings of your car battery.
It is a good practice to know what is happening with your car battery. So, when you know to take the readings of your car battery voltage, you must also know what type of the readings is too high. In the case of car batteries, if you get readings equal to 12.9 volts or even more, this will not be a good sign.
This will be a sign that your battery is having a high voltage that is not good for the battery health. It has a lot of consequences for the battery. Some of them are elaborated below.
The consequences of having high voltage on your car battery.
Here are some of the consequences of using the battery at a very high voltage.
The capacity of the battery will decrease.
The very first thing that will happen to the battery will be a decrease in its capacity to store charge. This means that the battery will start to get charged for less capacity and it will also tend to lose the charging if it sits idle.
Excessive heat will be produced.
As the high voltage of the battery is a clear indication that the battery is being overcharged, this will cause a lot of excessive heat in the battery. If you keep using the battery in this condition, the battery plates will be permanently damaged. This will affect the performance of the battery as well. on top of everything, the life of the battery will start to decrease.
As the battery can be overcharged, it can also be undercharged. This will be the situation where the car battery is either settling idle for a very long time or the charging mechanism of your car is not working well. Here are some amounts of battery percentage for the voltage of the battery.
100% at 12.6-12.8 volts.
75% at 12.4-12.6 volts.
50% at 12.2-12.4 volts.
25% at 12.0-12.2 volts.
0% at below 12 volts.
This means that if your battery is giving below 12 volts at a normal temperature, then it is the indication that your battery is dead. Using the battery at this voltage will not only be bad for the battery, but it will be bad for the car also. Here we have discussed some of the consequences of the undercharged battery.
The consequences of using a battery at this voltage.
The following are some of the consequences of using the car battery at a dead voltage.
The electrical components of the car will be at risk.
As the voltage of the car battery is not up to the mark but you are still using the car and the car battery is being used to provide power to the components of the car. These components will be at risk of getting damaged or even burning out in case of fluctuations.
The lights of the car will not get very bright and you might feel it very difficult to honk.
As the voltage is not adequate, the functionalities of the car like bright lights and loud honking will not perform well.
The fuel average and performance of the car will decrease.
The fuel pumps and other mechanical components will not get enough power that will decrease their performance. This will result in decreasing the performance and average of the car.
You must know about the health of your car because when you know it, you will be able to take good care of it. So, here we discussed the ways and the values of checking the car battery voltage so that you can stay safe from the bad times.
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