There are many things that affect the battery of the car to be dead. So, the owner should take care of those things, which results in the car’s battery to be dead.
The question which occurs in their mind is, how long does it take to charge a dead car battery? Or how can they use their car in such a way that their car’s battery not dead?
Well, we will discuss everything, but you must have to read the whole topic carefully.
The battery of the car is a very important part of starting a car. Because the car needs some voltage at the start, after that, you need to stabilize the voltage that helps in smoothly running of the engine.
You must take care of this thing that your car charges the battery properly or not. Now, let’s discuss how long does it take to charge a dead car battery, importance, and how to prevent your car’s battery from being dead.
How long does it take to charge a dead car battery?
If the battery of your car is dead, it will take on average between 4 to 24 hours to recharge. There are many other factors that affect such as on how much amperes your car battery is charging and the size of the battery.
The average rate of charging the battery of the car is around 4 amperes. If your car’s battery is dead, you probably want to start your car within one hour but to fully charge a 52Ah size of battery form dead required 10 hours.
A healthy battery shows a reading from 12.4 to 12.7 volts when we measure the voltage across the two terminals of the battery with the help of a voltmeter or some other device.
If your battery shows a reading between 12 to 12.4 volts, then you must turn off all the extra functions of the car, including headlights, music, and air conditioner.
Then you can start your car, and it required at least 30 minutes to move your car’s battery to a safe level.
When the battery of your car is less than 12 volts, then you should use a dedicated charger to charge your battery immediately.
This will help you to reach such a level that your car starts. The timing of charging also depends on how much depleted your battery when you start to charge.
To recharge the car’s battery in a healthy way is to start a car and keep start a few minutes until it charges. Only a few seconds required to charge if depleted of your battery is high already.
Causes a car battery to keep dying:
When you are in an emergency, and you must reach somewhere, and you try to start your car, but it didn’t, then you realize the importance of battery.
To keep your battery healthy, you should be careful about some basic principles.
If you don’t know the reasons behind this, then don’t worry because we are just discussing them. There are many reasons which cause to keep dying battery, but some of them are given below:
1) Headlights/dome lights left on:
Headlights or even small dome lights effect in dying the battery. If you keep on these lights’ whole night, then your battery will automatically be dead by morning.
All small electronics things directly connected to a battery, so when the engine is shut off, but these lights remain on, then the battery will certainly dead because batteries have limited capacity.
Dome light is used only for the interior use effects on the health of a battery.
If your battery is going dead again and again, then it is necessary to check the dome lights, whether it is on or not. It is easier to check the dome light at night.
Most of the new vehicles have a function in which headlights, radio, and such types of things remain on even if you shut down the engine. Due to this, if you leave these things on working conditions and come after an hour, then your battery will be dead.
2) The poor condition of the battery:
If there is nothing like before discussed, then you should check the battery. A poorly maintained battery didn’t charge well and didn’t give output as it should.
You must make sure that your battery is sealed properly, and you should see that there is must properly electrolyte filled in it. If the level of electrolyte is below the average and not cover all lead plates, then you need to fill electrolyte in the battery.
You should check the electrolyte in battery with some inexpensive tools like hydrometer, which helps you determine the quality of each cell when a battery is fully charged. If cells are weak, then you should change your battery.
Another option is to use a load tester, which gives you a more accurate result. This tells you about the voltage at the loaded and non-loaded condition of the battery.
3) Corroded and Loose battery connections:
You notice that with time on the terminals of the battery, corrosion occurs in the color of blue or green material. This can decrease the efficiency of the battery because when current draws from them, it bears some resistance due to these.
To remove this corrosion from the terminals, you can use baking soda, water, and bristled brush, which is designed for this special purpose. Make sure to clean corrosion and baking soda from the ground because, after time, it can’t be removed.
It is also important for the battery that the connection of it should be very tight. Because due to this reason, there is resistance in the flow of electricity and reduce its efficiency.
4) Hot and cold weather:
Weather condition also affects the performance of the battery and cause to die quickly. But this can only happen if your battery is already very weak.
When the battery is weak, then the weather is more effective on it, but its battery is in good condition then no effect will be on the battery due to weather.
In hot or cold weather, the lead plates change their performance only when its electrolyte cells are already in bad condition. This will affect the whole performance of the battery and cause it to be dead.
5) Charging system problems:
The charging system is also a major cause of dying down the battery earlier than usual. Because when you are driving, and the battery is not charging, then there must be an issue with charging cables or charging systems.
An easy check for this problem is that you can check alternator belts. There should be no cracks in the cables, and it must be tightly attached to the alternators.
If it is loose, then a cause in not enough delivering the power as it should be.
Effects of dead battery:
When the battery of the car is dead, it affects the overall performance of the car. Some of its effects discussed below:
1) Dim Headlights:
When the battery is dead, it affects the performance of the headlights. These lights become dimmer, and there is difficulty in seeing the road at night.
Due to these lights, the chances of road accidents increase and cause some major problems. That’s why it’s better to use a good battery.
2) Clicking sound when turning the key:
When you turn on the key of your car, then it causes to make a clicking noise, which tells that the battery is dead. So, to start the car, you can charge it or can take used a battery for this.
This sound is also ineffective for the performance of the engine. The pressure on the engine cause to decrease in the efficiency of the battery.
3) Backfiring:
Backfiring is also a major effect to show that the battery of the car is dead. Before checking the battery, you should check the carburetor and black box.
If both things are good, then you can take the battery out and test it or can replace it.
4) Sitting overnight:
If you accidentally forget to turn off the light of your car, then it will affect to discharge the battery till dead. To save the energy of the battery, you should turn off all the lights and all the functions of the car when you shut down the engine.
Final Thoughts:
In the end, you don’t have to worry about the dead battery or its performance. Because all the causes and effects are previously mentioned in this article.
To increase the efficiency of the battery, you should notice those causes which are mentioned above, and according to these causes, you must improve them.
If your battery is dead, then you should recharge it with any charger, or you can also replace the battery with the older one. You can use a fast charger, but it causes to decrease the efficiency.
You can test your batteries at home also. You just must read the rules and do some research on this. By considering all instructions given above, you can save your battery from being dead, or if dead, then you can recharge it.