Talk:Automotive battery

Could any of your battery-geniuses maybe do a little dusting of the deep cycle battery -article? I'm really just starting to learn about energy-storage like this, and felt I should flag some folks over to beef up another energy-article. Koyae (talk) 15:13, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

The "Charging" section mentions "gassing"-- I think this term should be defined in context or linked to an explanation. I assume it refers to the production of hydrogen gas discussed under the "exploding batteries" section, but I am not 100% sure. Dr. Queso, too lazy to log in. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.120.110.132 (talk) 19:48, 3 August 2010 (UTC)

This article should mention non Lead Acid batteries

Some cars (I believe Porsche sells one) use Li Ion or some other form of battery because of the weight of the batteries. Other non lead acid batteries should be mentioned as cars will use alternatives more as the prices come down. It can save gas and take off a few pounds (which super cars love doing). Also mention automotive batteries used as a way to move the vehicle such as an EV or hybrid like the Prius. 209.173.186.216 (talk) 19:27, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

• Over 99% of cars on the road use lead-acid batteries, so I see no reason to promote exceptions. I suggest referring (or creating) a section on alternatives to lead-acid types, or alternative uses such as EV or hybrids. I'm not promoting alternatives, and this article is general in nature and focuses on the typical applications (and some hazards) of using lead-acid batteries. This article isn't intended to discuss the pros and cons of alternative battery types for automotive applications. Other articles may be referenced if that is the case.--173.69.135.105 (talk) 23:55, 23 April 2012 (UTC)

Reversion history

Hi all,

A little explanation about what happened here. I worked on the article trying to fix the English, etc... but a few hours later, User:DV8 2XL reverted my edits. I disagreed with his/her accession and saw on the talk page that there was a flag of vandalism by User:Tisquantum, and so I requested help and a second opinion from what I thought was an admin.

Well, it looks like the one I thought was an admin (User:Tisquantum) may be a vandal, and the one I thought was a vandal (User:DV8 2XL) was an honest user.

I apologize for my mistake. I still think the revert by User:DV8 2XL lowered the quality of the article, but I now believe they were made in good faith. I reverted everything that happened; but I still plan to work again on fixing this article :)

Tony Bruguier 03:37, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

I'm the one that should apologize Tony, I made the revert in haste without looking closely, I hope we can work together to get this article in shape. I am responsible for the "terms used for automobile battery power ratings" section as an anon (from work) so I do have some stake the the page. Again sorry I reverted back to your last version ( with a few small changes)--DV8 2XL 09:35, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

Explosion risks

Not that long ago I had my car battery explode, lead acid variety - turns out it was a wet cell and ran out of water. Could a note be added to this page about that? I would just think that an anon edit about exploding batteries would be considered vandalism. --142.68.227.206 03:16, 15 July 2006 (UTC)

Huh? Most car batteries are sealed. They shouldn't need t be watered. As an aside, I've learned through renewable energy magazine that if you DO have a wet and open battery, you should use a hydrometer to check water levels every day, and HydroCaps (or some other brand) can lower the need to water substantially (according to Richard Perez of Home Power magazine, who tested them on his marine batteries for several months). Usually, car batteries explode because someone (hmmm) hooked the leads up backwards while, say, jumping a car with another battery. Putting a wrench across the leads can do it too : )

Adding someone about your battery exploding wouldn't be vandalism, but would be original research. You'd need to find article explaning how and when and why car batteries explode. Source that, and it'll be great. 82.93.133.130 12:41, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

I don't know anything about a "renewable energy magazine" nor have I heard of a "wet and open" battery. I was in the automotive battery business for fifteen years, though, and I can tell you some batteries have removable caps and some don't. The batteries with non-removable caps are not "sealed". They have a venting system just like the ones with removable caps. A hydrometer is NOT used to check water levels, and either way a required daily check is silly. Finally, from my experience, most car batteries explode because a broken internal connection or an external source creates a spark in the presence of hydrogen and causes the sometimes severe explosion.Jimpatnmatt (talk) 00:04, 24 November 2010 (UTC)

It's sometimes useful to look at the dates of comments; 4 years is a long time to go between contributions to a thread. --Wtshymanski (talk) 03:14, 24 November 2010 (UTC)

Sorry, I didn't pay any attention to the dates. I guess misinformation doesn't improve with age.Jimpatnmatt (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 23:38, 24 November 2010 (UTC).

Typical metal content

Can someone tell me the typical metal content of a lead acid car battery?

Hi, Can someone help me out with the following car problem: As soon as I accelerate while driving the dash board lights consisting of the battery, A/T Oil, engine etc light up & the battery meter drops to halfway on the gage - but if I pull over & turn off the engine & restart it, no problems at all - only when accelerating.

Regards Baffled

Alternator?85.158.139.100 (talk) 13:54, 9 March 2010 (UTC)Lance Tyrell

Environmental impacts of car batteries

Can anyone add information about the environmental impacts of car batteries? I often wonder whether people who are buying hybrid vehicles are doing more damage due to the batteries which are required. informedbanker 16:14, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

Exploding Batteries: revisited

I have added a section on the problem of exploding batteries to address the issues already raised. I am a consulting forensic engineer, and dealt with a recent problem where a mechanic lost an eye through lifting an old battery from a car. I am posting the section because it is an unusual hazard that users should know about so as to prevent possible future problems. Peterlewis 16:37, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

Prolonging battery life with "pulsers" or "activators"?

The german version Starterbatterie [1] contains a reference to Rahmann-Solarstrom [2] (a solar energy company) which contains a good description on how pulsers ("Megapulse", [3], engl. short description available) and "activators" are supposed to work including a link to the manufacturer of the "megapulse".

The "Megapulse" is supposed to work with a high current and a frequency of 3,26 KHz to destroy sulfation crystals (Lead(II) sulfate, supposed to be their inherent frequency).

The cheaper "Activator" sends a very high current of 80A - 100A every 15s through the lead-acid battery. Both devices are powered by the battery itself.

I think this would be a good addition to the english article as well but this is the first time I contribute.

I would also like to find facts / test results / links and user experiences about such devices and other alternatives which are not known or availabe in germany as the very comprehensive "Battery University" [4] does not cover this and just mentions pulsed charging in BU13. The "Battery University" is already linked at the Lead-acid_battery article.

62.104.91.167 23:39, 31 August 2007 (UTC) runeb / Germany

If a battery is solidly sulfated, nothing will help. I wouldn't add references to various battery restorers as in general, they can't work. Once the active material is gone off the plates, it's gone - no chemistry or physics will restore it. --Wtshymanski 02:47, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

Even if they work only sometimes they should be mentioned, probably in their own article, just because they exit ;-).

62.104.91.69 21:39, 1 September 2007 (UTC) runeb / Germany

The activators do not claim to restore the material to the electrodes (plates), they claim to remove the sulphate crystals which cover the active surface of the plates and so increase the surface usable for the chemical process during charge and discharge. So I agree they cannot repair batteries whith no reaction mass left or which are shortened by fallout which accumulated over time on the bottom of the battery until it reaches the plates.

Runeb2 (talk) 14:04, 8 December 2008 (UTC)

Recyclable

I am suggesting/requesting a small amount of information on proper battery disposal be added where appropriate.Quickmythril (talk) 04:19, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

I added my 2¢ on this topic. "Core" fee at auto parts store, etc.— ¾-10 00:49, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

Gee, my "core fee" on a new battery was $12, and I had to pay it despite not turning in an old battery. So now I have to keep a receipt for 10 years and MAYBE avoid paying another disposal fee?--173.69.135.105 (talk) 23:58, 23 April 2012 (UTC)

myth of car battery discharging when placed on ground

Hi, is the myth true that a car battery can discharging when placed directly on the ground?

Regards Chad —Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.211.180.36 (talk) 09:31, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

• In general, no - the battery case is insulating. Both the positive and negative terminals must have a resistive path to ground for that to happen - not likely with the battery itself, unless the terminals are touching the floor surface. Some spilled electrolyte on the case could create such a path, but that is abnormal. However, any battery sitting around long enough, whether on the ground or not, will discharge over time. --173.69.135.105 (talk) 00:01, 24 April 2012 (UTC)

Epyon nano batteries?

Hello,

Does anyone know is http://www.epyon.nl/ there any differences with Nanosafe, Epyon Nano, A124 batteries? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.28.144.2 (talk) 10:15, 30 September 2008 (UTC)

I am wondering also about this Firefly composite battery technology-> Is is better than Nanosafe and all the rest litium batteries??http://www.fireflyenergy.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=204&Itemid=89 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.140.250.192 (talk) 14:58, 30 September 2008 (UTC)

Suggest take that topic to some other forum. Not applicable to Automotive battery.--173.69.135.105 (talk) 00:03, 24 April 2012 (UTC)

Possible censoring / Sabotage of article?

I am wondering where did all the new battery tech info go from the article??? Some one has deleted all Lithium car battery //other futuristic data.

If I am correct this article should be in general about all car batteries, not only about Lead Acid batteries??

Now there is 2 similar articles about Lead Acid batteries:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead-acid_battery and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_battery

• there are three classes of Lead-acid battery (gel, AGM-sealed, and Flooded). Cars generally use the last two types. Car in general refers to lead-acid - over 99% of cars on the road use this technology. Alternative batteries deserve separate articles until such time as they become mainstream.--173.69.135.105 (talk) 00:06, 24 April 2012 (UTC)

If some on could return the futuristic battery stuff also that would be swell. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.28.144.2 (talk) 10:52, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

• Ibid. --173.69.135.105 (talk) 00:06, 24 April 2012 (UTC)

Also note the voltage/charge numbers on this page are inaccurate.

The lead-acid battery page mentioned above has the correct voltage/charge numbers. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.242.250.58 (talk) 02:29, 26 August 2011 (UTC)

Car Battery Sizes?

Are the different sizes?

Are vehicles of significantly different sizes and/or with significantly different engine sizes equipped with different sized batteries?

How do car makers determine the appropriate battery size for a particular vehicle? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.80.95.189 (talk) 16:02, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Positive ground

In the "Changing a battery" section, it's mentioned that some older cars had a positive ground and that it caused corrosion problems. A positive ground is counter-intuitive, so there must have been a reason for doing it in the first place. My memory is hazy, but about 50 years ago I think I read somewhere that the positive ground reduced spark plug electrode erosion. Can anyone expand on this? --66.81.159.65 (talk) 21:01, 4 July 2009 (UTC)

Rename

Why? Car battery is the _widely_ accepted term.

As a somewhat poor - but indicative point - compare the google hits - 90000 vs 1.6 million.

Starter battery is also an incorrect term. The battery is used for far more - in a modern car - than simply starting. It's used for running assorted electrics when the engine is not running, and also performs a role in regulation of the vehicles main bus voltage.

Was there a discussion anywhere prior to this move? --Speedevil (talk) 18:15, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Agreed. An arbitrary choice, but fairly easily fixed. --Wtshymanski (talk) 03:25, 28 August 2009 (UTC)

Requested move

The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was moved. –Juliancolton | ^Talk 00:18, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

---

Starter battery → Car battery — Wtshymanski (talk · contribs) wrote "restore original and accurate title of the article, which replaces this redirect." This move could potentially be controversial, so I have listed it at WP:RM. I have no comment about whether or not this article should be moved. Cunard (talk) 02:35, 29 August 2009 (UTC)

Support — Car battery is a more accurate description of the battery. It is used for more stuff than just assisting the Starter. 『 ɠu¹ɖяy 』 ^{¤ • ¢} 06:07, 29 August 2009 (UTC)

The initial move was done by a user with a long history of getting reverted on most edits. Though this is not of course a reason for the move back - I feel that the lack of discussion, and the poorly thought out move is a fair reason.

As outlined above - Starter_Battery is a poor name choice - theoretically Main_Batteries_of_Vehicles or some similar name might be preferrable - as the same content is largely applicable to cars/boats/... - however - car battery is by far the most common term, and starter battery is certainly not.

--Speedevil (talk) 11:42, 29 August 2009 (UTC)

Support move- nominator. "Car battery" gets 206 Wikihits on search, "starter battery" only 9 Wikihits. Google is also pretty one-sided, about 1.7 million to 97,000 "Starter battery" isn't even accurate because the batter does starting,lighting and ignition. Except in a diesel, where it's only doing starting and lighting. But every car today has one of the objects described in this article in it, hence, "car battery". --Wtshymanski (talk) 15:43, 29 August 2009 (UTC)

• Support Un-discussed move, not supported by references.
  — V = I * R (talk to Ω) 01:54, 30 August 2009 (UTC)
• Support as per all foregoing. -- P 1 9 9 • TALK 18:30, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Weight

Weight ranges of common automotive battery types may be helpful. Are they extremely heavy, light as a feather? One might infer from "lead" that they are heavy, but for completeness I suggest information on weight may be provided. Perhaps, even weight to power ratios and how they compare to other energy sources may be valuable as well.

It's an ill-defined question. Which is heavier, a kilogram of bricks or a ton of feathers? According to the Interstate batteries Web site, a replacement battery for my car (two door, 6 cylinder) would weigh 44 lbs. A motorcycle or garden tractor battery would be less, (Kawasaki motor cycle 6 Volt is 1.94 lbs.) and something in an earthmover or highway tractor would be quite a bit more (Caterpillar D9N 99.2 lbs). We could make the incredibly fatuous observation that big batteries are heavier than little batteries, but such generalizations are useless to the reader. --Wtshymanski (talk) 13:54, 8 July 2011 (UTC)

Freshness

Under the Freshness section, a "top-up" charge of up to 15.1V is recommended for new (12v) batteries prior to installation. Gassing voltage is 14.4 V elsewhere in the article. Excessive overcharging is dangerous (read "exploding batteries"). I removed material from this section until safety is verified.--96.244.247.130 (talk) 22:54, 18 July 2011 (UTC)

charger

my charger has less AMP then my battery is that ok. mine is at 550 only 400 and 750 were available. Also my battery keeps discharging and I don't drive much like 1 fill up a monthMrp8196 (talk) 18:15, 24 July 2011 (UTC)

You'd have better luck asking at the Reference Desk or possible calling into Car Talk. Recall that the battery charger can run for a long time to restore energy to the battery, but the battery's ampere rating is a measure of how much current can be drawn for a short time to crank an engine. There are many devices in car that draw current even when the car is stopped, so you'd need to talk to someone familiar with your make and model to suggest what is discharging it; even a small bulb in the glove box can run down the battery after a few days, or the standby load from all the electronic devices (alarm system, etc.) --Wtshymanski (talk) 18:46, 24 July 2011 (UTC)

I meant a portable charger its rated lower than the battery. The horn don't work either. Could that draw power. Mrp8196 (talk) 20:27, 24 July 2011 (UTC)

Terminal voltage

"All voltages are at 20 °C, and must be adjusted -0.022V/°C for temperature changes (negative temperature coefficient - lower voltage at higher temperature)."

This sentence is unclear. There are two voltages, the actual battery voltage, and the voltage in the table. As temperature drops, the open-circuit output voltage of an actual battery drops; so battery voltage has positive temp coefficient. To allow for low temps, you can either add a bit on to the measured voltage, or subtract a bit from the values in the table. This needs to be stated explicitly. I also find it a bit weird to talk about a bit of tabulated data having a -ve temperature coefficient or a voltage.
Also, I have seen wildly variable values for the actual temperature coefficent. I think some of this is caused by people getting muddled between °C and °F, but sometimes it varies by an order of magnitude. It probably depends on chemistry a bit. Could a reference be provided? JBel (talk) 23:33, 30 January 2012 (UTC)