Questions tagged [battery]
A rechargeable device most often made of lead plates covered in an electrolyte and protected by a plastic shell which supplies consistent electrical energy to a motor vehicle. Often referred to as an SLI battery (starting, lighting, ignition). Powers starter motor, lights, and ignition systems of a motor vehicle.
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How to maintain a sometimes-used vehicle?
My daily commute changed from 9 miles to 9 feet when I started working remotely. That means I very rarely drive my car much. After a particularly hectic month, I didn't drive for about 4 weeks and ...
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Jump starting a dead battery: Connect black wire to negative pole of battery or grounded metal?
Most of the advice I've seen for jump starting cars instructs to connect the black wire to a bare piece of metal on the car with the dead battery. However, I've always just hooked up both poles to the ...
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Is there a way to put Prius with dead battery into neutral?
I own a 2010 Prius. It has a dead battery, front facing forward in my garage. I do not have long enough jumper cables.
I’ve searched the Internet. Did Toyota really create a car that cannot be put ...
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Why is my car equipped with a battery shutdown timer?
I currently live in Japan where I bought a 1997 Subaru Impreza WRX STi. Since I don't completely speak Japanese, I wasn't able to ask anybody correctly about one thing that the previous owner had ...
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What causes battery terminal corrosion?
I put a new battery in my car about 8 months ago. After a problem starting a couple days ago, I found that there was massive corrosion under the battery terminals, so I cleaned them out and ...
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How do I test my car battery?
My car still starts fine but when I turn off the car (just the motor . . the key is still in and "on") I noticed the headlights dim to almost off. It's and older car and the headlights don't turn off ...
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Pros/cons of higher capacity car battery?
I'm shopping for a new car battery for a 1998 Subaru Outback (2.5l). For the physical dimensions, the battery has to match. But I see some variance in capacity (Ah) rating, and in price too, of course....
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Is Start & Stop technology good or bad for my car? (Alfa MiTO)
I was recently in the lucky position to obtain an (almost brand new) Alfa Romeo MiTo, Progression. Like many new cars coming out these days, it has "Start & Stop" technology that turns the engine ...
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Why do cars die after removing jumper cables?
I work at an auction site where we have to move cars from one spot to another. Often, we get a car with a dead battery that we have to jump.
I've noticed that if the jumper cables are removed a ...
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How slow ( not zero) can a car engine run without hurting engine and saving on fuel
New cars have stop-start system (even though this has been available for a long time). My question is: why are car companies emphasizing shutting the engine down at a traffic light, rather than making ...
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Replace car batteries with capacitors?
I recently watched this video on YouTube which basically shows the guy replacing a larger capacitors with some smaller capacitors which he had bought. The larger capacitors were actually in place of a ...
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Will fitting a physically bigger battery reduce the working life of the alternator?
I have fitted a much larger 12v battery to a car. I modified the clamp and battery tray to make it fit securely, it's almost twice the size of the original and has a much higher CCA rating. It works ...
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Battery drains by itself when vehicle is parked (parasitic draw)
A 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee has gone through 3 batteries in the last 3 months. While they have all been replaced by warranties, it'd be nice to get the problem solved permanently. I've tested the ...
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Can a weak battery destroy an alternator?
I've heard a story that a weak vehicle battery can destroy an alternator or cause an alternator to fail early.
Is this true, or is it largely fiction?
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Should negative trickle charger clips be attached to the battery negative terminal, or ground?
I'm trickle-charging a car using direct connections to the battery. I thought this couldn't be simpler: ventilate, unhook the battery, connect the positive first, then the negative, then turn on the ...
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Can I jumpstart a non-hybrid car from a hybrid or full electric car?
This morning I had starter battery troubles with my 2001 VW Eurovan. As it happened, my father-in-law arrived just at the right time in his fancy new Toyota Camry hybrid. So we opened the hoods, dug ...
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Adding a additional battery to car
I have purchased a brand new Toyota Innova. I need to install a a mac mini, 2 laptops and make this car a mobile office.
I need to know if I can install another car battery in parallel, and will ...
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Car battery at 10v, then shows 14,5v while car running after boost, then when car turns off, drops to 10v again within a minute
Yesterday car suddenly didn't start. We boosted it and drove for an hour. When parked, it would restart immediately. But after waiting 1 minute, it wouldn't start again.
Today I measured the battery:
...
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Why is gas around a car battery only at risk of ignition from jumper cables?
As pointed out in Jump starting a dead battery: Connect black wire to negative pole of battery or grounded metal?, you connect the black jumper cable to the dead car's chassis to avoid sparks made ...
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Battery removal or just disconnect neg. terminal
I will be away from winter through early spring, approximately 4 months. My 2014 Sierra truck will be in my garage. Should I remove the battery completely or just disconnect and tape up the negative ...
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How do I determine what type of jumper cable I should carry?
I recently bought a used car, and it didn't come with any jumper cables, so I'm going to buy some. I briefly looked around at a store and online, and there seems to be a wide variety of prices and ...
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Is it possible to harm your car by giving someone a boost?
This post explains why it's a potential hazard to clip to the negative post on the dead battery when giving a boost. But I've also been told that I could damage the electronics in my own car if I give ...
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Why are these wires sticking out of battery terminal?
Could someone please explain why there are copper wires sticking out of the positive terminal on my battery? I’m trying to jump start it without success, and want to get it to an auto parts store to ...
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How do I apply dielectric grease to my battery?
I recently had a new battery installed in my 2006 Subaru Forester. The shop did not use any dielectric grease, just connected the leads to the terminal and that's it. What is the preferred method of ...
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Why put copper in between battery contacts and clamps?
We have bought a used Toyota Yaris.
Yesterday I allowed my kids to play in the car, and they discharged the battery...
So I went to take it out to charge it up and I found pieces of a copper and ...
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Can I jump start one car with two other cars in parallel?
If I'm in a pinch, and I have a small car that can't put out enough cranking amps to start a bigger one, could I connect two cars in parallel to start the bigger one?
Will it mess up the alternators ...
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Why should I connect the red/positive terminal first when jump starting?
So, it's fairly popular consensus online that it's red/positive clips to the positive/red posts, then the black/negative clip to the frame
One site mentions sparks, but you'll still get a spark when ...
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RPM and duration to recharge a battery?
My car had been sitting for a while without being driven. The battery now has a weak charge but it can get the engine started (barely). I would like to charge the battery by running the engine, but ...
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Can a lithium-ion battery really start a truck?
There are some compact lithium-ion powered devices on the market that claim that they can start cars and trucks. Youtube is full of videos with reviews and people actually starting cars with them. And ...
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Can I safely upgrade to an AGM battery?
AGM batteries are capable of being charged at a faster rate, and may draw additional amperage from the alternator if it is not regulated. Many cars that come with AGM batteries have special charge ...
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Using a car with an inaccessible negative battery terminal to jump start
When trying to jump start my Volvo XC-60, I came across a very unexpected problem.
I tried to use our 2nd vehicle, a 2010 Ford Escape, as the assisting car to jump start mine. But when I looked at ...
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Car won't start after sitting for 2 years even with a jump. Is it a starter or alternator issue?
My parents have a 2001 Pontiac Aztek that's been sitting for two years.
Apparently, before they stopped using it, there was an oil leak that caused starter problems (they couldn't find the leak), and ...
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What does it mean when I turn the car key, nothing happens for a bit, and then the car revs to life?
Usually, when starting my car, as soon as I turn the key all the way around, the car instantly starts revving and then springs to life.
For some reason, today, when starting my car. I turned the key ...
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what is the process for replacing 12V car battery?
What is the process for replacing the 12V battery?
How would I clean the contacts of the terminals?
My OEM battery in 2008 Jetta SE 2.5L appears rather clean, including the terminals, but I recall ...
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How do you remove or even get to the car battery on a 2012 Honda Odyssey?
Summary
How do you get to the battery on a 2012 Honda Odyssey, given that it is blocked by some type of intake tube**?
**Edit: this used to say exhaust but I changed it to intake tube, given the ...
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Non-functional gas pedal, engine stalling, dead battery: broken alternator?
I have a 2005 Nissan Sentra. The following happened twice within a few days:
I stopped at a red light. When the light turned green, pressing the gas pedal had no effect at all. However, the car would ...
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What can we reliably tell from an in-vehicle battery voltage display?
The Red Cross division I am with recently purchased a new ambulance. It comes with a touchscreen display in the cockpit where we can control lights, sirens, check the temperature in the back, control ...
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How to assess battery charge level and alternator performance?
What diagnostics can be done to to assess battery charge level?
I'm interested both in one-off tests like can be done in car service and also continuous monitoring during normal use.
Car panels ...
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What are the risks of jump-starting a modern car?
I'm aware of the general risks, i.e. igniting hydrogen gas with a spark, and accidentally hooking up the leads backwards. But I have been reading conflicting information about whether one should even ...
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Can a car AC unit be run on just the car battery?
This might be a silly question but I was wondering if a car AC unit be run off entirely on battery or alternator?
As this could help in
Preventing power loss during important times such as ...
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Is 15V too high for a standard car battery?
Today I let my car battery charger charge a car battery over about 8 hours and probed the voltage to be about 15V with still 2 amps being pumped through by the charger (though the current was slowly ...
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Charging battery with battery charger vs jump starting and running the car
Got a 1998 Toyota Camry that has an empty battery and am wondering what the best course of action is.
I have a battery charger that I am thinking of using but it's currently inconvenient to do.
My ...
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How can a fuse drain a car battery?
My car battery drained itself after a week of not being used. I was researching how to identify the cause, and saw a comment under this article saying:
What if I am not detecting a reading but the ...
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Why might I experience a power falloff after starting my car with the AC On?
I have a 2000 Chrysler Neon which generally runs well.
I have noticed that if I start the vehicle, turn the AC on and reverse out of the driveway, the engine seems to struggle/sounds like it is going ...
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Charging battery after a jump start
A friend accidentally let the battery in his car run out by leaving the car lights on. He managed to get it going again with a jump start, but he wasn't sure how long he'd have to drive to ensure that ...
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Remote Key Fob working only inside the car (close to receiver)
I am struggling to get my Peugeot 308 2-Button Remote Key back to work. I noticed first issues when my Remote Key unlocked / locked the car after several attempts. Then one day it suddenly did not ...
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Can one slightly charge a dead car battery with a portable battery jump kit?
The other week, my friend was trying to jump start a friend's very dead car battery with one of the portable power bank car jump starter kits. It looked something like the below:
Image source
If I ...
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Why use a car battery charger?
What's the need for car battery chargers that I often see on display in auto parts shops?
I mean a battery is sold charged (and if it discharges too much it just dies and can't be restored) and every ...
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When should I disconnect the battery to stay safe during repairs?
I am planning to do some car fixes and want to know what precautions I must follow in order to make it safely. Specifically, I'd like to know is for what kind of work, the battery should be unplugged.
...
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How to upgrade a motorcycle battery to a bigger AH battery?
My motorcycle (honda CBF150) came with a 12V 3AH battery. I want to change the stock 35w headlight to a higher power one and connect them directly to the battery (the stock ones are not, and they ...
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