Battery run down

JackieChan

Hi,left lights on the car for 4 hrs....just turned them off now.
I think I remember reading that the battery recovers a little from this kind of situation...but not sure how long to leave it before trying to start it.
Try it straight away or give it a few mins to recover a little juice?
Thanks

JackieChan

JackieChan wrote: »

Hi,left lights on the car for 4 hrs....just turned them off now.
I think I remember reading that the battery recovers a little from this kind of situation...but not sure how long to leave it before trying to start it.
Try it straight away or give it a few mins to recover a little juice?
Thanks

Nevermind...it's flat as a pancake

msg11

JackieChan wrote: »

Nevermind...it's flat as a pancake

Don't worrie, just jump your car off another car and bring it for a spin for about an hour or so. The battery should charge up, I wouldn't recommend turning the engine off until your back home. Just in case it dose not start again !

Avns1s

As msg11 said but do it as soon as possible. The longer you leave it the more likelihood of permanent damage to the battery.

280special

Not much point in taking it for a run in the dark, as the drain from using your lights may negate any build up of charge. In these situations I usually let the car run for a while, maybe 30 mins, then try it. If the battery isnt charged by then you have a problem !

Might be an idea to park it on a hill if you can !

Paudie23

It takes alternator 22hours of constant driving to fully charge a battery so if you can take it out and get it charged properly.you will be able to drive on that battery without doing this but i think you might need to buy a new 1 a lot sooner than needed.might just be worth the grief

aujopimur

Some modern cars don't like jump starts, you could easily cook the electronics' check your manual for advice.

Avns1s

Paudie23 wrote: »

It takes alternator 22hours of constant driving to fully charge a battery so if you can take it out and get it charged properly.you will be able to drive on that battery without doing this but i think you might need to buy a new 1 a lot sooner than needed.might just be worth the grief

Thats absolutely incorrect. A mondeo battery for example would be in the region of 50 - 55 Am Hours. A Mondeo Alternator will charge at up to 90 Amps.
So, around half an hour would charge the battery fully from totally discharged assuming that all the other electrics were not in use.

Driving it at night wouldnt be a problem to get some charge into the battery either. Granted it would take a while longer but lights would draw in the region of perhaps 20A leaving plenty to charge the battery.

Paudie23

crazy talk.current and amps taper as voltage rise.please get a charged battery and test it properly, fully discharge it and try your mentioned driving time.re test and you'll see a huge difference.there is a reason why its best to always fit a fully charged battery.driving on partial charge leads to sulphation=battery failure.

Avns1s

Paudie23 wrote: »

crazy talk.current and amps taper as voltage rise.please get a charged battery and test it properly, fully discharge it and try your mentioned driving time.re test and you'll see a huge difference.there is a reason why its best to always fit a fully charged battery.driving on partial charge leads to sulphation=battery failure.

And the difference between charging it on the car and on a plugged in charger is?

It's far from crazy talk. It's basic maths and physics. While the charge rate will get slower as the battery approaches full charge, there is no reason not to charge the battery on the car.

Paudie23

charge rates are limited while in the car, 14.50 volts which is perfect for maintaining a charged battery however a discharged battery needs to be set higher on a good charger with adjustable current pending on its discharged state.a charged battery 'on charge' needs to hit 16.00volts car alternators dont achieve this.trust me its crazy talk.i quality test batteries that are on the market and have run these tests and more using the right equiptment.remember just trying to advise this guy right.

Avns1s

Have a read here http://www.ehow.com/how_8138390_calculate-charge-time-battery.html

Seems you're 22 hours (post 6) recharge time while driving, is about 21.5 hours wide of the mark so perhaps we'll leave the debate at that.

Paudie23

Ha jesus so misguided but please do leave it.i use a 200amp adjustable charger and cant acieve that so God bless your car.tis worth a fortune.Jackie short spin seems to do the job.again CRAZY talk.

Paudie23

Although an alternator will not fully charge a battery during operation of the vehicle, it may restore enough charge back to the battery to allow the internal cold cranking amps of the battery to start the vehicle on the next attempt

Read more: How Long Does It Take a Car Battery to Recharge? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4963226_long-car-battery-recharge_.html#ixzz1c7RfQGi3

This is from what you sent me to read from your link. I just reasiled your possibly a mechanic and like most have dated understanding of batteries.

Important part is 'IT MAY RESTORE'.

Please read some of your link. everything you wrote proved 'CRAZY' in the 1st sentence of this.

not ta worry plenty of buses Jackie

msg11

Paudie23 wrote: »

Although an alternator will not fully charge a battery during operation of the vehicle, it may restore enough charge back to the battery to allow the internal cold cranking amps of the battery to start the vehicle on the next attempt

Read more: How Long Does It Take a Car Battery to Recharge? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4963226_long-car-battery-recharge_.html#ixzz1c7RfQGi3

This is from what you sent me to read from your link. I just reasiled your possibly a mechanic and like most have dated understanding of batteries.

Important part is 'IT MAY RESTORE'.

Please read some of your link. everything you wrote proved 'CRAZY' in the 1st sentence of this.

not ta worry plenty of buses Jackie

Jesus divine what are you talking about ? I don't even know where to start breaking down this non sense . An alternator will always charge the battery its what the part is there for !

Paudie23 no offence but leave it too the alternator if a mechanic deems the battery to be unfit then so be it. But my god calm down.

Don't start telling the OP that he needs a new battery when he clearly dose not need one. Just a good jump start.

That is all.

Paudie23

Guys thought this might help.PLEASE read the last paragraph.this part WILL save money in the long run for Jackie and people in that situation.I promise you i'm certain this is true.scroll and our debate is listed at the very lasy paragraph.

Paudie23

A Shocking Expose: Your Car's Battery

Published: 12/17/2000 Updated: 06/18/2009 - by Scott Memmer, Contributor
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A Shocking Expose: Your Car's Battery

Automotive batteries come in many shapes and sizes, but their operating principles are remarkably similar. In this Tech Center installment, we'll look at the basic automotive battery. Then we'll close by discussing ways to maintain your battery to ensure a long life.
The modern automotive battery is a lead-acid storage design. In short, it's an electrochemical device that converts chemical energy into electrical energy. When the battery is placed under a load, such as when the ignition is switched on, the device converts stored chemicals into electricity, and the current flows through the wires to its destination.
A standard 12-volt, lead-acid battery is made up of six cells connected in series. Each cell produces approximately two volts.
The cells are filled with an electrolyte. An electrolyte is an ionized bath — in this case, sulfuric acid (H2SO4) diluted with water — that generates an electrical current when called upon.
Each cell also contains plates (grids of active material), which are both positive and negative. Typically, the positive plates contain lead dioxide (PbO2), while the negative plates are composed of straight lead (Pb).
The plates are formed into a plate group, which holds a number of plates of the same polarity (for instance, all positive or all negative). The like-charged plates are welded to a post strap. The plate groups are then alternated within the battery — positive, negative, positive, negative. There is usually one extra set of negative plates to balance the charge. To ensure that the different plate groups don't touch each other, non-conductive sheets called separators are inserted between them.
The battery case, which holds all these components, is made from molded polypropylene.
A maintenance-free battery, similar in design to a conventional automotive battery, is really just a heavier-duty version of the same arrangement. Many of the components have thicker construction, and different, more durable materials are typically used. For example, the plate grids often contain calcium, cadmium or strontium, to reduce gassing (which causes water loss) and self-discharge. This design is called a lead-calcium battery. The heavier-duty parts ensure that fluid loss is kept to a minimum and that components have a much longer life, making it a closed system.
The charge of a conventional 12-volt automotive battery is actually 12.6 volts. This can vary slightly, depending on the concentration of the electrolyte in solution. Ideally, for optimum battery performance, the sulfuric acid/water bath should have a specific gravity of 1.265 at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Specific gravity refers to the weight of a solution, with water having a reference rating of 1.000. The electrolyte in an automotive battery is therefore just slightly over one-and-a-quarter times the weight of regular water.
Battery power rating is measured by two standards. The more popular of these, cold cranking power, determines the amount of current (amps) a battery delivers for 30 seconds at zero degrees Fahrenheit while maintaining a minimum terminal voltage of 7.2 volts. The higher the number, the stronger the battery. Think of those old Diehard commercials, with all those non-Sears batteries giving up the ghost in the cold and snow, and this will perhaps give you a visual image.
The second standard is called reserve capacity rating. This is a warm weather rating (80 degrees Fahrenheit), which estimates the amount of time it takes the terminal voltage of a fully charged battery to dip below 10.2 (or 1.7 volts per cell) at a continuous discharge rate of 25 amps. The rating is expressed in minutes. For example, a rating of 120 means the battery will run for two hours (120 minutes) before ceasing to function.
A battery has two main cycles, the charge and discharge cycles.In the discharge cycle, a chemical reaction takes place inside the battery in which the lead (Pb) of the negative plates combines with the SO4 of the sulfuric acid to produce lead sulfate (PbSO4). In this cycle, the electrolyte becomes weaker — specific gravity lessens — and the positive and negative plates become more like one another. Since the voltage, or charge, of a battery depends on the difference between the two plate materials and the concentration of the electrolyte, and since this difference decreases during discharging, the battery loses power. To anyone who has sat in a non-starting car and cranked away as the battery grew weaker and weaker, this scenario will be immediately recognizable.
In the charge cycle, the reverse is true. Electrical current, generated by the car's alternator, passes through the plates, forcing SO4 back into the electrolyte bath and elevating specific gravity. Voltage increases.

Safety Precautions Sulfuric acid is highly caustic. Caution should used when dealing with electrolyte or automotive batteries. Sulfuric acid can burn clothing and the skin and even cause blindness. There is even a slight danger of explosion. Most battery professionals wear gloves and goggles or a face shield when working. If for some reason electrolyte gets on your clothes or body, it should immediately be neutralized with a solution of baking soda and water. When working on a battery or handling sulfuric acid, here are some safety tips:

• Always wear goggles or a face shield.
• Use a lead-lined or nonmetallic container to hold electrolyte.
• Always pour acid slowly into water, not water into acid.
• Stir as you add small amounts of acid.
• Never lean over a battery when charging, testing, or jump-starting an engine.
• Always disconnect the negative cable first and reconnect it last.
• Charge batteries only in well-ventilated areas.
• Never charge or jump-start a frozen battery; let it warm to at least 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Speaking of charging, there are several different methods used to recharge a depleted battery. The most gentle of these is called trickle-charging. Other methods include quick-charging and slow-charging. See your battery's owner's manual to decide which method may work best for your situation, or talk to your mechanic.
One advantage of a manual transmission is the ability to start a vehicle with a depleted battery. If the charging system (alternator and voltage regulator) are in proper working condition, simply push-start the car and kick it over, then drive long enough to let the charging system do its work. A good half-hour drive should give it a solid charge.
Here are a few tips to quickly restore a battery using this method.

1. Drive at a constant speed (highway driving) versus stop-and go (city driving). This will give the alternator an opportunity to charge more evenly.
2. Turn off all accessories (radio, air conditioner, etc.).
3. If possible, drive during the day. Even headlights use power. Having them off increases the amount of electricity going to the battery.

Remember, this does not replace charging the battery. A car's alternator is not designed to fully restore a depleted battery, but rather to maintain a healthy one. As soon as possible, put your battery on a battery charger such as the Battery Tender, and a give it a full charge for a day or two.