What should the voltage of a car battery be?
A fully charged car battery voltage for a vehicle that isn’t running should fall between 12.4 volts and 12.6 volts. Each battery is complete with 6 separate cells that each contains 2.1 volts, for a total of 12.6 volts. If your car battery voltage is discharged, or has less than 12.4 volts, the power decreases dramatically.
Why is my car battery voltage so high?
When your car is running the cars alternator is charging the battery, this is why you should see a higher voltage. If you’re readings are significantly higher or lower than these then it would indicate a fault with the battery and/or the alternator.
What does a voltage test on a car mean?
Car Battery Load Tests. Measuring voltage tells you about the charge of the battery, but is not an accurate indicator of the health of the battery. In other words, a battery might have a low charge (and therefore a low voltage) but still be a healthy battery. Performing a load test is a reliable check of the battery’s internal health.
What happens when you drop the voltage on a car battery?
There is a very big difference when a car battery drops even a small amount of voltage. When a car drops, for instance, from 12.6 to 12.0, there will be 75% difference. Its power drops from 100% to 25%. At 12.4 volts, a car battery is 75% charged while at 12.2 volts its 50% charged.
A fully charged car battery voltage for a vehicle that isn’t running should fall between 12.4 volts and 12.6 volts. Each battery is complete with 6 separate cells that each contains 2.1 volts, for a total of 12.6 volts. If your car battery voltage is discharged, or has less than 12.4 volts, the power decreases dramatically.
There is a very big difference when a car battery drops even a small amount of voltage. When a car drops, for instance, from 12.6 to 12.0, there will be 75% difference. Its power drops from 100% to 25%. At 12.4 volts, a car battery is 75% charged while at 12.2 volts its 50% charged.
When your car is running the cars alternator is charging the battery, this is why you should see a higher voltage. If you’re readings are significantly higher or lower than these then it would indicate a fault with the battery and/or the alternator.
Car Battery Load Tests. Measuring voltage tells you about the charge of the battery, but is not an accurate indicator of the health of the battery. In other words, a battery might have a low charge (and therefore a low voltage) but still be a healthy battery. Performing a load test is a reliable check of the battery’s internal health.