Do car batteries get stronger as the ambient temperature increases

and weaker in cold weather or is there and optimal temperature range?

Reply to
seatosummit28
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Yes. Yes.

Reply to
Pop

sorry, i did not ask the right question. Heat kills car batteries but heat also makes batteries stronger for starting. So, if it is summer and you have had a number of hot days, will your battery be stronger or weaker for starting? Heat shortens the life of a battery but how would a battery fare on a one-time hot day? Will the battery be weakened on a one-time hot day?

Reply to
seatosummit28

Heat kills car batteries but heat also makes batteries stronger for starting. "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger"

battery be stronger or

Yes.

Heat shortens the life of a battery but how would

The current output and voltage in a cell is related to the temperature, among other things. Prolonged exposure to elevated temperatures can cause materials, such as those involved in batteries, to fail.

You have two TOTALLY difference concepts at odds here.

Reply to
<HLS

I never got into it much but they always told to turn on headlights a few minutes to warm up a battery for better starting when it was real cold. Also some use battery warmers to helkp on starting in cold weather. Also real cold or real hot weather a weak battery will give problems. Also look at the amp rating charts on batterys. They are at certain temperature. MT

Reply to
MT-2500

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Reply to
seatosummit28

Reply to
seatosummit28

That won't do you a whole hell of a lot of good if you're trying to start your car at a temperature far colder or hotter.

A chart of amperage versus temperature would be more useful.

Reply to
AZ Nomad
14.8. MYTH: On really cold days turn your headlights on to "warm up" the battery up before starting your engine.

False! While there is no doubt that turning on your headlights will increase the current flow in a car battery, it also consumes valuable capacity that could be used to start the cold engine. Therefore, this is not recommended. For cold temperatures, externally powered temperature compensated battery "float" chargers, warmers or blankets, and engine block heaters are highly recommended if the vehicle can not be parked in a heated garage. AGM (Ca/Ca) and Ni-Cad batteries will perform better than wet lead-acid batteries in extremely cold temperatures.

MT-2500 wrote:

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Reply to
seatosummit28

Reply to
seatosummit28

I think the answer can be found on the battery: the Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) rating, taken at 0 Fahrenheit, is 15-20% lower than the Cranking Amps (CA) rating, taken at 0 Celcius, and the Hot Cranking Amps (HCA) rating, taken at 80F, is the same as the CA rating. With every battery I've seen, CA = HCA. Also the box of a Schumacher battery charger said that no charging took place at something like -20F to 0F, but I don't know if that's because of the battery or the alternator.

Reply to
larry moe 'n curly

Well, if I could be any more ambiguous, I would be. This was the dumbest question I have seen in a long time.

Reply to
<HLS

Reply to
seatosummit28

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com:

Kinda, yeah.

Mr. Bill Darden has compiled an extremely informative and useful FAQ:

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and specifically:
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The last link indicates that the higher the ambient temperature, the higher the voltage avaliable at the the terminals. But in order to check your battery properly, you need to "condition" it first.
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Reply to
TeGGeR®

Gotta love someone who asks a ? and then posts the link answer to their own question. :rofl:

But, ah well, temperature does effect battery capability. However, as long as it cranks the engine, why worry?????????:lol:

Reply to
Knifeblade_03

Sorry I offended you. Your question was very broad.

Batteries work via chemical reactions, and the amount of energy you can get out of one, per unit time, increases with temperature -within the operating limits of the battery.

So, your use of the word 'stronger' is a little precarious. You can get more volt-amps, or watts, of energy quicker when the battery is warm, but you won't get any more than you have put into it.

In cold weather, the battery delivers its stored energy more slowly, and may be inadequate to turn the starter. In warm weather, it will generate the energy needed per unit time more easily.

If you deliberately heat the battery a bit, it will give you more unit time energy, and if you don't exceed the chemical and mechanical design of the battery, the life of the battery will not be shortened drastically.

Batteries are destroyed, IMO, by mechanical vibration and by severe discharging as much as anything else. They do not tolerate mechanical shock well, although some designs are better than others. A few cases of letting a battery discharge, or 'go flat', will certainly be measurably damaging.

Reply to
<HLS

That would only serve to drain down a battery that was already not putting out full current because of the low temperature.

In cold weather a better way to improve your chances of starting is to use a block heater. In extremely cold weather a blanket for the battery could be of help.

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Reply to
John S.

Knifeblade_03 wrote in news:Knifeblade snipped-for-privacy@no-mx.nodomain.com:

It does not "effect" battery capability, it AFFECTS it.

Battery capability is effected by its internal construction.

Reply to
TeGGeR®

My responses follow:

Kindest regards,

BiLL......

25 degrees C (77 degrees F) is considered to be the optimal electrolyte temperature for wet lead-acid batteries.

The capacity of a lead-acid battery is increased above 77 degrees F and reduced below 77 degrees. Please see the graphics in Sections 7.2 and 7.3.1 in the FAQ on

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Heat above 77 degrees F accelerates the positive grid corrosion and plate warpage which can cause premature battery failure, especially over 125 degrees F.

The heat you need to be most concerned about is the high underhood temperatures on a hot day with the A/C on. Temperatures can exceed

180 degrees F. This also accelerates water loss from the battery. That is why non-sealed wet batteries have longer service lives in hot climates than sealed wet batteries, because distilled water can be replaced.

Driving one hot day will probably not cause much damage, but the accumulative effect of driving several hot days will shorten the service life of the battery. Please see the graphic at the beginning of Section 12 in the FAQ.

Reply to
Bill Darden

Batteries don't last for crap here in central Texas. My stepmother got 11 years out of a Delco battery in Ohio!

Don

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Reply to
Don

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