A car battery (accumulator battery) is 100% efficient at + 15 ° С - + 25 ° С, but at -20 ° С its performance drops by about 40%.
An important condition for the uninterrupted operation of the battery is the complete serviceability of the electrical equipment of the vehicle on which it is operated. With insufficient voltage from the generator, the amount of electricity given off during the discharge will not be compensated, and the battery will fail much faster.
Regular monitoring of the condition of the batteries and their competent maintenance will certainly help to avoid problems with starting the engine, especially during the cold winter period, but much also depends on the equipment with which such work is performed.
A car battery (accumulator battery) has 100% efficiency at + 15 ° С - + 25 ° С, but at -20 ° С its characteristics drop by about 40%, which means that an undercharged battery, which felt calm in summer, in winter can let the owner down. You can significantly reduce the risk of such failures by regularly monitoring the battery condition, servicing it, and from time to time charging it in a stationary way. Let's try to argue these important points by turning to theory.
To begin with, let's mention the types of the most common batteries now. They can be roughly divided into low-maintenance and non-maintenance.
The type of battery, called low-maintenance, has filler holes, but they are usually located under a common cover. Modern developments have made it possible to replace antimony with calcium, silver alloy or rare earth metals. The use of new materials made it possible to reduce gas emission by a factor of 10, as well as to achieve low water consumption, high corrosion resistance and low self-discharge. In addition, the new design of the separators made it possible to create a large reserve of electrolyte above the plates. However, a significant drawback still remains the likelihood of boil-off when overcharged. To reduce this phenomenon, some foreign manufacturers manufacture batteries of a combined (it is also called hybrid) design: negative plates are made of calcium lead alloy, positive ones are made of low antimony.
Today, the vast majority of batteries produced by factories are low maintenance. Over the past decades, battery technology has developed rapidly. As a result, several types of maintenance-free car batteries appeared on the market. Their water consumption is so low that the designers completely exclude access to the electrolyte. It is assumed that, thanks to a set of special solutions, the boil-off period of the electrolyte volume, which is critical for operability, exceeds the battery service life before its natural failure.
The starter battery only needs to be connected to the charger when it is actually discharged. Such a diagnosis can be made if the electrolyte density has dropped to 1.23 g / cm3 or the voltage at the terminals, measured 5-6 hours after switching off the consumers, is less than 12.3 V. This rule applies to all types of modern lead-acid batteries.
An important condition for the uninterrupted operation of the battery is the complete serviceability of the electrical equipment of the vehicle on which it is operated. With insufficient voltage from the generator, the amount of electricity given off during the discharge will not be compensated, and the battery will fail much faster. The operation of the battery also depends on the mileage of the car (in particular, on the number of starts and discharge-charge cycles). The more mileage, the shorter the service life. If a car runs more than 90 thousand kilometers per yearkm, then the annual maintenance of the battery recommended for prevention is unlikely to be effective due to its natural wear and tear.
Practice shows that periodic maintenance of the battery has a beneficial effect on its characteristics and excludes sudden failures.
