How many amps is a car battery? Want to know more about your batter? You are at the right place!
The battery is an important part of your vehicle. Therefore, it is vital to know the details about the battery. Further, it is common knowledge that the battery is 12 volts but do you know how many amps the car battery is? Generally, it is above 500 amperes.
Understanding how the battery works and its details will help you understand your vehicle better. Besides, you will be able to troubleshoot problems, when necessary, easily.
It can come in handy when you are trying to replace the battery as well.
Batteries power more than just cranking systems in your car. They are power electronic systems, multimedia devices, security, and navigation system as well.
With more features coming on board, car manufacturers constantly update the type of batteries. To understand your car batteries better, please keep reading.
How Many Amps Is s Car Battery?
The car amperage is usually 12 volts, as mentioned earlier. Further, car batteries have 48 amp-hours. However, it would be best to consider the CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) of the battery.
What Is the CCA?
So, what are Cold Cranking Amps? It is simple to understand. The amps a 12 volts battery requires delivering 30 seconds when maintaining 7.2 volts per cell. All this at zero degrees Fahrenheit.
In simple terms, the CCA rating defines if the battery can start an engine under cold conditions. The higher the Cold Cranking Amps rating, the better the starting power of your battery.
What Are the Ampere Ratings?
The amp rating or the ampere ratings of battery decides the storage capacity of your car battery. Generally, the larger the battery, the higher the ampere rating.
Also, several internal chemistry and features affect the battery ampere rating. Usually, cars have a capacity of 550 to 1000 amperes.
Important Car Battery Features
It is important to understand various battery details to understand how many amps is a car battery. It includes the chemistry of the battery components, capacity, and voltage, among others.
We have listed some of the important features to look for, and they are as follows.
Chemistry
The chemistry of the battery component is an important deciding factor for how many amps is a car battery. Most of the batteries are lead-acid batteries containing high-quality, reliable components.
Absorbent Glass Mat or Sealed Lead Acid are replacing the old wet or flooded type of lead-acid batteries. It offers greater resistance to vibration and maintenance-free operation. Moreover, they offer spill-proof design as well.
Capacity
Capacity is an Amps-hours or Ah measurement, and it defines how many amps is a car battery. It usually has 20 hours before it drops below a certain level of voltage. Generally, it will be down to 10 to 10.8 volts.
Generally, most car batteries have a nominal capacity of 50 to 100 Ampere-hour. On the other hand, larger vehicles with diesel-powered engines have larger levels. As a result, it can be up to 100 Ampere-hour, providing more than 1000 Cold Cranking Amps.
Voltage
Lead-acid car batteries usually have a nominal 12 volts. However, the actual voltage can be different. The common voltage will be around 13 volts to 14 volts when the alternator charges as the engine run.
When the engine is not running, the fully charges AGM battery will have a voltage of 13 volts and above. Furthermore, the voltage can depend on the onboard electronic system. Also, when the battery voltage drops below 10, it discharges.
How to Measure Car Battery Amps?
You need to measure car battery amps before you charge your battery. You can use a battery tester to help you with that. Also, you can use a digital multimeter to check the current power.
The digital multimeter will give you the volts and not the amps like the battery testers. It is more consistent for numerous types of car batteries. It will also allow measurement when the battery has a full charge.
However, if you use the battery testers, you can do some math to get the desired result. You can do some quick and easy calculations to estimate the volts if you know the total amp.
How to Charge My Car Battery?
You can easily charge your car battery. Follow the below steps to charge your car battery:
Step 1: Stop the engine and remove the keys. Next, park the vehicle somewhere safe and open the hood.
Step 2: You can leave the battery in the engine bay or remove it from the vehicle. Either way, remember to keep the terminals disconnected.
Step 3: Check the electrolyte level in your battery and remove all the caps before refilling it. You should use distilled water if necessary. Also, please do not overfill the water.
Step 4: It is advisable to remove cell caps when the battery is charging. It requires extra attention, especially if it is above two amps.
Step 5: Clamp the positive ‘+’ sign to the positive terminal, which is red. Further, clamp the negative ‘-‘ sign to the black negative battery terminal. Again, please be careful not to interchange the leads.
Step 6: Plug the charger to the mains and turn the switch ON. The charging time will depend on the size, capacity, and current state of the charger. You can check the course if there is an ammeter or suitable gauge.
How Long Does a Car Battery Last?
A car battery can last up to 4 to 5 years under ideal circumstances. However, generally, they last up to 3 years.
The exact lifespan is dependent on the vehicle condition and battery quality. Nonetheless, it is good to keep an eye on your battery after the first year.
Moreover, the battery can die sooner when it sits unused for long and making too many short trips. You can make it last by recharging it regularly and keeping the lights off when not in use.
You will have to change your battery when you see the following signs:
- Engine starts slow
- Electrical issues, including dimmer lights
- Corrosion in connectors
- The check engine light stays on
- Faulty battery case
- Bad, rotten egg smell
- After 4 to 5 years
Let’s Wrap It Up
We hope that this article helped you understand car batteries better. Besides, we hope that it will help solve problems which you could not earlier.
So, if you want to know how many amps is a car battery for a specific car, you can check the specifications in a particular order. Firstly, the chemistry and battery type, and secondly, the capacity and the CCA.
