Your car’s battery is what keeps the electrical devices in your vehicle working properly. Sign Three: Your Car’s Electrical System Isn’t Working Right You see, when batteries start to die, they leak battery acid.Īnd battery acid produces hydrogen sulfide gas, which gives off a distinct sulfur smell.Īlthough this smell is gross, it does let you know it’s time for a new battery. If you do, your battery is probably close to dying. If you think your battery may be dying, open your hood and see if you notice a smell similar to rotten eggs or standing water. If you see this on your battery, know that you will soon need to get it replaced. This corrosion is usually a blue-green color and looks kind of like crystals. When a battery starts to leak acid, you will begin to notice corrosion around the battery terminals. Since voltage alone can’t always tell you if a car battery is dying, you should instead watch for the following signs that your battery is reaching the end of its life. The multimeter should now give you a reading in DC volts. The negative terminal will have a “-” sign and a black cable.Īfter identifying the terminals, press the red probe on the multimeter to the positive terminal and the black probe to the negative terminal. Typically, the positive terminal will have a “+” sign and a red cable running from it.
Once you’ve found the battery, locate the positive and negative terminals. The battery is a rather large black box near your engine with one red and one black cable attached.
Next, turn your vehicle on and open the hood. Then, you’ll need to take some safety precautions before opening the hood.įor instance, you should put your car in park and engage the parking brake.Īlso, you should secure loose clothing items, dangling jewelry, and long hair to keep them from getting caught in any of the moving belts or fans under your hood. If your multimeter doesn’t allow you to set the numbers, simply put it on DC volts. To use a multimeter, you first need to set it to 20 DC volts. You can buy a multimeter at most auto part shops and hardware stores for around $10 to $20. The easiest way to test your car battery’s voltage is with a multimeter. If the voltage goes down each time you test it, your battery is probably dying. The best way to find out if your battery is dying is to read the voltage on your battery several times over an extended period. However, you should keep in mind that a battery that reads low isn’t necessarily dying.
What Should the Car Battery Voltage Be When Running?Ī standard 12-volt battery should have a voltage between 13.5 and 14.5 volts when the car is running. I will also explain how you can tell if your battery is dying, the cost of a new battery, and how often your battery will need replacing.
CAR BATTERY VOLT METER HOW TO
In this article, I will discuss what voltage your battery should be at when your car’s running and how to test your battery’s voltage. While a car is running, the battery voltage should be between 13.5 and 14.5 volts. Yet, a low voltage does not necessarily mean a battery is dying since some batteries simply run low.Instead, to tell if it’s dying, you should check your battery periodically to see if the voltage is decreasing. Thus, a low battery voltage could affect your car’s performance.īut, you’re probably wondering, what exactly is an adequate battery voltage? Your battery supplies your car with power.
0 kommentar(er)
