Why car battery overcharging

Car battery overcharging is one of the most common problems that people face when dealing with their vehicle. Now, this might sound like an impossible feat — after all, is there such a thing as being too charged when it comes to car batteries? The answer, unfortunately, is yes, and if you are new to vehicle ownership and maintenance, it can be very easy to do. You should look out for car battery overcharging when you are maintaining your car. It is not an easy issue to fix, but if you know what signs to look out for or how to prevent it from happening you can keep your car maintained.

If you are not careful, car battery overcharging could lead to serious damage to your vehicle and to the battery itself, so below we look at what car battery overcharging is and how to check if this has happened. Modern cars have batteries that are charged by an internal voltage regulator known as an Alternator. This provides the car battery with a steady and controlled electrical charge while the car is in use.

When this regulator fails, however, unregulated electrical charges can continue to power the battery, which leads to car battery overcharging. You can also overcharge your battery with human error — that is, by not knowing how to use car battery chargers, using amp settings that are too high, or setting an incorrect voltage. If you have left your car battery charger unattended overnight, you can also overcharge it, which can cause damage to your battery.

Battery overcharging is easy and cheap to avoid. A car's battery will overcharge if the voltage regulator isn't working correctly. A voltage regulator is usually part of the alternator, and is used to keep a steady flow of voltage to the battery. If the voltage regulator is defective, it will send either too little or too much charge to the battery. If it sends too much, the car battery will overcharge. The voltage regulator is easily replaceable at an easily affordable price, sometimes for as little as twenty dollars, as of Sometimes the alternator itself can be at fault.

The alternator is the device that converts the mechanical power of the engine into electrical power to charge the battery. And depending on the age of your battery, this could even result in your battery exploding. This risk is greater for newer batteries because they are sealed, compared to some of the older batteries that are vented. Instead of using a battery charger, you could opt for a battery maintainer.

These maintainers are devices similar to battery chargers, but they operate in a different way. Battery maintainers supply a small amount of electricity to your battery over a longer period. However these may not be feasible to use on a car you need to drive every day. These are ideal for vehicles that you do not use regularly, such as one that is kept in storage over the long Kansas winters. Call us at ! Battery overcharging can be a problem for car batteries. There are some telltale signs to look out for whenever you open the hood or have the car serviced.

If the sides are warm or even hot to the touch, it indicates overcharging. You need to do this check after driving the vehicle for at least 30 minutes or more. When overcharging for a long time, the overproduction of gasses inside the battery causes this swelling and bulging.

The problem must be found and fixed, and the battery replaced ASAP. When the vehicle engine is off and all the accessories are turned off, the voltage across the terminals should be around Now start the vehicle and measure again. You will need an assistant for this as the engine revs need to be increased a little as you measure. With the engine running, the alternator is supplying a charging current to the battery.

Ask your assistant to increase the engine revs gradually. The voltage should rise to a maximum of around If you have a higher voltage than this, then your regulator is most likely defective. Taking a battery apart to replace the lead plates is just not cost-effective.

However, you can recondition your car battery by using Epsom salt and distilled water. It helps bring your dead car battery by cleaning it of sulfates and replenishing it with electrolytes. There are some battery re-conditioners on the market, but the rate of success is not too high.