We were engaged in the informative and useful practice of preparing the battery for winter - now it's time for theory, and also useful and curious! About "Features" national use batteries" Kolesa.Ru talked with the professor of the Department of Operation road transport MADI Yuri Vladimirovich Panov.
Many car owners, unfortunately, are familiar with the history of failure and battery replacement after 2-3 years. What should be the real service life of a modern battery from the category of medium - without the "supernanotechnologies" announced by the manufacturer and, accordingly, overpriced?
Assume that a number of conditions are met, namely:
1. During the entire period of operation, the generator and the relay-regulator are in good condition and do not produce increased voltage
2. The battery has not been deeply discharged
3. The battery did not often have to “oil” a poorly starting engine for a long time
In this case, any battery (without marriage and internal defects!), Can easily work out 6-7 years on a “household purpose” machine - family car, no commercial and no taxi. In fleets, battery life is, of course, about half that.
- That is, these three factors destroy the battery? Which one is the most dangerous?
Yuri Vladimirovich Panov
professor MADI
- The most dangerous is increased voltage, due to which water evaporates and the electrolyte level drops. This can happen in both warm and cold seasons. Today, cars, as a rule, do not have a voltmeter, and it is very difficult to detect in time that the voltage in the on-board network has risen to 15 volts. And the increased voltage can “kill” the battery in a month.
– How to be?
- There can be two tips here. If there is a suspicion of an increase in voltage, just measure it, for this it is not necessary to visit the service. Many people have the simplest multimeter that is useful in everyday life - connect it to the battery and see the voltage: it should not exceed the nominal 14.2 volts. It is necessary to measure not immediately after starting with a starter, but after a short trip, when the generator has already returned the energy spent on starting to the battery. Do not turn off the engine and connect a voltmeter to the battery terminals - look at the voltage on Idling and, more importantly, at 2-3 thousand revolutions. It often happens that the problem of increased voltage manifests itself precisely at high speeds.
Well, it’s not bad to make, as it may seem, a “step back” in evolution - get a simple voltmeter that is inserted into the cigarette lighter socket in a Chinese online store, it costs a penny. Or, if you have a non-standard trip computer, display the parameter "Voltage of the onboard network" on the main screen. Despite the fact that machines “get smarter” from year to year, it is not difficult and very useful to continue to control some parameters “manually”, understanding their meaning.
– A deep discharge- let's say, if any current consumer was forgotten for a night or longer, and in the morning the car does not even open from the alarm key fob - how dangerous is this for the battery? There is a “garage” opinion that even after a single such discharge “to zero”, irreversible changes occur in the battery, it is already unreliable and it is better to change it at the first opportunity, especially in view of winter ...
- On batteries that have been working for several years, a deep discharge can really cause irreparable harm, but if the battery is new, it has been used for less than a year, then after charging it will completely restore its properties. Irreversible changes, if any, are negligible.
– If the electrical equipment of the car is working properly, is there any point in periodic preventive battery charging?
- It makes sense, especially in winter. With an urban style without long trips (you need an hour or two of driving, and not an hour of standing in a traffic jam!) It is advisable to put the battery on charge 1-2 times during the winter. The fact is that even with fully functional electrical equipment in winter, the energy balance often “goes into the red”. The car starts in the morning, spending almost twice as much current as in summer to crank the crankshaft of a cold engine in thick oil. Having started, we turn on all powerful consumers at once: heated seats, rear window and mirrors, headlights ... At idle, all this gives a voltage drop - if the battery does not continue to discharge, then it certainly does not receive the necessary charging current. A short trip, parking and the way home in the evening - everything is repeated. The battery loses electrolyte density day by day, which can only be restored by long trip or charger while parked.
Therefore, the best algorithm of actions in winter - after starting the engine, do not turn on any electrical consumers during warm-up; thanks to this, the generator, even at idle, will immediately begin to charge the battery, restoring the energy loss. How long you warm the engine is up to you, this is a “religious” question. Personally, I only use good synthetic oil and, if the frost is ordinary for the middle lane, a few minutes after starting the engine, I usually start moving - here the speed already exceeds the idle speed, and “two birds with one stone are killed”: the battery is actively charging and accelerated warm-up engine and cabin under load.
– We touched on a different but related (albeit slippery and"holivar"!) The topic of the need to warm up the engine ... Comment on the sequence of reasoning and actions pwith regard to batteries.
- Many cars at idle heat up for a very long time - try, for example, to warm up the 1.8 TSI engine, notorious for its "cold-bloodedness", installed on VW and Skoda, normally!
- Warming up on the go is many times more effective than warming up in the parking lot - this is a fact, but driving a few minutes after starting is sometimes impossible, because the windows are frozen from the inside, and before your eyes they freeze even more from your breath. And not everyone has heated windshields ...
- There is an opinion among the people that it is possible to speed up warm-up at idle by giving the engine a generator as at least some kind of load - after all, the more current it gives, the more difficult it is for the engine to turn it. Therefore, during warm-up, some include all possible current consumers, including those they do not need in this moment- headlights, heated windows, seats, music, hold the brake pedal to light two 21-watt brake lights, etc. However, it turns out that such a warm-up greatly discharges an already frozen and planted battery ...
Winning in the speed of warming up, we lose in the longevity of the battery.
– How to be here? Maybe, when warming up on the spot, give the gas pedal a small speed - a thousand and a half, say?
- Yes, it doesn’t come out “to capture all the pluses”, it turns out “either-or”. Either soft heat or normal charging. In fact, idling electrical consumers do not even come close in terms of warm-up efficiency with slow movement in 1-2 gears. Therefore, the acceleration of the output of the motor to the operating mode here turns out to be insignificant. Giving speed is also not an option, because without a load the engine still produces little heat: in order to give more fuel to the injection and, accordingly, get more calories of heat, the car must start moving.
I would still do this - after starting the engine, I did not turn on any loads, I cleaned the windows manually, after which I started moving in first or second gears. However, all this is possible only if you have a "running strip" where you can crawl slowly and safely for a while with limited visibility. If you have difficult maneuvers in tight parking or you need to leave on the highway in ten meters, then, of course, you will have to warm on the spot ...
– Let's return to the recommendation to charge the battery 1-2 times during the winter. Many do not put the battery on charge, even with a garage, purely technical reasons- turn off "mass" they do not want the settings of the radio and other devices to be reset, but against connecting charger there is a popular prejudice against a battery with unremoved terminals ... How to be?
– Disconnecting the battery without need, including for preventive recharging, for modern car not very helpful. The memory of the radio station is just nonsense: it is important that after turning off the power, the adaptive parameters of the engine and gearbox disappear, which the control unit accumulates in the course of everyday work. There is nothing fatal in this - the system will collect statistics again and configure itself, this is its normal mode, but the configuration may be accompanied by increased consumption fuel for some time, unusual behavior of the car and so on.
In fact, there is nothing wrong with connecting the charger directly to the battery terminals, from which the power "plus" and "minus" are not removed. The main thing is that before this the ignition is turned off and the key is removed. You should not worry about a serviceable car - the only problem here is the reliability of the charger itself, which is often “mongrel”, Chinese made. A cheap random charger can fail, and it's good if it just turns off. But it can also ignite!
Moreover, we like to protect the paint of the wing from scratches by placing a rag under the charger, blocking its ventilation slots ... Therefore, in order to safely leave the charger unattended, it can be put in an ordinary iron 10-liter bucket, set to 1-2 bricks. It may look funny, but even the appearance of an open flame will not ignite nearby objects.
– Well, let's end the conversation with lyrics, the voice of a blatant car owner ... Let's say, on my previous car, removing the ignition key automatically extinguished the dimensions, but on the current one they can remain burning - the buzzer warning about the forgotten light only starts working. But its sound can be missed in a hurry or foolishly ignored; the result is a completely dead battery in the morning ... At the same time, which is typical, head unit it also works without an ignition key, but it has a built-in timer - it turns off after an hour ... So I’ll ask a rhetorical question: why do automakers have such a different logic in their approach to the algorithm for turning on electrical consumers in a car? Why in such an elementary "fool protection"no unity of opinion?
- Unity can only be in the points of requirements for safety regulations vehicles which all manufacturers comply with. Regarding electrical consumers, working even without an ignition key, it only talks about emergency light signaling. If you stalled on the road at night, then let the battery die completely, but the emergency flasher should blink to the last! Everything else is up to the engineers and their understanding of logic.
Keyless operation of dimensions - apparently, the automaker believes that you should be able to designate more efficiently parked car on dark road, and allows you to turn on not only a flashing light, but also a constant one. The logic here is different for everyone - I had to deal with a Mercedes, in which the owner listened to music for a long time, and in the morning he could not start. I had concerns that a completely discharged battery could not be charged with a conventional low-power charger, since many of them simply do not charge batteries that have sat down to zero. However, when we measured the voltage on the battery, it turned out to be 10 volts, the charger began to charge it without problems, and after a couple of hours the car started up. As it turned out, the built-in lock of the car turned off the battery at a voltage of 10 volts - saved the battery, but did not allow it to start in the end. Although the question arises: why is this electronics not configured in such a way that both consumers are forgotten to be turned off and the ability to start is preserved?
amp;lt;a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/9150636/"amp;gt;Are you worried about battery life?amp;lt;/aamp;gt;
Assume that these conditions are met:
- The generator and the relay-regulator work properly all the time, the charging circuit does not generate high voltage.
- Strong battery discharge is not allowed (forgotten light, heating, multimedia).
- We exclude "poking" when trying to start the engine.
As a rule, if these simple rules are observed, a high-quality standard battery will last up to 7 years. Let's now take a closer look at each of the battery longevity factors. Which of these factors is the most dangerous? How to extend the life of a car battery?
The most dangerous is excessive voltage in the charging circuit or constant recharging of the battery. Due to a malfunction of the relay, an “extra” charge or increased voltage causes the inevitable overheating of the battery and the shedding of the active substance on the cells of the plates, the evaporation of the electrolyte and the sulfation of the batteries themselves. lead plates. In a word, during the period of recharging or applying increased voltage, the battery is operated with a double consumption of resources. It is logical that the service life is reduced from 7 years to 2-3.
What to do?
There are two ways. If you suspect an increased voltage, measure with a conventional multimeter. Almost everyone has it or you can buy it in a building supermarket. Supplied to charge the battery should not exceed the value of one tenth of the battery capacity. For example: if your battery has a capacity of 50 Ah, then charging current should be no more than 5 amperes. At the same time, keep in mind that the use of a battery in a car with a capacity lower than recommended by the manufacturer will automatically cause it. increased wear- the current supplied to charge the battery and is designed for a battery of standard capacity.
It is necessary to measure the current strength after a certain period of time after the start. So that the generator re-winds the spent battery power. You need to measure with the engine running. You also need to measure at 2-3 thousand revolutions. Increased voltage is often characteristic of high speed mode.
Do I need to change the battery after a complete discharge? If the battery has worked for a couple of years, then a deep discharge can lead to irreversible consequences, and if you use it for less than a year, then it will restore all its properties. In any case, we recommend contacting a service where a specialist can carry out a full battery recovery cycle.
Does it make sense to periodically recharge the battery for preventive purposes?
It makes sense, especially in winter. Preferably 1-2 times per winter season. Even if all the electronics of the equipment are working, the charge often goes away due to increased consumption in winter period. Plus, because in winter it takes twice as much energy to start the engine. In addition to this, we include heating for windows, seats, etc. As a result, this leads to a large voltage drop. The most optimal course of action in winter is not to turn on all electrical consumers at once after starting. Give the generator a few minutes to recover the charge spent when starting.
Is it possible to connect the charger without disconnecting the terminals?
Can. Moreover, such a connection scheme is often used for charging and starting devices. Unlike conventional chargers, which are small currents during long period(4-8 hours) restore battery charge, chargers have the ability to switch the supply of currents great strength. Short-term exposure to such currents is not dangerous for the battery, while there is fast charging within 10-15 minutes. (Note: Be sure to read the instruction manual for your charger!) This time is enough for the battery to be able to perform a one-time start of the car together with a working charging and starting battery. After starting the engine, the current is reduced to a nominal 4-5 amperes.
Article info:
Many car owners faced the problem of replacing battery every 2-3 years. In this article, we will try to tell in detail how to extend the life of a car battery.
car battery
Publication date: 01/07/2016
The most dangerous is excessive voltage in the charging circuit or constant recharging of the battery. Due to a malfunction of the relay, an “extra” charge or increased voltage causes the inevitable overheating of the battery and the shedding of the active substance on the cells of the plates, the evaporation of electrolyte and the sulfation of the lead plates themselves.
The life of a car battery can last 4 years or more if properly cared for. There are many rules for caring for batteries, if they are not followed, batteries can only work for 2-3 years.
The battery case and terminals must be kept clean at all times to avoid stress, loss of capacity, and accidental short circuits. Their characteristic dirt is removed ammonia. Whitened, that is, oxidized, the terminals are treated with a soda solution (used only after complete drying) or sandpaper.
The main cause of battery failure is vibration. If the battery "walks", then there is a possibility of capsizing and hitting the body and terminals. Reliable fastening The battery reduces vibration, but sways in a few months, so it needs to be tightened.
Because in a broken state internal elements batteries are destroyed, it should not be in it for a long time, especially in winter. Only the battery charger can be used for recharging. The supplied current is not more than 10% of nominal capacity battery. In cold weather, you need to charge 1 time in 2 months, in warm weather - 1 time in 3-4 months.
How to properly charge the battery:
1. Unscrew the protective plugs.
2. Check the electrolyte level and, if necessary, top up with distilled water. A sufficient level of liquid (10-15 mm above the plates) prevents the battery plates from oxidizing and breaking down earlier than expected.
3. Connect the charger, observing the polarity of the connection. This is important, otherwise the battery can be safely thrown away.
The troubles that electrolyte can bring, namely its evaporation in heat and low density, are sulfation of battery plates and freezing. If you do not neglect the maintenance of the battery, you can not think about these problems.
A serious blow to the battery is faulty wiring in the car. Oxidized wires and loose contacts increase resistance, the battery heats up more and becomes unusable faster.
How to extend the life of the battery in the cold season
Here's how to extend battery life in winter:
1. In winter, the battery is used more actively and does not have time to charge while driving, so it turns out to be discharged at the moment the engine is started. The problem is solved as follows: after stopping the car, it remains to work so that the battery has time to charge.
2. Only a dry and warm battery is suitable for recharging from a charger, that is, one that has stood warm for 2-3 hours, depending on the temperature outside.
3. To make it easier to start the battery, you can warm it up by turning on high beam for 20-30 seconds.
4. The clutch pedal pressed into the floor before turning the key helps. So the battery does not need to “wake up” the transmission with viscous oil.
5. It is better to refuse short trips, since more often the battery is not allowed to warm up, and for a trip to the store it will not have time to stir.
When the car has to stand idle for a long time, it is better to remove the battery and put it in a dry room fully charged.
Tell your friends about the article: after all, it can be useful not only for you
"I have a release. In the spring of last year, I changed battery at off. dealer and she he's already dead. Also, I chose not cheap option. Why does it turn out that new battery lasts a year or less? How to prolong battery life?"
Like me and anyone experienced driver, must have come across similar situation, which happens even with "not cheap" batteries. One of the reasons which spoils the battery- this is heat, because the water in the electrolyte evaporates and the sulfation process accelerates. It is at this point that the main plates of the partially discharged battery are in lead sulfate. Lead sulfate interferes with the chemical charge/discharge capability, reduces the amperage, and eventually your car won't start.
If your battery has survived summer time do not rush to rejoice, the battery is prone to failure and in cold weather. The problem is that the oil thickens and therefore the load on the starter increases, plus winter time the energy consumption of a car is higher due to headlights, heated glass, interior, etc. In any case, 1 year of battery life is too short, most likely a defective product or problems with the car's electrics.
How to extend car battery life
- "no service".
- Periodically check the electrolyte level and add distilled water as needed.
- Choose batteries with heat sink plate. Avoid parking in the sun.
- Make sure that the car is regularly operated for timely recharging. If your trips are short, this may not be enough to recharge and the next time you will not start.
Regularly condition the starter circuit. Clean from corrosion and oxidation of battery terminals. A large accumulation of rust and oxides reduces the life of the battery by 11%.
Such, at first glance, very simple steps help to prolong battery life and save you from prematurely buying a new battery. Observe simple rules battery care and save your money.
As unfortunate as it may be, everything has its own lifespan. It is believed that the battery has a life of about three years, after which the battery is sent to a landfill, and a new battery takes its place in the car.
However, do not rush to say goodbye to the old battery ahead of time, as there are several ways to resuscitate it. It is with them that I would like to introduce you today.
The most common and favorite methods for resuscitating batteries by most car owners include:
1. Continuous charge of the battery with low current.
2. Battery charge in distilled water.
3. Maximum battery discharges by low currents.
Agree, the names of recovery methods give only superficial ideas about their essence. For achievement excellent result you need to get acquainted with these methods of resuscitation of the battery closer.
Continuous battery charging with low current
Using this simple method, you can restore life only to a battery with a slight and not chronic sulfation of the plates.
In order to give a second life to a battery, you need to:
1. Fill the battery with distilled water slightly above the level.
2. Turn on the battery for charging with a current of normal value (0.1 battery capacity).
3. As soon as gas formation in the battery becomes noticeable, the charge should be turned off for 20-30 minutes.
4. After a break, the battery must again be connected to a current, only this time reduced by ten times in comparison with the original, i.e. 0.01 of the battery capacity.
5. Having noticed increased gas formation on the plates of both polarities, it is necessary to disconnect the battery from the current and take a break for 15-20 minutes.
The fourth and fifth battery recovery steps should be repeated several times. Sometimes, in order for the battery to come to full combat readiness, it is necessary to repeat these procedures for several days in a row before starting to operate the battery at full capacity.
To avoid the inconvenience associated with battery operation, we recommend periodically checking the electrolyte level in the battery (the height of its layer should not be less than 5 mm above the upper edges of the plates), and if necessary, you can add distilled water. Make sure that no foreign matter gets into the battery. traces of oxidation on battery terminals and wires must be carefully removed.
Battery charge in distilled water
If the sulfation of the battery is deep, but not old, then you can try to restore the battery in the following way.
1. We discharge the battery to a voltage of 9 V.
2. Drain all the electrolyte solution and fill the battery with distilled water. We are waiting for about an hour.
3. After a pause in operation, turn on the battery for a charge. In this case, the voltage at each battery terminal must in no case exceed 11.5 V.
4. Gradually increase the charge. After the specific gravity of the solution has been increased to approximately 1.1-1.12, it is necessary to bring the charging current to a value equal to 0.1 of the battery capacity.
5. The battery should be charged in this way until a uniform gas evolution is noticeable on the plates of both polarities.
6. After that, it is necessary to discharge the battery for one and a half to two hours with a current equal to 0.2 of the discharge current, corresponding to a ten-hour battery discharge mode.
Steps 5 and 6 of battery recovery should be repeated several times. After the specific gravity of the solution does not stop increasing, the electrolyte level should be brought to normal and the battery is ready for use.
It is worth noting that this method is quite time-consuming, it can often take weeks to give the battery a second life.
Resuscitation of the battery by the method of maximum discharges with low currents
The battery recovery method, which will be discussed now, is suitable for batteries with old sulfation. Obviously, the process will be long and laborious, but worth it.
1. First of all, you need to charge the battery with a current equal to 0.2 * Q (where Q is the battery capacity).
2. After the voltage has reached 12V, the charging current should be reduced to the value calculated by the formula 0.05*Q.
3. The charge should be stopped when both the voltage and the weight of the electrolyte have reached stable values.
4. Let the battery rest for half an hour to an hour. Then again charge it with a small current until it “boils”.
This step should be repeated several times. You will understand that it is time to stop the procedure when the electrolyte starts to boil a few minutes after the start of charging.
After that, you should repeat the first stage of work, and after a couple of hours, continue to charge the battery in the indicated way. To restore battery performance, you may need to repeat the entire cycle of work up to 8 times.
Of course, restoring the battery on your own is a rather long and laborious process, but with a little effort you can significantly extend the life of the battery and save a significant amount.
