What is car battery polarity and how to determine it?

When choosing a battery, you need to pay attention to a number of parameters. Among the main ones worth noting nominal capacity, frame size, starter current and polarity. Today we will talk about the polarity of the car battery and how to determine it. This is one of the key parameters of the battery. If you choose the wrong polarity, you simply will not be able to connect the battery to the car and start using it.

Polarity is a characteristic of a car battery that determines the location of its external terminals. If you buy a battery for a car with the wrong polarity, you will get a problem with its installation and connection.

The fact is that the landing niche for the battery allows you to install it in one position. If the polarity is inappropriate, then the length of the wires with the terminals is simply not enough to connect them to the corresponding battery terminals. That is, you simply will not be able to operate the battery.

Of course, you can do the lengthening of the corresponding wires and "win" in this situation. But, think about whether you need unnecessary problems and the manufacture of all sorts of additional "crutches"? In such a situation, most likely, you will go back to the store or contact the online store to replace the battery with a model of the required polarity. In these cases, sellers meet halfway, and the battery can be changed. But, in order not to waste precious time and not waste your nerves, you need to be able to choose the required polarity right away. Let's figure out how to do it.

Types of battery polarity

Manufacturers produce batteries with six types of polarity. They differ in the layout and combination of battery elements among themselves. The most common of these are four types of polarity. Two kinds are used in batteries for cars and two more for trucks.

Batteries for passenger cars

Before you determine the polarity of the car battery, turn it towards you with the front part (with a sticker). The battery leads will be on the top side of the battery on the side closest to you. Now we look at the location of the positive (+) and negative (output) on the battery. There are two options:

1) Positive current terminal is on the right and negative is on the left. This is reverse polarity or European. It is also referred to as "0". The image below shows a top view of the car's battery.

2) Positive current terminal on the left and negative on the right. This is the direct polarity of the car battery or Russian. This type of polarity is also referred to as "1". Below you can see a top view of the battery with straight polarity.

Here it is worth mentioning the mythical "Asian" and "American" polarities. These do not exist in nature. There are Asian and american size battery. Asian-type batteries are slightly narrower than European batteries, and slightly larger in height. In addition, they do not have a "step" on top cover. The terminals of Asian batteries can be thinner, and in some cases they are made for other fasteners.

American-type batteries differ in the type of current leads and their location. The conclusions are not on the upper plane, but on the side. They are made for bolt fastening. Although there are models with leads on the side surface, and standard ones on the top cover.

As for the polarity, for Asian batteries it is reversed or "0", while for American batteries it is direct or "1".

Batteries for trucks

On most batteries trucks current leads are located on one of the short sides of the battery. To determine the polarity car battery, turn the battery towards you with the side with the leads and look at their location. There are also two options here:

1) Positive terminal on the left and negative terminal on the right. This is the polarity of the car battery reversed or European. It is indicated by the number "3".

2) The positive terminal is on the right and the negative terminal is on the left. This is the polarity of the car battery is direct or Russian. It is indicated by the number "4".

Cargo batteries can be found with the layout indicated by the number "2". In this case, the battery terminals are located diagonally on the upper side.

Diagonal Pin Arrangement

When welding a structure using direct current, it is important to know that the quality of the seam will depend largely on the settings of the device. An important nuance it will be that, in addition to the current regulator, it is necessary to correctly select the polarity. There can be only two types - this is direct and reverse polarity when welding with an inverter.

What does straight polarity mean

In order to achieve a quality seam when welding various steels, it is important to know which polarity is suitable for the material to be processed. The general essence of welding with an inverter is that the machine must have "+" and "-" sockets. Depending on which socket the mass will be connected to, and which one - the electrode, the polarity will depend.

Direct polarity is connected in this way: a mass is added to the positive socket, and an electrode is added to the negative socket. It is important to know here that the type and polarity of the current will be determined by the existence of the anode and cathode spots. During straight polarity welding, an anode spot that is hotter will form on the side of the workpiece.

What does reverse polarity mean

At reverse polarity it is logical that the connection of the mass and the electrode is reversed. That is, an electrode is connected to the positive socket, and a ground is connected to the negative socket. Here you need to understand that when connecting the sockets in this way, the anode spot will also form, however, it will appear not on the side of the workpiece, but on the opposite side from it, that is, on the electrode.

Important note! The polarity is manually connected only if, that is, in the presence of direct current. When carrying out the same process, but on alternating current polarity change is carried out up to hundreds of times per second independently. Therefore, the connection method does not matter.

As you can see, the difference between direct and reverse polarity when welding with an inverter is that the anode spot will form in different places.

Polarity Selection Criteria

When changing the connection, the specialist changes the place of heating concentration, transferring it either to the workpiece or to the electrode itself. Here it is important to know that the socket with a plus is responsible for heating, which means that with a direct connection, the maximum temperature will be observed on. When connected back, the maximum temperature is spent on heating the consumable element. Knowing this feature, you can independently choose the connection scheme, based on such a parameter as the thickness of the material. The choice between straight and reverse polarity when welding will greatly depend on the thickness of the metal product. If this parameter has an average or high value, then it is best to resort to direct polarity. This is explained by strong heat blanks will provide a deeper seam, which, in turn, will increase the quality weld. Straight polarity is also used when cutting off pieces of metal. And, on the contrary, when welding less thin metal workpieces, it is recommended to use the reverse connection, since the material will not overheat much, but the electrode will melt much faster.

metal type

Forward and reverse polarity when welding will also depend on the type of metal product to be machined. It is important to understand that the ability to independently change the type of connection affects the efficiency of working with various kinds of blanks. An example is cast iron. When working with such materials, it is best to use reverse polarity, in which it will be possible to avoid severe overheating of the raw material, which will eliminate the creation of a refractory welded joint. But, for example, to work with such a type of metal as aluminum, it is best to use straight polarity when welding. Since with low heating it will be very, very difficult to break through the oxides of this raw material. Most often, for each material there is a recommendation, which states what type of polarity is best for processing this workpiece.

and wire

Another very important detail, which must be taken into account when welding with an inverter of direct polarity or reverse, is the type of electrode, which, like metal, has its own characteristics at different temperature conditions. Most often, the parameters are related to the type of flux used in the base. consumable. Suppose there is a carbon type electrode. It is impossible to use a reverse connection to work with such an element, since too much heating of this type of consumable will overheat the flux and the product will become completely unusable. Only direct current welding with straight polarity can be used. Here, as in the case of metal blanks, in order not to be mistaken, it is best to study the marking and manufacturer's recommendations for working with each type of consumable separately.

Straight polarity properties

It is quite obvious that there are advantages when welding with direct and reverse polarity. If we talk about the first type of connection, then the following points can be distinguished:

• the resulting weld will be deep enough, but rather narrow;
• used when welding most metal workpieces, the thickness of which is higher than 3 mm;
• welding, for example, non-ferrous steel is possible only with a tungsten electrode, as well as with a direct connection to the inverter;
• straight polarity when welding metals also has a more stable arc, which, in turn, provides more high quality weld;
• using direct connection it is strictly forbidden to use electrodes that are suitable for AC welding;
• straight polarity also excels in cutting metal workpieces.

Reverse polarity properties

Just as straight polarity in welding has its strengths and weak sides, the reverse connection can also be characterized by some properties:

• If you use DC welding, but make a reverse connection, then the result will be a seam that is not too deep, but very wide.
• The best weld quality is achieved only when working with metals that have a small thickness, if reverse polarity is used for welding thick raw materials, then the quality of the weld will be too unsatisfactory.
• When welding on the reverse connection, it is strictly forbidden to use electrodes that cannot be overheated.
• If the current strength is significantly reduced, then the quality of the seam will also deteriorate greatly due to the fact that the arc will begin to "jump".
• Since reverse polarity is most often used for welding high-alloy steels, it is necessary to be guided not only by the rules of welding with an inverter, but also take into account the requirements of the metal for the duration of the working cycle, as well as for the process of cooling the metal.

Polarity reversal

After a person studies in detail the features of welding with direct polarity, as well as with reverse polarity, it becomes quite simple to answer the question of why change it. Briefly summarized, we can say the following:

The use of direct polarity is justified in cases of large thickness of the metal. Also, this type of connection is justified if non-ferrous metal is welded: brass, copper, aluminum. It is most important to pay attention to working with aluminum, since its oxide film has a huge melting point, which greatly exceeds the melting point of the raw material itself. In other words, we can say that straight polarity when welding is a rough processing and connection of the structure.

The reverse connection, in turn, is used to work with thin steels. In addition, it is used in the processing of high-alloy or stainless steel. These materials do not tolerate overheating well, and therefore use melting with high temperature it is forbidden. That is, work on the reverse connection is considered more subtle.

From this we can conclude that the answer to the question, why change the polarity when welding with electrodes, will be that the quality of the weld depends on it, as well as the performance of the consumable itself, since not all electrodes can be connected in the opposite way.

Conclusion

To sum up all of the above, the use of an inverter or a semi-automatic device for welding in everyday life is a very common thing. But here right choice connections at DC, as well as knowing which material to cook in which way, is the basic information needed to successfully complete the job. If this knowledge is available, then the use of these tools will not be a problem.

Many motorists know what can happen in case of confusion with battery terminals. Yes, this does not happen on purpose, but due to insufficient experience. In cars domestic production and many foreign cars, the polarity of the battery is different. Amateur motorists are often unaware of this term and the existence of any differences between types of polarity. This article will help you understand this topic and answer questions regarding the polarity of batteries.

What is battery polarity?

The concept of polarity implies the location of the external battery terminals, which are also called current leads, on the battery cover or its front side. It is customary to distinguish the two most common polarity schemes - direct and reverse. Simply put, in one circuit, the negative terminal is on the left, in the other, on the right.

Important! For those who are going to move abroad and settle there, we note that there are also very unusual locations of external battery terminals What you should pay attention to at the beginning of the operation of the vehicle.

What are the battery polarities?

You should already have approximately the concept of polarity and its types. But how to determine, looking under the hood, what polarity is your battery, direct or reverse? Batteries with straight polarity are installed on most domestic cars. But what is straight battery polarity and how is it determined? In fact, everything is extremely simple. Take the battery, turn it towards you front side. You should have a label in front of your eyes, and the terminals at the bottom. If the positive charge terminal is on the left, and the negative, respectively, on the right, then it has direct polarity. That's the whole scheme. Batteries of this type are found on most domestically produced cars.

Reverse polarity is a development of European engineers. 90% European cars The battery is installed with reverse polarity. It differs from the straight line only in the expanded arrangement of the terminals. To determine it, do the same manipulations as with a straight line. Only now the negative current output will be on the left, and the positive one on the right. Such batteries are found on almost all European-made cars. There are exceptions, but they are very rare.

Interesting fact! European batteries differ from Asian ones not only in size, shape, location of the terminals, but also in their diameter. European standards: positive terminal - 19.5 mm, negative terminal - 17.9 mm. In Asia, they are smaller: plus - 12.7 mm, minus - 11.1 mm.

How else can you determine the forward and reverse polarity of a car battery? If you do not take into account the poles, then "by eye" they are almost impossible to distinguish. These batteries have no external differences. The case, cans and their number, current strength, even the label, everything is identical. Certainly, there are also such conditional digital designations like "0" and "1".

How do you know if polarity 0 is direct or reverse? It is very easy to confuse yourself with bipolar batteries, since you can purchase a battery with an inappropriate arrangement of current leads. Forward polarity is one, reverse is zero. Of course, for such cases, you can buy an adapter from direct polarity to reverse, but this is also not an option, since it is not very convenient. Even experienced drivers having made a spontaneous choice, they fall into the net of chance.

Important! If your knowledge is not enough, contact an auto parts store consultant and ask for a battery for your car. Sellers should have battery catalogs with a detailed description of each. This is the best option.

Can I install a battery of a different polarity?

This is enough frequently asked question drivers with little experience. Sometimes beginners not only buy the first battery they like, but also immediately install it on the car. Lucky for those who "hit a finger in the sky", but in other cases it will be bad.

If you connect a battery of the wrong polarity to your car, all the electronics along with the brain center may burn out, or even a fire may occur. Therefore, it is necessary to simply compare with the old battery and remember the location of the poles. If you determined this after you left the store, it's okay, you should replace the battery, The main thing is not to rush to connect this battery.

But it may also happen that you only found out about the error after installation, when the terminals were stripped and shorted, and the store refused to change the battery, arguing that it was not warranty case. What to do? Try to sell such a battery. Explain the reason for the sale and then be more careful. If no one buys what to do, you still have to take a new "correct" battery.

Interesting fact! All batteries until the middle of the last century had a voltage of only 6 volts.

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If this is your first time buying a battery for your car, you may be confused by the seller's question about battery polarity. What is polarity anyway? How to define it? What happens if you buy a battery with the wrong polarity?

Forward and reverse battery polarity

As is known, accumulator battery is set to its strictly defined seat under the hood, which is also called the nest. In the upper part of the battery there are two current outlets - positive and negative, a corresponding wire is connected to each of them. So that motorists do not accidentally mix up the terminals, the length of the wire allows you to reach it only to the corresponding current terminal on the battery. Moreover, the positive terminal is thicker than the negative one, this can be seen even by eye, respectively, it is almost impossible to make a mistake when connecting the battery.

Thus, polarity is one of the characteristics of the battery, which indicates the location of the current-carrying electrodes. It comes in several varieties, but most widespread received only two of them:

• direct, "Russian", "left plus";
• reverse "European", "right plus".

That is, batteries with direct polarity are mainly used on domestic-made machines developed in Russia. For foreign cars, they buy batteries with reverse euro polarity.

How to determine battery polarity?

The easiest way is to carefully look at the sticker on the front and make out the markings:

• if you see the type designation: 12V 64 Ah 590A (EN), then this is the European polarity;
• if there is no EN in brackets, then we are dealing with a conventional battery with a left plus.

It is worth noting that polarity is usually indicated only on those batteries that are sold in Russia and the former republics of the USSR, while in the West all batteries come with European polarity, so it is not indicated separately. True, in the same USA, France, and in Russia as well, you can see in the markings such designations as “J”, “JS”, “Asia”, but they have nothing to do with polarity, they only say that before us a battery with thinner terminals especially for Japanese or Korean cars.

If it is not possible to determine the polarity by marking, there is another way:

• we put the battery towards us with the front side, that is, the one where the sticker is located;
• if the positive terminal is on the left, then this is direct polarity;
• if plus on the right - European.

If you choose a battery of type 6ST-140 Ah and above, then it has the shape of an elongated rectangle and the current leads are located on one of its narrow sides. In this case, turn it with the terminals away from you: “+” on the right means European polarity, “+” on the left - Russian.

Well, if we assume that the battery is old and it is impossible to make out any marks on it, then you can understand where is the plus and where is the minus by measuring the thickness of the terminals with a caliper:

• the plus thickness will be 19.5 mm;
• minus - 17.9.

In Asian batteries, the thickness of the plus is 12.7 mm, and the minus is 11.1 mm.

Is it possible to install batteries with a different polarity?

The answer to this question is simple - you can. But the wires must be connected correctly. From our own experience, let's say that on most cars that we dealt with, the positive wire is enough without problems. The negative one will have to be increased. To do this, you will have to remove the insulation and attach an additional piece of wire using the terminal.

On many more modern cars There is practically no free space under the hood, so there may be problems with building up the wire, there will simply be nowhere to place it. In this case new battery without damage, you can return to the store within 14 days. Well, or with someone to change.

If you mix up the terminals when connecting

The consequences can be very different. Most slight consequence- blown fuses protecting onboard network from short circuit. The worst thing is a fire that will occur due to the melting of the wire braid and sparking. It is worth noting that for a fire to start, the battery must be in the wrong connected state for a long time.

"Battery polarity reversal" is an interesting phenomenon, thanks to which nothing can threaten your car, the battery poles will simply change places if connected incorrectly. However, this requires that the battery is new or at least good condition. Nevertheless, polarity reversal is harmful to the battery itself, since the plates will quickly crumble and no one will accept this battery from you under warranty.

If you are following technical condition auto, then a short-term incorrect connection of the battery will not lead to any catastrophic consequences, since, the generator, all other systems are protected by fuses.

Much more serious problems may occur if you mix up the terminals when lighting another car - short circuit and blown fuses, and in both machines.

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Power supply system modern car is of great importance in the life cycle of the machine and its good work. One of the most important components of the car power system is the battery, which is the source of energy for most electrical systems. Today we will find out what the polarity of a car battery is, why this characteristic is so important when choosing and buying a new battery, and how to understand what polarity a battery bought in a store has.

Purpose

Before describing in detail what the direct and reverse polarity of the battery means, let us briefly recall the purpose of the battery. This will allow you to clarify once and for all why it is so important to pay attention to the condition of the battery and monitor it regularly?

A battery is a battery that is capable of supplying a constant current to its terminals for a long time. At the same time, the battery supply is constantly replenished. Usually this action is performed by a generator, which is driven by a running engine pulley.

If the battery is dead and the engine cannot be started, the motorist comes to the rescue charging device, which are powered from an ordinary household network.

A modern rechargeable battery, regardless of whether it has direct or reverse polarity, has enough a large number of constituent parts. For example, a battery shell is its case, made of high-strength plastic and having a layer of lead on its inner surface.

Inside the case there are several compartments, each of which is filled with electrolyte. As a rule, the electrolyte is represented by lithium or hydrochloric acid. The task of the electrolyte is to carry the charge and not interfere with its free transfer throughout the volume of the compartment.

The electrolyte floats between a set of plates called packets. Usually the plates are made of lead, but in some cases tin is also used. The plates are at some fixed distance from each other. This allows them to accumulate a certain charge between them, which is able to hold on for quite a long time.

Another important component of any modern battery is its terminals. Usually there are two of them: positive and negative. They are designed so that the car can receive energy from the battery and give it away with the help of a generator.

Battery life is usually 3-5 years, depending on its quality. This suggests that the existing design is quite perfect, although it causes the relatively high cost of batteries on the market today.

What are they like?

Modern batteries have a large number of types and varieties. So, batteries can vary both in terms of the volume and power of the output current, and in the type of electrolyte that is filled in them.

In addition, the ability to maintain the battery is of great importance. So, fully serviced models allow self-replacement almost any functional element. Such models are practically not used at the moment. Maintenance-free models do not allow any intervention in their design. They are distinguished by their durability and reliability.

The polarity of the battery can also be different: it can be direct and reverse.

At its core, polarity determines the location of the positive and negative terminals on the battery case. If the polarity is chosen incorrectly, then the battery simply cannot be connected to the power-consuming unit of the machine.

For this reason, it is important to know what polarity the battery has, so as not to throw money away and not to buy a product that will not ultimately fit the car.

How to determine?

Now that it's clear that polarity plays enough important role when choosing a new one, it is worth understanding how to determine it and by what signs one can distinguish one polarity from another.

Direct polarity is used on the vast majority of modern cars shipped from Europe. Moreover, on Russian cars exactly given type polarity is more common than others. This type is quite easy to distinguish: the positive terminal will be located on the left if you turn the battery so that the terminals are on the side of the observed. Moreover, the number "0" will be located on the case.

Reverse polarity is different in that the terminal with a positive sign will be located here on the right. On the case of such batteries, the number "1" is applied, which will help you not to make a mistake with the choice.

Summing up

The battery plays an extremely important role in the operation of a modern car: without it, it would be impossible to power the electrical systems of the car and all its units. When replacing the battery, it is important to take into account its polarity, in order to avoid the impossibility of installation new battery and its connections. The tips outlined in the article will help you make the right choice, and the marking on the battery case will become clear sign that this choice was made correctly.