What Is A Car Battery?
Specifically, a car battery is a lead-acid storage facility in a motor vehicle. Usually a 12-volt
battery consists of six cells and is the heart of the car's electrical system.
What Does a Car Battery Do?
A car battery supplies power to the starter and ignition system to start the engine.
A car battery supplies the extra power necessary when the vehicle's electrical load exceeds the supply
from the charging system.
A car battery acts as a voltage stabilizer in the electrical system. The battery evens out
voltage spikes and prevents them from damaging other components in the electrical system.
What If My Car Won't Start?
If the battery won't start your car, you usually refer to it as "dead," even though that's not technically
correct. A battery that's merely discharged, from leaving your headlights on or from a damaged alternator,
can be recharged to its full capacity. But a battery that's at the end of its service life can't be
recharged enough to restore it to a useful power level. Then it truly is dead, and must be
replaced.
If the battery is discharged and not dead, you can jump-start it from another fully charged battery.
About 30 minutes of driving should allow the alternator to fully charge the battery. But if the
alternator or another part of the electrical system in your car is damaged, the battery will not
recharge and a mechanic or service station also will not be able to recharge it. So if your battery
keeps discharging, have your electrical system checked before you replace it. What looks like a bad
battery could be an electrical system problem. If you have a bad component in the electrical system,
it will keep draining a new battery, and you'll be stranded again and again.
Never throw a car battery in a garbage dumpster or leave it in a parking lot,
especially if it is cracked or otherwise damaged. Take it to a service station to have it disposed of properly.
