What Causes Car Batteries To Fail Do You Understand?
Driving habits rather than battery defect are often the cause of battery failure.A German manufacturer of luxury cars reveals that of 400 car batteries returned under warranty,200 are working well and have no problem.Low charge and acid stratification are the most common causes of the apparent failure.The car manufacturer says that the problem is more common on large luxury cars offering power-hungry auxiliary options than on the more basic models.
In Japan,battery failure is the largest complaint among new car owners.The average car is only driven 13 km (8 miles) per day and mostly in a congested city.As a result,the batteries will never get fully charged and sulfation occurs.The batteries in Japanese cars are small and only provide enough power to crank the engine and perform some rudimentary functions.North America may be shielded from these battery problems,in part because of long distance driving.
Good battery performance is important because problems during the warranty period tarnish customer satisfaction.Any service requirement during that time is recorded and the number is published in trade magazines.This data is of great interest among prospective car buyers throughout the world.Battery malfunction is seldom caused by a factory defect;driving habits are the more common culprits.Heavy accessory power when driving short distance prevents a periodic fully saturated charge that is so important for the longevity of a lead acid battery.According to a leading European manufacturer of car batteries,factory defects amounts to less than 7 percent.
Acid stratification,a problem with luxury cars
A common cause of battery failure is acid stratification.The electrolyte on a stratified battery concentrates on the bottom,causing the upper half of the cell to be acid poor.This effect is similar to a cup of coffee in which the sugar collects on the bottom when the waitress forgets to bring the stirring spoon.Batteries tend to stratify if kept at low charge (below 80%) and never have the opportunity to receive a full charge.Short distance driving while running windshield wiper and electric heaters contributes to this.Acid stratification reduces the overall performance of the battery.
Figure 1 illustrates a normal primary battery in which the acid is equally distributed form top to bottom.This battery provides good performance because the correct acid concentration surrounds the plates.Figure 2 shows a stratified battery in which the acid concentration is light on top and heavy on the bottom.A light acid limits plate activation,promotes corrosion and reduces performance.High acid concentration on the bottom,on the other hand,artificially raises the open circuit voltage.The battery appears fully charged but provides a low CCA.High acid concentration also promotes sulfation and decreases the already low conductivity further.If unchecked,such a condition will eventually lead to battery failure.
Allowing the battery to rest for a few days,applying a shaking motion or tipping the unit over tends to correct the problem.A topping charge by which the 12-volt battery is brought up to 16 volts for one to two hours also reverses the acid stratification.The topping charge also reduces sulfation caused by high acid concentration.Careful attention is needed to keep the battery from heating up and losing excessive electrolyte through hydrogen gassing.Always charge the battery in a well-ventilated room.Accumulation of hydrogen gas can lead to an explosion.Hydrogen is odorless and can only be detected with measuring devices.
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