The Battery

(What are they?, How do they work?, And Why do need a new one?)
By: Paula Manion

I am asked the last question often, but find it hard to answer it without explaining at
least a little, of the first 2. Batteries are often defined as storehouses for electrical energy,
but that definition is only partially true. Batteries are generators of electrical energy. This
is true of all batteries used in cars, when the battery used is a lead/acid battery. Electricity
is generated by a chemical reaction between the acid (sulfuric) and 2 different leads; lead
oxide and lead sulfate. To save you all from a lengthy description of the physics and
chemistry behind this, suffice it to say Benjamin Franklin, Allesandro Volta, Luigi Galvani,
Faraday, Leydon, Edison, and many others before and after them did their work well making possible the battery as we know it today. The best way I know to explain how a battery works in an electrical system is to compare it to the flow of water. We know that
when a water tap is opened water flows out, and the more you open it the more water
blasts from the nozzle. What is being experienced there is water pressure behind the gate
valve of the tap waiting to flow out when the tap is opened. In an electrical system that
water pressure is called voltage which is ( a potential force of flow), ready to flow when a
switch connected to that electricity is turned on. Water reaches our taps through piping
from a water pumping station far away from our homes, sometimes pumped from a well.
In either case the water is sent under pressure so it will flow when you open the tap. The
plumbing pipe in your home sends that pressurized water to many places; sinks, tubs,
shower heads, faucets and such. In an electrical system this network of piping is called
circuitry. The circuits are made not of steel or copper pipe, but of copper wire which is
coated with a plastic sheath to keep it from interfering with other wires nearby. Switches
that operate devices are just like those faucets except electricity flows past them into the
piping (wiring) which goes to a device in a car, like the headlights or the stereo causing
them to activate. Unlike a water system where the water flows down the drain, used electrical power flows back to the battery where it can be used again re-pressurized by a device called an alternator (an electrical generator driven by belt via the engine crankshaft) .
For the sake of our example think of the alternator as a pump that maintains water pressure.
Car batteries have 2 posts the positive (+) and the negative (-). Theses posts are also
known as terminals. The pressurized water (electricity) flows from the positive post out
into the electrical system to do the demanded work. Continuing as used energy down the
drain so to speak, this spent energy returns to the battery through the negative post completing the circuit. The completion of the circuit is necessary in an electrical system because there must be a contiuous flow of electricity for it to work at all.
Think of it this way to aid your understanding of this: Page 2

The Battery contd

A battery is much like a huge cone shaped vat of water with one hole at the bottom
(where water flows out, the positive post +) and another at the top (for returning used
water, the negative post - ) connected to the electrical system of the car. Every time a
switch is turned on what happens? The water, pushed out by the force of gravity, flows
out directed to the device the switch controls, where the pressurized water makes it operate. The spent energy (water) then flows back to the battery (vat) through the negative
post. The alternator creates pressurized water pushing it back into the battery (vat) constantly re-charging it (keeping it full). This is how the system works. The batterys role is to
constantly deliver electricity, while being replenished, keeping abundant energy supply
available to do work. So why does a battery go bad? Because it doesnt last forever. Remember car batteries produce electricity chemically via sulfuric acid and lead. The lead
elements corrode, degrading over time which causes failure. Think of it this way, every
time a switch is turned on and the water (electricity) flows to do its work, it picks up a
little dirt in the process. So when it is returned to the vat it deposits that dirt. The dirt
builds up in the vat over time lessening the amount of water the vat can hold because
the space inside has been lost by the dirt buildup. The dirt cannot flow only the water
can. So the vat holds less and less water causing less and less water available to do the
work. The dirt buildup (the breakdown of the lead metals) is the main thing that kills a
lead acid battery. There are other reasons far less frequent like the batterys terminals
losing contact internally. This is known as terminal open circuit. This usually occurs in
poorly manufactured short duration batteries. Its main symptom is when the battery
works fine one day but not at all the next. Simply jiggling a terminal might fix it but ultimately it will worsen and fail totally. Yet another is when part of the battery fails internally
known as a dead cell. This is where one or more of the 6 cells in a 12 volt battery looses
its ability to produce electricity. This type failure is infrequent, its most noted symptom
being slow engine cranking (slow operation of the starter motor). They too fail totally in
the end. From the day acid is added to a lead acid battery it begins to degrade leading to
eventual failure. The average life of a battery is typically 5 to 6 years and usually this can
be seen on the battery tag or label. For more information about battery ratings and how
to understand them, see the article More about batteries following this article.
Other battery types not utilizing lead, do last longer, and even work better in some automotive applications because they can handle the load (demands) better. Some of these
are: Nickel Cadmium batteries, Lithium Ion batteries, and Nickel Metal Hydride batteries.
They do not degrade as quickly as a lead acid battery, but also in most cases they wont
produce electricity, they must be charged to work. They maintain their charge much longer which makes them ideal for use in fully electric and the now popular hybrid cars.
Though they may be put together differently or use different metals inside, all batteries do
the same thing, provide electrical power to do work.
End

More About Batteries

(Battery Facts)

This article is a bit more on the technical side, but useful to those of you who want to replace
your own battery when the need arises. Replacing a battery is fairly easy in most cars. The
only exceptions are where the manufacturer hides it, or places it in a difficult tight place. For
those cases youll have to refer to your cars manual or surf the internet for a How to replacement video. Persist in your efforts though and save yourself some dough. When you get
your battery out and ready to replace its time to visit the parts store for a new one right?
Most of the time you can just take your battery in with you and match it to a new one of the
same type. Easy, but wait there are others of that type with different specifications, like CCA
(cold cranking amps), and AHC (ampere hour capacity) ratings what are these? These are raw
power and duration capacity ratings used to grade a batterys overall performance. Batteries
are made stronger or weaker to more closely match the operating conditions and types of
load endurance needed. For example a battery for an emergency vehicle like a police car or
ambulance, will have a much higher CCA and AHC rating. Why? Because of the emergency
lights, sirens and radios, which draw considerable more battery power to operate and might
have to work for extended periods with the engine turned off. With no engine power the battery receives no recharging current so it has to hang in there longer thus a higher capacity
battery is needed.
What do those ratings mean exactly? Well CCA stands for (Cold Cranking Amps). This tells
you how much power is available to crank (engage and spin the starter motor which turns
the engine over) an engine at sufficient speed to start it running. You will see ratings for
standard car applications begin at around 450cca and continue up to 800cca or so. A typical
car battery works well in moderate climate at about 550cca but higher numbers of cca are
always better. It means the battery is stronger. So if you are replacing a 500cca battery, and a
650 or higher is available in the correct size, get the higher cca one. It will cost more but its
worth it because it will last longer. AHC (Ampere Hour Capacity) is a little more complicated.
It is an old standard method of rating a batterys capacity and endurance. It is a measurement of how long it will take the battery to completely discharge at 1 ampere of draw. An
ampere, you are probably wondering, is a word that stands for the flow of electricity through
a circuit. Remember the water analogy from the first article? Ampere would describe the
speed of the pressurized water flowing from the faucet. If you had a water hose directed at a
paddle wheel lets say, you can imagine it wouldnt turn the wheel if the water flowed too
slowly. Increase the flow by opening the faucet more and the wheel begins to turn. The wheel
in this case would be the load, a burden the water is trying to overcome. In an electrical
circuit the same thing happens the power is directed through a load; a motor, or a light bulb,
then back to the battery again. A light bulb lets say draws 1 ampere of power to light up. So
if you were rating a fully charged battery you could connect it across the light bulb load and
count how many hours it takes to discharge. That would be your AHC rating. So the ratio
goes like this AHC = 1 ampere draw to hours until discharge. If it took 50 hours the rating
would be 50 AHC.
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Page 2 of More About Batteries

AHC is a very useful rating for certain types of battery an example being batteries used in
marine applications, boats. In some outboard motorized boats, but especially in those powered by a trolling motor (electric) a special battery is used called a Deep Cycle battery. These
batteries have a very high AHC (ampere hour capacity) rating meaning they discharge very
slowly. They need to be recharged after use because there are no onboard charging systems
available (no alternator or generator).
Another form of rating that has come into general use is simply the number of years it is
projected to last. An example being a 60 month or 5 year battery. In car batteries usually you
will see ratings from 12 month (A cheaper battery), to 72 month (6 year) battery. I recommend
to my customers to save themselves a little money by going with the 5 year battery, making
sure there is at least a full year or more replacement warranty that goes with it. If a battery is
going to fail it will soon after its put into use so warranties like this are great. Battery manufacturers also provide something called a pro-rated warranty on their batteries which begins
after the free replacement period. The idea behind the pro-rate warranty is that the customer
will be credited money off (discount) on a new battery based on the number of months the
battery should have lasted. For example lets say you bought a 5 year (or 60 month) battery
and the battery failed after 2 years. The pro-rate would be 36 months off the price of a new
battery. If you paid $100.00 for the battery that failed simply divide 100 by 60 and you get the
approximate pro-rate amount. In this case the pro-rate monthly amount would be $1.67 multiply that times 36 months and you get $51.00 or so. Minus that from the $100.00 paid previously and you pay $49.00 for the new battery. I know its a rip-off, but its better than nothing.
When it comes to selecting a battery brand in the hopes of getting the best out there hold on
tight because battery quality is getting worse not better while their prices keep climbing. Personally I think the best batteries are the ones from the factory (dealer), but be careful. Many
dealers use off brand batteries not from the factory. The factory batteries are probably the
most expensive ones available, but they are of higher quality, have a great warranty, fit the
battery mountings best, and last the longest. You will know one when you see one because it
will have the manufacturers logo and name on it.
Thanks I hope this helps some of you out there who wanted to know.
End.