How long does a car battery last?
A car doesn’t work without the car battery, that is a fact, because the battery is the component that gives power to all of the electrical parts of the car. And like the name of it suggests, it cannot run forever, because all batteries need to be charged constantly. But for how long can one battery be recharged again and again until it doesn’t charge anymore and needs to be replaced?
A car battery in a unique battery because not only it is very powerful because it needs to supply energy to the car, but it also is constantly charged once the car is turned on by the vehicle’s charging system, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to drive long distances with our cars. There are few different types of car batteries that determines the reasons why and how often these batteries need to be replaced.
Probably the most common battery used in modern cars is the lead-acid battery also called sealed battery. These type of car batteries are made from six cells that are filled with lead and from lead-oxide plates that are filled with electrolyte or dilute sulfuric acid. But because these batteries are filled with lead (Pb in the periodic table) they are subjected to a process called sulfation or the process of the battery being deprived of a full charge. And the longer this process continues the more the capacity of the battery will drop and with time the battery will become useless, because it won’t be able to store enough energy to start your car.
So how can you prevent the sulfation process and make your battery last longer? Although on average lead-acid battery lasts from 5 to 7 years, you can prolong this period by keeping your battery fully charged meaning that the car need to be driven daily to achieve that, because if your car is parked for a long period of time without being driven or at least started, the battery will slowly discharge and the sulfation process will start to occur.
Many ask if there is a way to tell that your car battery will need to be replaced soon and although there isn’t one distinctive way to do it, if you notice that your battery starts to hold less charge or the car starts slower when you turn it on, then it might be time to start thinking about a new battery for your car. And you can also go to any local car mechanic and ask them to test your car battery, because they should have battery tester somewhere in their shop.
The other type of car batteries that are becoming more and more common are the electric vehicle batteries also called the traction batteries that are specially designed to power battery electric vehicles. These batteries are much more complicated in their build and design as the regular batteries and the chemicals used in them can vary from one manufacturer to another. And because they are new technology that haven’t been perfected yet, studies show that they last only a few years before they need to be replaced. However I am sure that soon these electric vehicle batteries will outlast any previously made battery making them the dominant batteries on the market.
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