For sure anyone who watched a lot of spy dramas or thrillers will wonder what we are saying, as the scene with a captured hero, restrained and helpless to resist while his captor hooks up a pair of jumper cables to a car battery is so familiar! As dutiful consumers of media, we’ve been conditioned to know that means our hero is about to be tortured, possibly to within an inch of his life.  But let’s see why this is just another one of the tricks Hollywood uses for offering a more engaging story and a bigger spectacle, as a car battery actually can’t electrocute you.

The math can get a little complicated, but the main reason that you can safely touch the positive and negative terminals of a typical car battery, and walk away unscathed, has to do with the voltage of the battery. Traditional car batteries are capable of delivering a lot of amperage in short bursts, which is the main reason that ancient lead acid technology is still in use. Starter motors require a lot of amperage to run, and lead acid batteries are good at providing short, intense bursts of amperage. However, there’s a world of difference between the coils of a starter motor and the high contact resistance of the human body.

Simply put, voltage can be thought of as “pressure,” and the 12 volts of a car battery simply don’t provide enough pressure to push any significant amount of amperage through the contact resistance of your skin.

That’s why you can touch both terminals of a car battery without receiving a shock, although you may feel a tingle if your hands are wet. Certainly nothing like the confession-inducing, potentially-deadly, electrical torture you may have seen in the movies or on television, though.

Be careful though, as not all car batteries are 12V. There was a huge push in the early 2000 s to move from 12V systems to 42V systems, which would have been much more dangerous to work with, but the switch never really materialized for a variety of reasons.

However, hybrid and electric vehicles often come with two batteries: a traditional lead acid battery for starter, lighting and ignition (SLI) functions, and a much higher voltage battery or battery pack to run the electric motor or motors. These batteries often use lithium-ion or nickel metal hydride technology instead of lead acid, and they are often rated at 200 or more volts.

The good news is that hybrid and electric vehicles typically don’t keep their high voltage battery packs anywhere that you’re likely to run into them on accident, and they almost always use some type of color code to warn you about high voltage wires. In most cases, high voltage wires are color coded orange, although some use blue instead, so it’s a good idea to verify what color your vehicle uses before you try to work on it.

12-Volt Car batteries are not harmless, though. There are many ways you can be injured by car batteries:

The main danger associated with car batteries is explosion, which can occur due to a phenomenon known as “gassing,” where the battery releases flammable hydrogen gas. If the hydrogen gas is ignited by a spark, the entire battery can explode, showering you with sulfuric acid. This is why it’s so important to follow the correct procedure when hooking up jumper cables or a battery charger.

Another danger associated with car batteries has to do with accidentally bridging the terminals, or accidentally bridging any +B wire or connector, like the starter solenoid, to ground. While a car battery can’t pump a dangerous amount of amperage into your body, a metal wrench has far less resistance, and will tend to grow extremely hot, and may even become welded in place, if it bridges battery positive to ground. That’s pretty much bad news all around.

Keep in mind that, although you can’t be electrocuted by simply touching the terminals of a regular car battery, due to the low voltage, you can receive a nasty shock from other components of a traditional automotive electrical system. For instance, in ignition systems that use a cap and rotor, an ignition coil is used to provide the tremendous amount of voltage that’s required to push a spark across the air gap of a spark plug. If you run afoul of that voltage, typically by touching a spark plug wire or coil wire with frayed insulation, while also touching ground, you will definitely feel a bite.

Source: lifewire.com (Jeremy Laukkonen)

Recor Batteries is here to help you with a wide range of accumulators, as well as with any issue on your car battery, truck battery and boat, agricultural or military battery.

See below the types of batteries needed for each type of vehicles:

BATTERIES FOR PASSENGER VEHICLES

Passenger vehicle are becoming increasingly diverse as vehicle technology evolves to meet fuel-efficiency and carbon-emission regulations. But these vehicles all have one thing in common: a need for durable, high-performance batteries. We offer a full portfolio of batteries to meet the needs of passenger vehicles — from internal combustion engines to fully electric vehicles.

Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles

Vehicles powered by internal combustion engines represent the majority of the automotive market. They use lead-acid batteries to start the vehicle and power accessories. These batteries need to be reliable and, as electrical systems become more demanding, increasingly durable.

Start Stop Vehicles

Start-stop vehicles use internal combustion engines that automatically shut off when the car is idling, then restart when the driver’s foot leaves the brake pedal. When the engine is off, the vehicle’s electrical system uses energy from the battery. The battery is used to restart the engine after each stopping event. Start-stop vehicles provide up to 5 percent more fuel-efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions.

We take it for granted that the Start-Stop systems will be standard in most new vehicles. Thus we are glad to provide you a variety of those new products, start n’ stop car batteries, based on these new technology systems (start-stop, funstart, optima, etc).

Advanced Start-Stop Vehicles

Advanced start-stop vehicles further enhance fuel efficiency through added capabilities such as engine-off coasting, electric boost and regenerative braking. These vehicles are 5–8 percent more efficient that internal combustion engine powered vehicles, and help automakers meet stringent fuel efficiency regulations without major changes to conventional powertrains and electrical systems. Advanced start-stop vehicles use two batteries, a 12 volt lead-acid battery and a 12 volt lithium-ion battery.
Micro-Hybrid Vehicles

These vehicles extend start-stop functionality even further. They use two batteries: a 12 volt lead-acid battery starts the engine and powers accessories; a 48 volt lithium-ion battery captures power from regenerative braking and powers high-load functions such as electric air conditioning, active chassis technology, and an electric traction motor that supplements the internal combustion engine to propel the vehicle. Micro-hybrid vehicles are 12–15 percent more efficient than conventional internal combustion engine powered vehicles.

Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are powered by both an internal combustion engine and a high-voltage electric battery that is recharged by the internal combustion engine. HEVs are 20–40 percent more efficient than conventional vehicles powered by an internal combustion engine alone, and are an important part of the solution to meet longer-term fuel efficiency and admissions regulations without compromising vehicle range. HEVs use two batteries, a 12 volt lead-acid battery and a high-voltage lithium-ion battery.

BATTERIES FOR BOATS

The marine environment is tough on batteries, yet everything depends on them: engine starts, navigation and communication systems, running lights and electrical accessories. Our marine batteries are designed to meet your needs — from high cranking starting power to deep cycling to power accessories.

In other words, the recreational vehicle batteries do much more than get you from one point to another. They are designed specifically for their application and environment to provide durable, superior performance.

BATTERIES FOR TRUCKS

Heavy-duty trucks and construction vehicles have more electrical demands than ever before. Our commercial product line is engineered to handle these power-hungry applications and provide long, reliable service in tough environments.

It is known that the batteries for commercial vehicles need to be exceptionally durable, reliable and powerful. Trucks need batteries to handle the toughest jobs on wheels — including rough terrain, round-the-clock use, high power demands and heavy cycling.

No matter what the battery requirements of your vehicle might be, there is always a Recor battery that meets them. A Recor battery achieves, for a long period of time, strong and immediate start up of your engine. Browse through our catalog for a detailed presentation of our products.  

The effects of cold weather on car batteries

In extremely cold conditions the chemical reaction in a battery slows down. This provides less energy which makes starting the engine more difficult. The cold can reduce a battery’s capacity by up to a third. It also reduces the battery’s ability to accept charge, so it won’t recharge as quickly when you are driving.

On top of this, during the winter we are more likely to use a whole host of our cars electrical items, putting more loads on the battery. With shorter periods of daylight we use our headlights more frequently, along with heaters to defrost the car as well as keeping us warm. All this puts strain on a battery that already has a reduced capacity. When a battery is unstable, vehicles with stop start technology can suffer too. The stop start function may cease operating which will have a negative impact on the vehicles fuel consumption and will increase your fuel costs.

Battery problems can be avoided

Storage and winter care

The first step towards helping your battery to perform in cold weather is to keep it warm. Park it in your garage if possible, a heated garage is even better. This will prevent the battery experiencing the extreme cold so it will behave as normal.

If you are planning to store your car for a longer period of time over the winter or you mostly do short journeys, use a battery conditioner/intelligent charger. This can be left connected to the battery indefinitely and can prolong its life without overcharging it. It will charge the battery periodically, something that usually happens when driving.

Maintenance

Before the cold weather sets in, it is a good idea to have the battery and electrical system checked. It is also wise to check battery cables, posts and security, looking out for anything loose or corroded. Check the cables are firmly secured. If the battery has shown any signs of struggling before, or is over five years old, replacing it at your convenience could save you the trouble of battery failure in the depths of winter.

You can also use a battery charger/optimiser to maintain charge levels. This keeps the battery in good condition. A fully charged battery has less chance of freezing than a discharged battery, so keeping up the charge will help to protect against the cold refer to the vehicle hand book to make sure you connect the charger in the correct way.

When you finish your journey and park up, be sure to switch off any electrical equipment in the car before you switch off the engine – even an interior light, boot light, or radio left on overnight can kill a battery when it’s cold.

If you don’t, the battery will try to power these too as you start the car, adding an extra drain that could make starting the vehicle more difficult. It’s best to disconnect sat navs, ipods, phone chargers and DVD players too, as they could drain the battery if left plugged in. Take extra care not to leave any electrical items on when you leave the car.

Tips and tricks for starting your car

If you do experience battery problems due to the cold, you may struggle to start your car. Here are some tips to get you going and to give the battery a chance.

Switch off all electrical items when starting the car, dip the clutch to reduce the load on the battery when attempting to start the car and wait between attempts to start the car. This gives the battery time to recover, and it may have warmed a little.

Refer to the owner’s manual for any instructions on cold starting.

If none of the above works, you could try to jump-start the battery. This should be done with care, check your owner’s manual and read our jump starting instructions for further advice.

If your battery will not start, you may need it replacing. Likewise, if the battery is more than five years old and there’s any sign of it struggling to start the car, get it replaced. Some will struggle on for a bit but many won’t. It’s much better done at your convenience than as a roadside emergency.

Recor Batteries offers you quality car batteries fitted by trusted technicians, so do not hesitate to contact us as soon as you need your car battery replaced!

Source: http://www.racshop.co.uk/, www.theaa.com