Summary for a New Car Purchase

The Internet is full of all sorts of advice for the future owner of a new domestically manufactured car. All details are described: from document preparation to registration, risk insurance, future costs of scheduled maintenance in service centres. The advice seems to imply that you are buying a car that has undergone pre-sales inspection in the showroom and your problems are not to be expected anytime soon.

Reasons for Battery Discharge in a New Car

The reality is at times harsher: a brand new battery can fail on a brand new car! This is a rare occurrence, and a very unexpected one for the new car owner. Why does it happen? Let us list the main reasons.

First, the period from the time of manufacturing of the car to the time of its delivery to the dealership centre, and the sale itself, can amount to several months. Due to the natural self-discharge, the battery loses 10 % to 30 % of its charge. Such a battery cannot be referred to as “discharged”; however, as a result of long downtime, the battery has, in simple words, “fallen asleep.” To “awaken” such a battery, it is enough to recharge it for a short period of time with a current equal to 1/10 capacitance stated on the battery label (e.g. if your battery capacitance is 55 Аh, the charge current should be 5.5 А).

Second, to reduce the cost, automobile manufacturers request that battery manufacturers supply them with batteries having minimum power reserve corresponding to the standard configuration of the car. Keep this in mind when installing additional equipment on your car, and do not hesitate to purchase a more powerful battery based on the seller’s advice.

Sometimes our plant receives letters like the following: “I bought a new car and the engine started well in the showroom, then I carefully drove it to my garage at slow speed, and on the second day was unable to start it. What happened to my battery?”

The reason is simple. The battery required serious recharging, and its short trip at slow speed at negative air temperature resulted in almost complete discharge of the battery.

Pre-sales inspection of new cars includes the procedure of checking reliability of battery securing and level of its charge, as well as its recharging if necessary. However, the dealership centre specialists may lack the time to fully recharge the battery, since, depending on the level of its discharge, bringing it back to full performance can take from 2 to 16 hours.

How to Determine the Condition of the Battery

It is very easy to check the condition of your car battery. Use a voltmeter to measure voltage on the terminals with the ignition off and, if the resulting value is lower than 12.7 V, recharge the battery before you start using your car. Best suited for this purpose are battery chargers for lead-acid batteries, which automatically switch off once the required charge circuit voltage is achieved. For AKOM batteries manufactured using Calcium(+)/Calcium(-) technology, this maximum voltage is 16.25–16.5 V. Upon achievement of this value, you can consider your battery 100 % charged.

For information, Calcium(+)/Calcium(−) technology specifies replacing antimony in the battery lead grids with calcium, the required quantity of which is dozens of times less than antimony, thereby drastically reducing consumption of water and battery self-discharge. This technology is used by AKOM to manufacture starter batteries for passenger transportation.

Battery Recharge Modes

Table No. 1 contains quick battery recharging modes with simplified diagnostics. These modes should be used when battery charging is performed at low temperatures (in a cold, unheated garage), there is no possibility of moving the battery to a warmer place and you have little time.

Table No. 2 contains standard battery recharging modes, if battery charging is performed at room temperature and you have more time.

Table No. 1. Battery Recharging Modes at Low Temperatures

How to use Table No. 1:

1. Prior to charging, wrap the battery body with any heat-insulating material.
2. Use a voltmeter to measure voltage on the battery terminals with the ignition off and, using Table No. 1, determine the range of the measured voltage. From the determined range, drop a vertical to line “Level of charging” and determine level of charging of your battery.
3. From the determined level of charging, drop a vertical to line “Charge time in hours” and memorize the value.
4. Check the lower part of the table for the charging current value required for charging your battery. Charging current value depends on the electrical capacitance of your battery.

Table No. 2. Battery Recharging Modes at Room Temperature

How to use Table No. 2:

1. Use a voltmeter to measure voltage on the battery terminals with the ignition off and, using Table No. 2, determine the range of the measured voltage. From the determined range, drop a vertical to line “Level of charging” and determine level of charging of your battery.
2. From the determined level of charging, drop a vertical to line “Charging time in hours” and memorize the value.
3. Check the lower part of the table for the charging current value required for charging your battery. Charging current value depends on the electrical capacitance of your battery.

We will be glad if our information proves to be useful to you when buying a new car and helps you avoid the technical mistake described above by keeping in mind all possible developments.

Good luck.