Page 12 - AAA Every Day – AAA Hudson Valley – September/October 2021

CAR CARE HANDBOOK
How Your Car Battery
Powers Your Vehicle
Car Batteries Do More Than Power Your Vehicle
After a long day at work, you’re ready to head home, kick off your shoes and binge Netflix. As you turn the key, you hear the dreaded click, click, click of
your engine. It’s after 6 p.m. and you’re not
going anywhere. Fortunately, you remember
to call 800-AAA-HELP (800-222-4357) for
car battery service. As your phone drops
below 10%, there’s no posting your woeful
story to Instagram or passing the time with
TikTok videos. Without a functioning car
battery, you must salvage what little phone
power you have left, because charging it is
out of the question.
Don’t take the small black box under the hood for granted: without it, your day grinds to a halt ... literally. Modern car batteries are responsible for much more than starting your car. If your battery fails, get ready to sit in radio silence as you say goodbye to phone chargers and power seats. And this may be the only time you wish you still had manual windows.
What is a Fully Charged Battery?
While you may think that 12 volts constitutes a fully charged battery, 12.65 volts is actually considered 100%. When you’re operating at 12V, you’re only running on about 40% of power. At around 11V, your battery is almost completely discharged.
When Your Battery Begins to Fail, What Happens?
When your battery drops between 10V to 11V, vehicle accessories like the headlights, radio and AC blower will begin to diminish in power. You’ll likely notice that the interior lights in your glove box, trunk or door may appear
Shutterstock: Fabrika Simf
dim or not work at all. Power windows will begin to crank slowly. Your engine may begin to sputter and dash lights will flicker like a Christmas tree. It takes much less
12 I SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021
Shutterstock: Brocreative
electrical current to power things like your car’s air conditioner and radio than it does to crank your engine, so you may be able to use these accessories for a short period of time, even if the car won’t start.
Aftermarket accessories, such as a phone charger that fits into a cigarette adaptor, also can deplete your battery power. You may notice in older vehicles that these accessories still charge your phone or other accessories
when the car is turned off, thereby creating a parasitic drain on the battery. However, many modern vehicles have safeguards in place to help prevent a dead battery and will not charge your devices if the vehicle is not running.
Modern features – such as keyless entry and telematics that connect your phone to your vehicle via Bluetooth – consistently draw small amounts of power, even when the car is not in use. While not a problem by itself, these features could accelerate the demise of a battery that’s already in decline. Even if your car is securely stored in a garage, do not leave the key in the car or hanging nearby, as it can continue to draw power.
AAA Mobile Battery Service
Now that you know all the different features run by your car battery, you can be on alert if they begin to diminish in power. If you do find yourself with a vehicle that won’t start, the professionals are here to help. Simply call 800-AAA-HELP (800-222-4357) or visit AAA.com/ carbatteryquote and a Technician will come to you to test and replace your battery*, if needed.
* Batteries are available for most, but not all vehicles.