How long does it take to fully charge a car battery by jump-starting?
2 Answers
It takes about 16 to 20 hours to fully charge a car battery by jump-starting. Taking a 12V 60Ah battery as an example, the charging method adopts a constant voltage and current-limiting approach, charging at a constant voltage of 14.8V with a current limit of 15A for 16 hours. If the car battery is dead, an external power source can be used for charging. Using the car's alternator to charge it requires a significant amount of time and also consumes the car's fuel. Relevant information about car batteries is as follows: 1. A car battery, also known as a storage battery, is a type of battery that works by converting chemical energy into electrical energy. 2. Batteries are categorized into ordinary batteries, dry-charged batteries, and maintenance-free batteries. The commonly referred-to car battery is a lead-acid battery. The normal service life of a car battery ranges from 1 to 8 years, which largely depends on the condition of the vehicle.
Last time my car battery was dead, I tried charging it by driving. Starting from completely dead, I ran the engine for 30 minutes and the charge recovered to about 20%. To fully charge it to 100%, it depends on the battery capacity. For example, my small car has a 45 ampere-hour battery, and experts say the normal charging rate is about 10 amps, so theoretically it would take 4.5 hours of continuous operation. But in actual driving, it's impossible to maintain high speeds all the time; charging is even slower in city traffic jams, and cold weather can also slow it down. From my experience, short commutes will never fully charge the battery. After a real discharge, you need at least a two-hour long drive to see significant recovery. Now I use a smart charger at home for slow charging, which only takes an hour to start topping up, much more efficient than relying solely on the engine.
